Heading Home

We had a little time to play before our flight and heading home! The kiddos were determined to hike up to the snow so that is what we did right away in the morning. Again... to be higher than some of the clouds the views were pretty incredible!

 Who needs sleds????

 Final stop - Mirror Lake.... I had my skepticism as the Mirror Lake in Yosemite was a huge disappointment but Marty convinced me this one was different. We were on a bit of a time limitation due to catching our flight so we tried to keep on a moving on our hike up... When we did arrive we were not at all disappointed! It was beautiful and also not crowded!

We made our way around and it was time to head to the airport and get back to reality! We had been gone for almost a month between our visit to Wisconsin and the trip out west... And believe me reality hit fast as upon entering the car, the nightmare of the fall 2012 baseball season hit! Ugh!!! Beyond that... school was starting in less than a week!

Mt. Hood Day 1

The Mt. Hood area was really pretty! There were views from the parking lots and all around lodge.

 We stayed at the Timberline Lodge located on Mt. Hood. They have done a lot to preserve it as it has been for many years which meant very creaky floors and no air conditioning. I didn't think Marty would survive without air but he did and he was really excited about staying here. The 2 story wood burning fireplace in the lobby made the whole place smell really nice the whole visit and there were plenty of restaurant choices there that we didn't have to leave and try to "find" something.

 Outside the back of the lodge. The kids were excited to see snow though it was still warm enough for shorts and summery clothes.

 Our first day in the area, we left to go to the Historic Columbia River Gorge Highway. There were different waterfalls every few miles and they required less than a mile walk to all of them. It took us a little bit to figure out where to start and where to park but after the first couple we had it down. Here are a few of the many that we visited including Multnomah Falls which though very cool was so crowded and touristy that the others were our favorites!

 Multnomah

Their favorite as they could run on in this one and they did despite the freezing water!

Seattle

We left Vancouver with just enough time to catch the last ferry from downtown Seattle to Bremerton where we were spending the night. The kiddos thought it was sooo cool to drive our car right on this big boat. Once our car was parked, we headed out to the decks to watch the boat pull away from the lights of the city! It was so cool to see and it made freezing worth it! We then played cards inside the warmth of the boat. Our hotel was just around the corner from the ferry landing and we were at the point of needing laundry done so the rest of the night and morning were spent doing some laundry! The kids enjoyed the ferry ride again the next day and got to see Seattle in daylight!

 We spent the day in Seattle and visited Pike's Place where Madi couldn't stand the smell of fish but we both took in the smell of fresh flowers!  

 Madi ended up getting a very cool bracelet made with her name on it and Drew found a bag of fun coins. He does have a thing for money! Then it was off to the space needle... on our way there Madi found a waterfall walkway and asked if she could go through. I saw someone go through and they seemed fine so I told her to go for it. Well... she managed to come out drenched!!! She is a trooper though and didn't complain at all.

 We even found a coffee shop that had a cool upstairs so we stopped for ice cream, hot cocoa and donuts... no coffee but my ice cream was coffee flavored!

We made it to the Space Needle and waited a long time to go up.

 We then had happy Drew...

 And then pouty Drew...

Oooohhh... happy again! Love him always.... drives me crazy at times but always love him and Madi too!

We decided to take the tram as far back as we could and then it was time to head back into Oregon and to Mt. Hood!

Next up... Vancouver

We decided that since only Marty had been to Canada it was our turn. After a million questions at the border, we were on our way! The traffic to Vancouver was awful and the traffic in Vancouver was just the same. We spent the first night just walking down to the main street and getting some dinner and checking things out. After the long day of travel, we were ready to just head back to our room and relax but then I spotted a Cafe Crepe and our night extended a bit. This became a staple each night. Dark Chocolate and strawberries crepes have become a new favorite of mine ever since San Francisco the summer before! :) A quick stop to the grocery store that also fascinated us... the carts were like little wagons so that you could take them up the escalator. So different from what we are used to here!

