February

 Fun times in February

Molly Shaw got me and Marci Daley out for another fun hike, this time around Willamette Park in Portland

The hike ended at some very delicious food trucks!  I will definitely be going back to eat!

Some friends of mine organized a day out for a chocolate factory tour.  This factory makes vegan chocolate which I was skeptical about but it was actually quite good.  "Chomp" chocolate in Salem, OR

I wanted to take Julian and his friends to a trampoline park for his birthday but when we got there the place was too crowded...so we headed over to OMSI.  The kids had fun looking at all the science exhibits.

We had lunch at MOD pizza, and even though Julian looks grumpy I think he had a good time with his friends.

After lunch we came back to the house for cake and presents.

Julian was very happy when school was cancelled...on his BIRTHDAY for a snowday!

We picked the twins up so they could be with their brother on his birthday.  We went to Gustav's german restaurant in Vancouver, WA.  The boys all love the schnitzel!

Happy 14th birthday Julian!

We took a little family walk around Lacamas lake.  It was fun to be out in the snow.

Hyrum and I saw a wonderful performance of Carmina Burana in Portland, such a great show.  At the end I just jumped out of my seat and couldn't stop clapping.  Well done Oregon symphony and Portland State choir!

San Diego with Del and Lori

 My brother Del and his wife Lori recently moved to Arizona.  Since they are relatively close we planned to meet up in San Diego for a fun couples weekend.  I love getting together with family and I'm so happy Del and Lori made time to hang out:)

We flew in on a Friday and the weather was amazing!  Low 70's and sunny...sadly the was the only warm day of the weekend but I soaked up as much sun as I could on Friday.

First stop...fish tacos!!

We saw tons of cute little squirrels hanging out on the rocks near Coronado beach

A beautiful walk along the beach on Coronado Island

I found gelato!  It's always a good trip if I can get gelato:)

Del and Lori, these two are so fun to hang out with:)

Heading out for a boating adventure on a replica of the ship "America" which is what the America's Cup is originally named for

The captain put the sails up but we motored most of the way.  The sea was pretty choppy and I bet he wasn't sure how much of a crazy ride everyone on the ship would get if he turned off the motor.  Still a very fun morning sailing.  We saw whales and dolphins and sea lions!

Some sea lions enjoying the sunshine

After the sailing trip we went and got some dinner than walked along the San Diego waterfront and saw a beautiful sunset.

Walking over to Del and Lori's hotel to watch Wakanda Forever.  Their hotel was just across the street from ours...it was perfect!

At the koi/duck pond in Balboa park

Del did some of his military training in San Diego when he was right out of high school.  The military base is just across the street from Balboa park so we got a chance to see a bit of where he trained.

Del and Lori had to leave early because they were driving all the way home to Arizona.  Hyrum and I didn't have a flight until that evening so we were able to stay for the free Sunday organ concert they hold each week at Balboa park. It was so fun and the organist was talented and a did a great job introducing each piece of music.  What a great, free and fun thing for the city to provide.

I don't get to hang out with my family very often because we are all so spread apart but I do church the times we get to be together, even for a short weekend trip.  I hope we can meet up again soon Del and Lori!

January

 January had some fun and interesting adventures.  Here is a glimpse of what we did:

Julian was ordained a Teacher in the Priesthood at our church.  Townsend and Emerson were able to be there for the ordination, I love having my family all together:)

A dead whale washed up on the beach near Astoria, OR.  We went out to see for ourselves.  It was a juvenile sperm whale, pretty big and impressive.  It looks as if it got caught up in the motor of a passing ship, there were big slash marks on its side...super sad, but also kind of cool to see up close

After we saw the whale we walked along the beach for a while and we couldn't resist the cool clouds and great scenery for this picture of Julain

Molly Shaw (on the left) got a bunch of us together to go for a hike, we explored Lacamas park. It was cold but the sun came out every once in a while and at least it wasn't raining!

The same group of ladies got together the following week to do the 10 falls hike at Silver Falls State Park. This is such a great hike in the winter because all the waterfalls are spectacular!

We picked up the twins for their birthday weekend.  We started with a yummy german dinner at Otto's and Anita's.  The food was ok but not as good as the Biergarten (which closed down recently 😞) 

After dinner we had tickets to see the magic/comedy show Penn & Teller.  It was lots of fun:)

My twins are 19!!!

Julian had a day off of school at the end of the first semester so I took him and some friends to Mt. Hood to go tubing.  It even snowed for a bit, which was pretty magical.

At the Ratskeller restaurant in Government Camp after tubing.  I think Julian had a great time with his friends, I love that he has such a great group of people to hang out with

Costa Rica

 My friend, Jody Dean, knows that I will say yes to any suggestion she makes about traveling or doing something crazy together.  So when she suggested I sign up for a yoga retreat in Costa Rica I checked  to make sure my passport was still valid and then said, "I'm in!"  I don't really practice yoga and I wouldn't say I'm necessarily good at yoga but I am ALWAYS up for an adventure:)

On the bus ride to our resort.  It took about 3 hours to get from the airport to the resort.

The bus driver stopped in the town of Nicoya so we could see this beautiful old church of San Blas.  It was built in 1644!

A cow enjoying a stroll down a busy road:)

It became cloudy and rainy as we drove to the resort.  Even though the bus ride was long we got to see so many little towns and beautiful scenery

Checking into the Bodhi Tree resort in Nosara, Costa Rica.  They gave you super cold coconut water when you check in...very refreshing.

The resort was "all inclusive" and the food was absolutely amazing!  

Our home for the week we were there, very cozy and comfortable

I love visiting new places and seeing the interesting plants and animals

We saw howler monkeys on our walk to the beach!

The beach was wonderful, the water was so warm.  It's so humid in Costa Rica that a dip in the ocean was very nice

Jody's yoga skills are amazing!

Fresh fruit smoothies...yum!

Every morning at 7:00 AM we did 1/2 hour of meditation followed by an hour of yoga "flow" What a beautiful room to practice yoga and to start my day:)

Jody and I during meditation...very Zen

Yeah, just a friendly boa hanging out in the tree by my house

We used these cute little tuk tuk cars to get into town

Walking around a fun jungle trail

Fish tacos!!!

Enjoying a banana cocoa smoothie by the pool...life is good

A fantastic sunset during the end of day restorative yoga class

This was the whole group that came for the yoga retreat.  I only knew Jody but by the end of the week I had made quite a few new friends:)

Yoga is so good for your body and mind

There were a lot of yoga classes in the afternoon that Jody went to but I wanted to explore more of Costa Rica so I spent my afternoons wandering around the jungle and shopping in the little town and going to the beach...and eating fish tacos:)

The bar at the retreat made a delicious lime mojito!

Jody and I being silly...we are good like that:)

On a big military truck heading to a zip line course

We drove for about 45 minutes up and up into the mountains

Let's do this!!!  I was scared at the beginning but then once you realize you aren't going to fall it's pretty amazing to skim the tops of the trees as you fly through the air with the condors.

Back at the resort, this place is so pretty

I spent my last day at the beach...had to soak up as much sun as possible before heading back to rainy Portland!

Goodbye Costa Rica, I will hopefully be back one day:)