Air and Space Museum & A Little Piece of Heaven

Today we made the trek to McMinnville to the Evergreen Air and Space Museum. This was something Brian really wanted to do, although he was a little afraid the kids wouldn't enjoy it. Luckily they had a section for kids with all sorts of interactive stations and a playground outside with the equipment in the shape of a helocopter, a spaceship and an airplane. They all had a great time, and learned a lot. Brian's first stop was Howard Hughs' Spruce Goose.

The kids loved the shuttle ride!

The Spruce Goose. That was one big plane.

Inside the Spruce Goose.

Tyler next to the B-17 Bomber we got to tour.

The enormous Spruce Goose.

Inside the B-17

This is an actual piece of the Berlin wall. That was amazing to see.

An SR-71, the fastest plane. This was the other plane Brian really wanted to see. Today we saw the biggest and the fastest. What better way to end the day than to wind our way through a beautiful forested neighborhood and find this at the end? I had hoped to do a session here, but it is closed while we're here. As you can tell by the work being done. It was gorgeous.

Another fun day with the family. While driving home we asked the kids what they each liked best about today. Tyler said the Spruce Goose and the kids play area. Elsie said the kids play area. And Grace said, just being with my family! Ohhh...I love my family so much. I love these times we just get to all play together!

The Coast

We are now having a blast, since Brian doesn't have work so now we're just on a vacation. Since we only have a few days to get in everything we want to get done,we packed a lot into today. We took off for the coast with a long list of stuff to do and see. First stop, of course

Elsie was quite pleased with herself, and has decided she's going to grow up and become mayor of Elsie, Oregon. However, the town is more like a village. If that. It's everything you see behind her in the picture. There was hardly room to pull of the side of the road to take the picture. Next stop, Astoria.

Just a cool house we happened upon?

Umm...nope! I'm married to a Goonies fan!

Tyler doing the Truffle Shuffle! Another male member of my family, who shall remain nameless, also performed the truffle shuffle outside of the Goonies house. However, for the sake of all, I will refrain from posting those pictures. It was funny though.

This was a beautiful little town! Next, on to Seaside.

By far Sofie's favorite part of the trip. She LOVES carousels and she almost jumped out of the stroller when she saw it. The other kids liked it, too, but Sofie loved it.

Down the road to Cannon Beach.

Haystack Rock

Tyler and Grace's favorite part of the day. They loved the beach and playing in the ocean. No one minded the 67 degree weather. The water wasn't even cold. We had fun playing. Tyler got way out in the water.

Sofie was hilarious. She loved the sand. She would lay down in it, bury her face in it, and roll around in it. It was nice and warm. She was covered in dirt, all over in her hair, ears, nose, everywhere. Last stop, Tillamook!

Elsie, the cow, mooing

The "tour." They had just finished up for the day and we got to see the clean up. Fascinating!

Elsie favorite thing of the day, the ice cream! This one isn't really a must see. I wish we would have spent a little more time in Seaside and rented the bike buggies instead of doing the Tillamook factory. Oh well. We're debating going back out on Monday and leaving Tuesday, instead of Monday. But I don't know if it's worth going all the way back out for. The kids had a blast today, and so did Brian and I. Brian's a big Goonies fan, and I kind of am as well, so it was a great day! We especially love spending time together as a family. I see the picture of Tyler and Grace together at the beach today and I am reminded of why family vacations are so important. These are the times we really bond and our kids really appreciate each other. (They also tend to fight more in the car as well.) Hopefully they're building some lasting memories and bonds to last a lifetime. I sure love this little family of mine.

Multnomah Falls, Bonneville Dam and Fish Hatchery

Since Brian's time has been freed up, we took off to hike Multnomah Falls, the most visited tourist attraction in Oregon. It was beautiful.

We also went to the Bonneville Dam. We got to see a boat in the locks and explain to the kids how they work.

We saw the fish ladder at the dam, where the fish jump the ladder to get up stream. The trout were huge.

Waiting for fish to jump at the fish ladder

The trout from the under water view at the ladder. You can't tell how huge they are.

With Tyler standing next to it, you can kind of see how big they were. We also went to the fish hatchery. It was interesting, and the grounds were beautiful. Their claim to fame is Herman the Sturgeon (they claim is the largest sturgeon). He is pretty darn big. The kids thought he was a shark.

And finally, I had to add this picture of a tunnel in Portland that I was in awe of. The houses are built on top of the tunnel!

***about my earlier post, I am elated!!! I am thrilled that Brian gets to come home with us and now doesn't have to stay here through October. WAHOO!!!

Err...Make that 8 Nights

So, major change of plans and this blog is going to be a lot shorter than I thought. Brian just found out that Intel has decided to scrap the project he's been up here working on for the last 2.5 months due to funding issues. So after we finally come up here with Brian, they cancelled the project. Yep, we've already leased the townhouse for the month, and paid for it. Brian's boss wants him back in Salt Lake. We're going to take a few days, now that Brian is free from any work up here, and go see the sights. We'll head out Monday, and maybe take a detour home and see something new. We'll see.

Around the town fun

Um...Really? On the Interstate? And only two lanes?

How does anyone get around here??? Cool tress!

I know why there's a tree on the Oregon license plate. This is the tree state. It is beautiful. Today we went with Cristina to a splash park. The kids had a blast. It's nice to know someone here to help me find these fun things to do with the kids.

Me and Cristina

Guess who liked spaghetti for dinner?

I had to check out Trader Joes to see what all the fuss is about. Well...not so bad!