The Carousel

The girls did not want to leave Washington before heading to Jantzen Beach so they could ride the carousel! This really was such a fun trip!

Leveled

After visiting OMSI for the day with the kids, I took Ben for a drive. Whenever I go home, I often make my family go on the "Shelley Show" drive. You know . . . we visit my schools and the other houses my family lived in and such. Definitely the highlight of the trip for them, I am sure!

I don't think ANY buildings from my past have been torn down yet (until now). But, I'm not counting college buildings. BYU and formerly Ricks College do updates to their building and campus all the time . . . so I realized once I started going to BYU that I would probably not see some of those buildings one day.

SO . . . THIS is different. My first elementary school, Orchards Elementary, was torn down a few years ago I guess. It was replaced with a big, pretty, new building in a slightly different location.

The foundation is still there though (along with some of the bathroom tiled floors), so I was able to pick out where I believed different things to be. I went to this school from Kindergarten through most of 3rd grade.

I had weird dreams the night after looking walking around this place. It was a little traumatizing!

OMSI

Oregon's Museum of Science and Industry! So fun! Located in Portland, Oregon.

Am I at the Coast?

Um . . . I have NEVER worn my swimsuit to the Coast before. Well, maybe once when I was still single. . . but honestly, I remember that really I was just trying to pretend that it was warmer than it was. And I NEVER got in the water . . . it's never hot enough outside to WANT to.

We went to the Seaside, OR during our trip, and it was at least 95 degrees! I could not believe it! When I think of going to the Oregon Coast, I imagine cloudy skies, wind, COLD, eating elephant ears, flying kites . . . NOT a Southern California experience. Well have it be known that on July 7, 2010 . . . I felt like we were at a California beach . . . in OREGON! It was crazy and so much fun!

Ben wanted to wear his swimsuit to the beach, and the kids wanted to also. I brought my swimsuit too, but I also brought JACKETS. I only let my family bring their swimsuits because they didn't seem to understand that we were going to the Coast . . . and it wasn't worth the battle . . . I figured they would see that I was right soon enough.

My parents went to go buy these sweet wind/sun shades after being here for about 1/2 hour. Like I said . . . it was a little hotter than expected. Okay . . . now that I am thinking about it . . . I guess we knew that it was SUPPOSED to be in the 90's that day . . . but it was just so hard to picture it actually coming to pass.

I'm so glad they all wanted to wear their swimsuits . . . and I'm glad I brought mine! Now my kids think that the Oregon Coast is hot . . . so we will have to come again sometime under more normal circumstances so they can get the REAL Oregon Coast experience! BUT . . . it was really fun to have this kind of weather!

The Next Day

I took our family on the classic elementary school field trip . . . to Fort Vancouver. For me, this place is much more interesting as an adult! For those who don't know, Fort Vancouver, established in 1825, was the hub of an extensive fur trading post for the British Hudson's Bay Company. In 1866, the original buildings were destroyed by fire. I didn't get a good picture of any of the buildings, so the one above is taken from somewhere on the internet.

It is a pretty interactive place, where tour guides will take you through the buildings and tell you about them, do demonstrations and such. It doesn't seem like much has changed since my elementary school days.

We stayed at the Fort for an hour or two, and then went to a nearby park for lunch.

I had my boys match!

Anyone Seen Twilight?

Anyone recognize these falls from the first Twilight movie? Multnomah Falls received a few seconds of screen time in that movie. So . . . I guess that means I am from a pretty cool place!

Day 2 of our trip was so much fun . . . and a workout! To start out, we hiked Multnomah Falls. It is only about a 1 mile hike. But that baby backpack . . . I tell ya . . . made me feel so out of shape. I don't think I have ever thought of Multnomah Falls as a "hard" hike before. I need to start wearing that thing around more often! Ha!

Oh, and if anyone is wondering "why doesn't her husband wear that backpack for her"? It is at my request. I like the workout. But more importantly, when Gwen gets tired (and she always does) Ben can carry her (she's a bit heavier)!

We made it to the top!

Next, we went to Cascade Locks to have a picnic. It felt SOOO cold! It is so windy out there!

Here is my favorite part. It seems like it became tradition years ago, that after a hike to Mulnomah Falls, one must get ice cream at this little place that looks like a hole-in-the-wall. These "flavor burst" cones are awesome! I had been thinking about these cones the whole week before we came!

It helped that the sun wasn't really out. The last time we were here and got these treats, they melted in about 30 seconds!

Since we were in the area, our next stop was the Bonneville Dam.
Here the girls are looking at the fish trying to swim upstream.

Some of the salmon were humungo!

Here's a fish ladder.

These are generators that use the water to generate electricity. Doesn't this room look like a government secret or a movie set?

Stay tuned for day number 3!