4th of July 2014

We had our friends Pam, Amanda, and Jody visiting us the week of the 4th this year.  Early in the week we visited Multnomah Falls and then Pam took us to Benihana so they could do a birthday celebration for Charlotte a little early.  Neither Tim nor I had ever been there and it was such a fun experience!

The next day we went on a jet boat tour on the Willamette River even though it was a chilly and cloudy day!  On the way back we were able to visit the famous food trucks they have in downtown Portland and it even warmed up and became sunny outside! 

For the 4th of July we drove up to Longview to meet my Dad and Debbie for the Cowlitz County Go Fourth Festival at Lake Sacajawea.  There was food and there were vendors and then the fireworks.  It was a late night because Pam, Jody, and Amanda had to be at the airport at 6 the next morning and we didn't get back until midnight, but I am glad they were able to spend the holiday with us because we had a lot of fun!

 

Camping at Silver Falls

We just got back from our first camping trip of the year.  I booked this place a couple months ago and we have been looking forward to it.  We went to Silver Falls State Park which is only about an hour and a half from home.  Before we left we knew the threat of rain was looming.  I have never camped in the rain so we didn't know how to be super prepared but we did what we could! We arrived Wed. afternoon with just sprinkles in the sky.  We got all set up and went down to see the creek behind our site.  As we were down there it started to "spit" a little more.  We were able to enjoy the rest of the evening and went to bed pretty early.  In the middle of the night it began to pour (we know this because sweet little Charlotte was up at 3...) and in the morning it was no different.  At this point I was wishing I had brought something easy for breakfast but our plan was pancakes, bacon, and eggs (because what's camping without it!) So we moved the table a little, put up a tarp, and cooked and ate under shelter.  We waited for the rain to die down and headed to the waterfalls.  I could tell from the map that the distance to the first two waterfalls wasn't too bad.  The distance wasn't bad but I wasn't thinking that in order to get to a waterfall we would probably hike down...which meant hiking back up.  Tim and I would have been fine but this was not a hike to do with two little kids!  We survived...I carried the backpack and helped Gracie while Tim carried Charlotte all the way (it was a three mile loop 800 feet down and then 800 feet up) The highlights were the two waterfalls which the trail took us behind.  We were tired and soaked by the end because we got caught in a few serious down pours but we laughed about it and got to have a yummy lunch at the historic lodge at the end.  We got the girls some things to keep them occupied because the weather didn't look like it would change much so it was going to be an afternoon and evening in the tent.  We were surprised with some breaks in the rain to be able to do s'mores after dinner and a nice long walk around the campground.

Our spot

Happy little campers!

Praying for the rain to go away :)

Walking to the bathroom to brush teeth!

Goodnight!

Good morning!

Rain, rain go away

Lacie...you're supposed to be a water dog!

This was literally a curtain of rushing water...truly amazing

Almost done...

A well deserved lunch :)

Taking the wheel barrow back from getting firewood

It rained and rained so we ate in the tent

But it stopped!

Goodnight!

7 years

This week Tim and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary.  I say this every year but I really do look back on that day and have such great memories.  The best thing Tim and I did was take someone's advice to take some time during the reception to walk away a little bit to be able to look at "your party" from a distance and get that visual memory.  We walked a little bit away from the reception and everyone dancing on the deck and just stood there and watched as brand new husband and wife.  We looked at the circle of support we have. We admired how many people love us and were there enjoying this day with us.  Then we went back to re-join our party.  I have a couple of regrets but for the most part would have done everything the same.  I don't believe there is any wedding that is "the perfect wedding" but our wedding was perfect for us...partly because it wasn't perfect because we aren't perfect.  With that said, I wouldn't have left that night for our honeymoon...we took a flight around midnight to Aruba and were so exhausted by the time we got there that we had to recuperate and lost some time.  This year it was fun because Gracie is old enough to understand what an anniversary is and she was so excited about it.  She still doesn't understand why she didn't get to be at the wedding ;) This year we did something really fun to celebrate.  I saw a Groupon for PaintNite and one of them happened to be on June 23rd.  My Aunt Carrie came and stayed with the girls and we enjoyed dinner and drinks and then painted our masterpieces...haha...but they are perfect for the play room.  The girls were very impressed!

Here is a note Gracie made us...Tim and me holding hands at our wedding...and that is her at the bottom...like I said, she REALLY wanted to be there!

Dancing

Last weekend I took Gracie to see her friend Anna in her first dance recital.  Charlotte stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Debbie and Gracie and I had a great time at the recital which lasted nearly three hours!  She sat and watched every one of the 55 dances and was in awe of each one...especially the fancy costumes.  She told me she can't wait until she can be on stage.  She has also been playing "ballerina" a lot since then...which is where I put ballet music on Pandora and she dances...she takes this very seriously ;)

Great job, Anna!