 Our first stop the next day was to the Capilano Suspension Bridge State Park. Do you see that bridge? I sadly got there and realized that if I wanted to do anything and hang with my family I had to go across that thing. Needless to say I did not stop for pictures on the bridge... I moseyed across that and was sadly not considerate of anyone trying to take a picture. I did manage to get myself a nice and stable spot to get a picture of the rest of the crew coming across.

And I stood and stared - horrified that I had to go across again! :)

Next was Grouse Mountain... again with the heights. We took the Gondola up to the top. We had no interest in nature's stairclimer. I did not look down as we were going up. Once we made it to the top, the kids had a blast getting into the tree trunks, seeing the Birds of Prey show including a bald eagle and owls - so cute. They also saw a lumberjack show and took a ski lift ride to tippy top. Great views of Vancouver. A few last stops by the grizzlies and we were on our way back into the heart of the city... A little worn out from the day!

Portland

Upon the return from Wisconsin, Marty had a few hours to sleep and he was off to the airport to Portland for a conference. We couldn't be left out of the crazy fun but we did give ourselves a couple of days. We met him out there right as the conference ended. I was not thinking time change when I booked our tickets. I had us landing around 11 which is not really an issue for Madi and Drew but when 11 Portland time is 1a.m. our time added an interesting twist. The kiddos did great though and Daddy was able to meet us at the gate! Our room in Portland was quite possibly the smallest hotel room we have ever been in but we made due. After we spent the morning trying to exhange our rental car due to a problem, we had a lot of fun just walking around the city. Marty loved the food trailer block. They did have some pretty great food there.

 The kids found a fountain area and played for a bit.

 Later we drove to Seaside... the area was beautiful, the water was foot numbing freezing, we had a blast, Madi and Drew got soaked and we had to buy them Seaside promoting apparel, and we shivered while eating our ice cream before heading back in to Portland!

Wisconsin

The time seriously flies when we go back to Wisconsin! It is unbelievable - before we knew it it was time to leave. We stayed pretty low key this summer. The kiddos truly just want to play with their cousins and don't want to spend to much time in transit!

 The Olympics were on this summer so they decided to attempt a synchronized jump into the pool. Yep... they need a lot of work.

They also created a new sport "tennis ball" - baseball with tennis rackets. We all had a good time at the park playing together. The way back was probably the most fun though! As most of us piled into the back of the truck... a few brave ones went on foot or scooters, etc. Marty running with the baseball bag was entertaining. Uncle Chuck was seemingly funny riding a scooter and appearing to chase Caleb and Drew on it. Lisa yelling out the window about the creepy guy chasing the boys and seconds later passing Khris' neighbor (an police officer) with many kids hanging in the back of the truck as well as the boys sitting on the tailgate drinking - Lisa appropriately chimes in with - this is legal right! Needless to say he shook his head turned the other way and pretended he never saw us!

 Drew loved climbing this tree... pretty sure he gave Grandma a heart attack though!

 Glow in the Dark Swimming

 The attempted campout that turned into the camp in! I think Michaela and Hollie made it out all night!

 The kiddos - The tree!

In the grand scheme of things posting this now, many months later makes this picture more memorable as Grandma and Grandpa have since moved. This is more than likely the last picture that we will ever get in this tree!

The girls making naan with Uncle Marty as they requested it and wanted to learn. Yep... we ran out of rolling pins and they are using a wine bottle! It worked amazingly well!!!

Madi's Birthday!

Since we had just gotten back from the Bahamas right before Madi's birthday, she decided instead of going away somewhere for a couple of days that she would have a low key birthday day at home and then get to stop at the American Girl store in Dallas to shop on the way to Wisconsin a week or so later. So her requests were a rainbow cake and Main Event.

 Rainbow Cake

 Dance, Dance Revolution with Daddy

 Rock Climbing for like 2 hours!

Last of the Bahamas

So I am now ridiculously behind on this blog - I am going to attempt to catch back up - what I can remember at least!

The remainder of our Bahamas trips was full of snorkeling and feeding the fish, hanging out at the beach, swimming, swimming and more swimming! Love the Atlantis though Marty is vowing not to go back after spending yet another birthday at the Atlantis with swimmers ear.