life is just a bowl of cherries: August 2008

We are back from our travels from Oregon, the family reunion was awesome! We arrived in Portland on July 25th - we made the ambitious decision to travel over to Cannon Beach before heading south to Grants Pass. Portland to Grants Pass is 4 hours, traveling to Cannon Beach added about another 3 hours! It was BEAUTIFUL though, Haystack Rock was pretty amazing! We ended up taking the 101 south for a while, which is really pretty but also slow! I decided to try an 'alternate route' using Tomtom, which basically means 'avoid all major highways'. So, it took us in the right direction but avoided the 5 at all costs! We finally figured that out and got on the main drag down to Grants Pass. We arrived about 10pm and quickly got to see everyone over at my aunt Peggy's house. The best thing about my family is that everyone is so inviting and things seem to just pick up as if we saw each other everyday. My aunts seem exactly the same to me everytime I see them - the picture in my mind today is the same one I had 20 years ago. Does that mean I'm getting older?

Saturday was 'rafting day' - which I opted against being 6 months prego - Dan went though and had a blast! I went to the pool with my little neices and two sisters (Allison and Heidi). My niece Lane could entertain me for hours on end. That little brain of hers is amazing! Saturday night was a big family dinner at an Italian place in Grants Pass. I can't say a lot for the food, but the place was perfect for hosting our big family outing and it was great to just sit down and chat with everyone.

Sunday we went to my uncle Mark's church for service - the service itself was a lot more formal than I'm used to, but the message was great and it was really neat to see the work he's doing there. We went to a big park that evening where we barbecued and chatted. Probably the most entertaining portion of the trip was watching my mother play volleyball. My mom, iron'maiden' as they call her - two-time ironman finisher, triathlete extroardinare cannot, I repeat - CAN NOT play volleyball. I'm not sure I've ever seen someone so uncoordinated! The funniest part is she is not shy about it at all - most people who are challenged at sports avoid the spotlight. Nope, not my mom - GOT IT! THAT'S MINE! - just a few phrases she likes to shout during her playtime. She falls, misses completely, hops around like a rabbit - I am laughing just writing this! Very entertaining, my aunt peggy and I almost peed our pants watching the game!

OK now we're off to the lake on Monday - which was BEAUTIFUL - I just loved it there. We rented a boat on Tuesday and spent the day on the water. I stuck to the ever so risky sports of kayaking and paddle boating. I ventured a few times out on the boat to spectate - my sporty husband of course was doing 360's on the knee board!! We ate great food, played games, got to know each other - it was seriously one of the most memorable trips of my life. It was unexpected how special it was to me. Dan participated in an 'initiation video' - I've included the link to that - a MUST see!