Dinner Out

Our California friends treated us to a nice seafood dinner out while they were visiting in Portland.  We had a great time visiting, and the food was delicious! The kids were as good as could be expected, but I was reminded why we don't go out for a nice evening meal that often with them. 

 

 Londyn had a lot of fun playing with the remains of the lobster.  Who knew they could provide such entertainment?!?

All the kids enjoying their dessert!

 Me and Rebecca, one of my favorite people! I met Rebecca when I started my first long term sub position in California as a brand new teacher. We hit it off right away, and actually ended up at the same school the following year.  She taught fourth and I taught fifth, but we were still able to collaborate and bounce ideas off of each other constantly. I'm not sure how I would've survived my first year of teaching without her. 

So thankful we got to see each other this year.  I think we are on an every three year rotation, but I'll take what I can get!

Oregon Zoo

We did actually visit several zoo animals, but we had an equally good time trying on masks in the gift shop trying to stay dry.  It was a little cool outside for my taste, and a little drizzly to start, but it was a great day to visit the zoo because apparently the animals are fond of cooler temperatures.  The zoo was one of our mini adventures with our California friends, and even though we frequent the zoo in Tulsa, it never seems to gets old. 

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Family Day at the Falls

On our first official Oregon outing, we headed to Multnomah Falls. By we, I mean our family of five, Kevin's parents, and my friend Rebecca and her family that drove up from California to see us in Oregon.  We got off to a bit of a late start, stopped at a lookout point, made it to the Falls, decided we were all too hungry for the hike, and decided to pull out the picnic lunch instead.  After we had lunch, we stopped at another area along the way in hopes of reaching another waterfall, but the hike was a little too treacherous.  However, considering that we didn't actually accomplish much, we did get to enjoy the beautiful views. 

 Rick, Rebecca and their nephew Angel

 This is a sorry attempt at a family pic in front of Multnomah Falls. We were all kind of tired and irritable at this point.  Maybe it was just me, but let's just say everyone.

 I think Lincoln was ready for a nap. The poor boy could hardly hold his head up.

We Made it to Oregon!

Our summer is a bit crazy and wonderful all at the same time.  We got back from NYC, stopped in MO to see the kids, and headed back to OK for Kevin to work a day and attend a dinner event.  We then headed back to MO to fly out to OR to see Kevin's family.  We arrived and spent the first evening and the majority of the next day relaxing which is about how long it took for me to recooperate from the travel time.  I enjoy going to places, but I hate the process. I almost hate it enough to not go....almost.  Anyway, these pictures are pretty basic hot tub/pool pics, but the fact that they are in their Granmommy and Grandaddy's backyard makes them special.  The first thing they did when we arrived was head to the pool. Mind you, it's not hot here, at all.  It was a cool 65 degrees, but that wasn't going to stop these goofy girls from getting their promised swim time in.

 Swimming was followed up by smores, a little frisbee....and more swimming. 

Father's Day!

In the midst of our crazy summer schedule, it happened to work out that we were in Missouri for Father's Day. It's always nice to be able to be home for special occasions, so I was thrilled to get to spend Father's Day with a few of the men in my life.  I have come across several articles, quotes, sermons lately that talk about the lack of Godly men leading their families.  I feel very blessed that I am surrounded by men that put God first and lead by example.  It certainly makes life a little easier!  I am extremely grateful for my Father, and equally thankful for the wonderful Father of my children. I hope you all enjoyed your Father's Day, and an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends.

Kevin and the kids that were less than thrilled to take a photo.

Me and my Dad

I don't know why, but it always cracks me up to see these three together.  And even though my baby brother there on the right looks a little rough, he's a pretty good Dad too!  (Trent, you know I love you, but you have got to do something about that beard!)

NYC-Wall Street

And finally, we reached our last tourist destination before heading to the airport.  The only thing Kevin really cared about doing while we were in New York was visit Wall Street. We walked down wall street, visited the New York Stock Exchange, and of course, the Wall Street Bull, which is apparently more popular than I anticipated because we had to wait in a line to get a picture with it. 

 After we hit all the sites we had time and/or cared to see, we stopped at Crumbs Bakery for some sweets.  They were delicious.  We shared a cookies and cream cupcake, and a black and white cookie. 

This cookie may be my new favorite dessert. As if it is really possible to pick one favorite, but it's near the top of the list anyway.

That concludes our NYC adventures.  We really did have a great time overall!  It is always fun to go to new places and see things that I've never seen, but most of all, I am grateful to have time to get away from the day to day, and for Kevin and I to spend time together without the distractions of everyday life.  I'm looking forward to spending lots of time together as a family for the remainder of the summer! 

NYC-Brooklyn Bridge

After the Staten Island Ferry, the plan was to ride the subway to the Brooklyn side of the bridge and then walk back toward Manhattan.  Unfortunately, on the Brooklyn side for some odd reason, it got really cold all of a sudden, and started raining.  That made our walk a little more brisk than it would have been otherwise.  It also made it difficult to get any good pictures of the view coming into the city, but it was still beautiful. 

I tried to take a few more pictures, but the cold and rain was making Kevin a little bit irritable, so we pretty much just rushed across.  He doesn't get grumpy very often, so I figured I wouldn't torment him any more than necessary. 

Thankfully, we bought this handy, dandy umbrella the day before, and were really glad we remembered to bring it with us when the rain started coming. Funny thing was, as soon as we crossed the bridge and arrived at the Manhattan side, the skies cleared up and the rain stopped. We were able to enjoy a nice lunch outside and head to our final destination, Wall Street, by Kevin's request.   

NYC-The Staten Island Ferry

On the final day or our trip, I had several things on the agenda. Kevin actually got to spend the whole day with me before we headed to the airport that evening.  I had planned for us to ride the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, visit Wall Street and walk across the Brookly Bridge.  I am proud to say that under my planning and navigation we managed to get to each destination without any hiccups, and had time to spare before we headed to the airport. We even took the subway without getting lost.  It was quite an accomplishment. The down side is that it took us most of our visit before we figured it all out! Anyway, it was recommended by several online that the best way to get a view of the Statue of Liberty (without going to Liberty Island, of course) was to ride the Staten Island Ferry.  I thought it worked out well. There were great views of the city and the Statue of Liberty, and it best of all, it was FREE!  It was a pretty dreary day, but we still enjoyed the ride. 

 

 An attempt to get a picture of both of us that also included the Statue of Liberty.  You can kind of see her back there.