2 - Boys Will Be Boys

Hanging out waiting for lunch to be served at Jimmy's Classic Drive In, Grants Pass.


"I got my nose."




"What?"

1 - All Aboard at the Railroad Park

Today was the first day of Ryan's Train Adventure! His mom gave him the cool conductor's hat to wear on his trip. Our first stop was the Railroad Park in Medford. We had a short wait in line to catch one of the miniature steam trains that traveled around the park through tunnels and over tressels. After our ride we explored the REAL trains and of course, rang the bell! Stay tuned! More train adventures scheduled later this week!

Summer Skies

After a week of extremely hot weather - triple digits in Southern Oregon - we were rewarded with this spectacular sunset.


This one is a little dark, but the clouds looked like perfectly formed cotton balls.

12 - Roll on Columbia, and Roll on Home

Wednesday morning we wished Ry a Happy 3rd Birthday, expressed our gratitude to Sarah for taking such good care of us, shared hugs all around, and headed east to see the Columbia River (and Washington on the other side!) Now we could have just driven over the bridge on I-5 into Washington and gazed at the mighty river. But what fun is that? Instead we drove out I-84 to find the Vista House. It had been a few years since the last time I was there, and I didn't remember how WINDY it is up on that bluff. Carly and I giggled as my hat blew off and she struggled not to blow away too! We laughed at the thought of her holding on to the railing and flapping in the wind like a flag.

See she's holding on tight!

The view of the river was worth the effort it took to stay grounded!


We discovered we were very close to Multnomah Falls, so why not drive a little farther east to see it too.




Enjoying a mango smoothie before a trip to the gift shop.


One more stop before leaving the big city --the Portland LDS Temple. The grounds were closed so we tried to get a picture from the street. Carly was very disappointed that she couldn't walk around the grounds or go inside.



We left Portland around 1 PM and planned to be back in Redding by dinner time the next day. Overnight in Grants Pass, say goodbye to Granny Barbara, stop in Mt. Shasta to fill our water bottles in the headwaters of the Sacramento... Home Sweet Home!

11 - More Favorite Photos

Here are a few more... all but one of these shots was taken by Sarah with her new digital Canon EOS.

10 - Just Hanging Out - A Little Down Time

On Tuesday afternoon we decided to stay cool by staying inside. The kids watched movies while Sarah tried to get some work done. It was nice to just hangout awhile after the last few days of "touristing."

Snuggling up to watch a movie



(This last one taken by Sarah. I'm thinking Ry adores his mom.)


Ry & Kelly built a Tinker Toy "Christmas Tree"



By that evening, Carly was a little more than homesick. So we agreed to get her home a day early. One more day in Portland to see the "Mighty Columbia", a night in Grants Pass, and then home to Redding. Eight days is a long time to be away from home when you are 7 years old!

9 - A Morning in Downtown Portland: Part 2

Tour Guides: Sarah, Sue, and the boys
Tourists: Carly and Kelly

No trip to Portland is complete for me without a visit to Powell's Books. If you are not familiar with Powell's --"Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books." Need I say more...

I don't think Carly was really aware of that she surrounded by millions of books... we never left the Children's section! She picked out a book for each of her sisters and brother; and two for herself. As for me, well I could have stayed all day... but we were shopping with 3 children who were looking forward to the fountain at Jamison Square.

Jamison Square is the cool hotspot in the Pearl District. The temperature was well on it's way to a high of 105 degrees and the fountain was the place to be.









(Last 3 photos taken by Sarah)

I am beginning to think these two fit together like "two peas in a pod", "peanut butter and jelly", "cheese and crackers"...

Before we headed home for lunch we took a quick trip across the street for "ice cream appetizers" from Cool Moon!