The Great Northwest

Since we had been living out of suitcase, we thought we might as well take an extended trip to the Northwest.

After flying into Portland, we meet up with our friends the Burnetts. It was great to see them. We all piled in the cars and went to see some waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. We had a ton of fun, even Dad who pushed the two kid stroller all the way to the top of the waterfalls.

Our Objective - over 900 Ft tall
So far so good

Are we there yet?

Cami and her...big sister? Just her new friend Maya!

Taryn loves loves loves the water


At the top - hold on tight

Columbia River with Washington on the other side

We had a great time at the Rice family reunion held in beautiful Washington state over the July 4th week. It was a great time for us to see Amy's family and our friends that live in the area.

We spent 5 days on the East side of the cascades. We got to go kayaking and hiking.













We took a beautiful drive to one of the last remaining fire looking stations in the Cascades.














On the 4th of July we went to Leavenworth and watch a lumber jack show, had ice cream and looked at the shops. Of course we ended the day with fireworks back at the cabin. Just for the record if your child is scared of loud noises like lawn mowers and blow driers and blenders she will probably not really enjoy fireworks as much as you do.

After the reunion, we spent a day in Seattle at the Children's Museum. Cami loved it. She got to touch and play with everything. Her favorite activity was a toss up between the painting (yes, real paints were used), the room with all the little balls, the "Tidal Pool" and the instrument room. Funny that most of her favorites involved messes.

Taryn not to be out done

Cami on her first (and hopefully only) joy ride

After Seattle, we traveled back down to Portland and hung out with our friends the Francoms. They took us to downtown Portland where we got to experience a great farmers market. Everything looked great and I had never seen so many different kinds of mushrooms, berries, flowers, etc.

They also took us to "experience" the beautiful Silver Falls.

Behind a waterfall

Amy and Charie

Behind another fall

Due to a lack of planning, Amy and I only brought the kids swimsuits. With much persuasion from the peanut gallery, we took the plunge with our clothes on.


Yes, it was freezing! Thanks for asking. The important thing to remember when swimming in your clothes is to check all your pockets. While I remembered to remove the camera, wallet, and GPS, I forgot the side pocket with the phone. Even thought the swim perminently disabled a few keys on my phone, it was still worth it!!! (Thanks Charie)

All in all, it was a great summer vacation. We mostly just enjoyed being with each other after so much time spent apart.