Thursday, August 31, 2023

Beatlemania in Oregon, Lake Tanwax with the Christensen's, Cape Lookout Camping Trip

We had a wonderful month of August.  We did lots of fun things together as a family and the twins spent 3 weeks in Corvallis taking a Chemistry class...which was super hard but they did really well. We had great weather and explored some new places as well as enjoyed our yearly campout with the Christensen's and at the coast.

I went to Jacksonville, Oregon for a fun weekend with my friends Robin and Sherry.  We had tickets to see a Beatles tribute band called "Rain" This is the cute airbnb we stayed in:)

Got caught spending all my husband's money again!

We had a lovely Italian dinner before the concert

This band was amazing!  They played songs from years of the Beatles music, starting from their early days on the Ed Sullivan show...

...through to The Sergeant Peppers era and they ended with a recreation of their final concert together on the rooftop of Apple Studios in London.  I sang along to ALL the songs and had so much fun!!!

While I was having a wonderful time in Jacksonville, Hyrum lost his mast while he was out sailing.  It just broke right in half and all the sails and everything fell into the water.  I'm super glad no-one got hurt and that he was able to retrieve the sails from the water. No more sailing for us until we get a new mast up...you can tell from the photo this made Hyrum very sad:(

I tried to sneak a few more fun outings in before the twins left for Corvallis for their 3 week chemistry class.  We went into Portland and enjoyed the food trucks at Hawthorne Asylum

A nice walk along the river in Portland

Cool entrance to Portland's China town

And of course a stop at Voodoo donuts!

Hyrum, Julian and I spent an afternoon at Hagg Lake with our Ashby relatives (related to Hyrum's Durtschi side of the family) Julian and Liam Ashby are pretty good friends:)

Julian loves to paddle board!

It was a rainy evening so the family went to the church for a nice game of badminton 

The Matilda's (Australia's Women Soccer Team) was in the FIFA world cup finals and we wanted to watch the game live so we got up at 3 AM.  The Matilda's didn't win but it was still awesome they made it to the final 4 teams!!

I took the girls from my Activities Day group to Fern Hill Wetlands for a little walk.  These girls are all super great, I love this calling!

The twins cooking their very first meal at their home in Corvallis all by themselves.  I was so proud of how well they took care of each other and the house while they were there.

Raking up just a "few" of the millions of apples that fell off the tree in Corvallis!!

Julian and Townsend paddle boarding at Lake Tanwas in Washington.  The Christensen's are always so wonderful to invite us to come stay every year.  I love this little, peaceful getaway and I look forward to it every year:)

Townsend's first attempt at wake boarding.  He did amazing!

Just hanging out with my BFF Kari 💕

The group photo. We are missing Maggie Christensen and Emerson (who decided last minute to relax at home instead of join us at the lake)  I adore this family and love all these kiddos.  I love that our friendship has withstood the test of time...going on 15 years!!

We ran out of gas in the boat so while we were out on the lake so Hyrum and Townsend came to rescue us and brought us some gas:)

Getting ready for a fun tube ride behind the boat

Hyrum had a bunch of fun sailing this little boat around the lake:) The Christensen's have so many fun toys we get to play with when we visit:)

An early morning kayak on glassy waters

The Christensen's are raising goats now so we couldn't leave without stopping by their house to say hello to the cute baby goats!  I'll try to not think about how they sell these guys for meat when they get big enough!

After leaving the Christensen's near Tacoma Hyrum and I drove up to Port Townsend to buy a new mast for his sailboat!  He bought 2...just to be safe:)

We had a lovely time walking around Port Townsend before the very long drive back to Portland

I took Julian and some of his friends to Hang lake for a fun day of swimming and sunshine...

...followed by a frozen yogurt treat!

Julian took some private fencing lesson with Coach Kelly.  I think it really helped him improve.  I'm not saying he loves fencing but I think he at least likes it...for now.

Camping at Cape Lookout with Jacob Greathouse

A beautiful walk around Sitka Sedge state park

Climbing on the rocks in Pacific City

A short hike to a very unimpressive waterfall, Munson Creek

Sunset on the Oregon Coast 

We explored the tunnel and beaches at Oceanside

Julian doing his best James Bond impression. This shot is in the beginning of all the James Bond films and has Bond being shot through the barrel of a gun:)

Cape Meares Lighthouse

I think this tree is pretty cool but Jacob and Julian wouldn't even take their picture with it...so uncool mom!

Beautiful Kilchis Point Reserve.  We love walking out here, the trail is so peaceful and there is rarely anyone else around.


No trip to Tillamook is complete without a stop at the creamery...man I love this place!

I took Julian and Jacob to a new park that opened in Hillsboro on 53rd Street.  It was a great park but it was so crowded, Julian was ready to go after about 30 seconds!

Trying not to kill myself on these cool balance logs


August was so much fun.  I can't believe I live in such a beautiful part of the world and I get to enjoy this place with my family and wonderful friends.  I try to love each day I live but when I look back I realize just how crazy lucky and wonderful my life really is!



Monday, July 31, 2023

Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and Durtschi Family Reunion

 It was awesome we got to get together with both sides of our family in one summer.  After the Johnson reunion we drove out to Driggs Idaho for the Durtschi family reunion.  All of the siblings were able to make it to the reunion but my boys and Sam Doxey were the only grandchildren that could come.  We had a wonderful time with Hyrum's family.  Lots of hiking and yummy food and we watched old videos from when they were all little kiddo's...so fun!

We drove through Yellowstone National Park on our way to Driggs, Idaho.  This was our first bison sighting!

Hot springs are cool to look at but they are sure STINKY!!

A bison hanging out by the hot springs

The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River in the "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone.  This place was so pretty! 

It's hard to capture the beauty of this canyon, waterfall and river.

This little geyser was putting on quite the show for us!

The mud pots were cool to watch because the mud bubbles would grow bigger and bigger until they popped and they made a real gross sound when they popped 😆

The colors in some of the thermal baths were quite beautiful!

Family photo in front of Old Faithful

The old lodge at Yellowstone National Park, built in 1904!

Inside the lodge

After leaving Yellowstone National Park we stayed at a cute little cabin for the night.  The next day we drove in Grand Teton National Park to meet the Durtschi family at Jenny lake for a hike around the lake.

Hiking around Jenny Lake.  Everyone was certain we would see bears but all we saw were some ducks and some bugs...

...and a cute little moose cooling off in a pool of water!

The whole group hiking around Jenny Lake

Swimming in Jenny lake after the hike to cool off!!

A cool old barn with the beautiful Teton mountains in the distance

We made a stop in Jackson, Wyoming for a little ice cream treat and the touristy photo in front of the elk horns on the main square!

Went for a hike the next day on Teton Creek trail with Andrea, Oma, Katrina and Steve Doxey

The view of the Teton mountains from the top of our hike...so pretty!!

While we were hiking this very cute and easy(ish) trail, Hyrum was hiking up Table Mountain with some of his brothers.

The wildflowers were still out even though it was late July!

The view from Table Mountain!  Those Tetons seem close enough to reach out and touch:)

We took the boys swimming at Green Canyon Hot Springs.  Hyrum remembered going here as a kid when he was in Driggs for family reunions...he said it hasn't changed much in 30 years!!

The pool was filled with freezing cold water.  The boys challenged themselves to stay in the water for 2 minutes!!

It was a great place to swim, hopefully we can come back in 30 years and see if it's changed at all!

We toured around some old barns in Driggs that Hyrum's grandfather, Fredrick Durtschi, helped to design and build.  It was neat to be able to connect with a piece of family history that is still around.

Townsend and I peeking out a barn window

I loved this old house with the Durtschi name above the door:)

The Durtschi family reunion group in front of one of Fredrick Durtschi's barns

At the Pratt Cemetery in Alta, Wyoming where Hyrum's Dad is buried.  This is Oma with all 6 of her kids:)

Another group photo in Pratt Cemetery with the Teton Mountains in the background

On our last day all together we took a ski lift up Grand Targhee for some amazing views!  This is another shot of Oma with all her kids.  She was so happy everyone made time to come together for this short reunion.

The boys getting ready to hop off the chairlift at the top of the mountain

What a beautiful day to be on top of the world!

The Durtschi boys!!

Oma and Emmett heading back down the mountain on the chair lift...I love Oma's face in this photo:)

Playing games with the family

We introduced everyone to the game of Kubb:)

A beautiful sunset on our last night in Driggs, Idaho

Townsend watching the sunrise on our way out of town the next morning. I'm so happy the boys all came on this family reunion.  It's so important to feel connected to your history and your past and to be able to spend time in a place your ancestors lived in...what a treat!