More Vacation Fun

A few more shots from our family vacation on the Oregon Coast: 

"Makin' a cake!" with daddy.

Sandy boys.

Beach bum. 

Never a dull moment with this kid!

Proposal Rock

Rolin wasn't much up for standing in the giant shark mouth. Can't say I blame him!

Breakfast at The Cafe on Hawk Creek. 

Sea stars at the aquarium. 

Magnet fishing at the aquarium.

Hurricane simulator at the aquarium. Rolin was...well...confused:

We had packed a picnic lunch, but, in true Oregon-Coast style, it was pouring rain during lunch time. We made the best of it in the car!

On our way back to Washington at the end of the week, we stopped at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Ore. It's a HUGE complex, made up of several buildings. The Spruce Goose is there, along with quite a bit of air and space exploration paraphernalia. It took us about three hours to get through what we could before they were closing up shop, but it would be easy to spend an entire day or two there, if you're really in to aviation and space (like any wife and mom of two boys should be, I (now) understand). 

Rolin got to ride solo -- meaning by himself and as the only one on the ride -- in this neat airplane ride. They had the area roped off as there was a field trip happening, but upon seeing little Rolly, the older gentleman in charge of guarding the area offered to let Rolin in for a little fun. He was all smiles the whole time!

We ended our week at Justin's grandma's house for an early Mother's Day celebration. It was fun to finally see everyone all in one place!

Week in Aberdeen

Our week in Aberdeen was relaxing, even though there was much to do. 

We arrived and settled in late Saturday afternoon. On Sunday we went to church and then drove out to Westport Winery for lunch. Rolin pooped through his outfit on the way there (always a lovely surprise), so luckily I had some extra clothes with us. The winery was packed this time around, but the food was just as delicious. They had live music, too, and the singer/pianist, Ericka Corban, was one of Lee's former students. She came over to talk to us for a while and gave us a CD. She's quite talented -- Norah Jones-like.

Rolin enjoying a banana at Westport Winery. 

We all went to Friendly Flowers in Elma on Monday to get flowers for the rehearsal dinner arrangements. Friendly Flowers is a lovely little nursery owned by some of Lee's relatives, Pat & Leland. In fact, Leland's grandpa is the source of Rolin's name! 

Me, Karen, Lee, Rolin, Leland and Pat at Friendly Flowers. 

Rolin's "smelling the flowers" face at Friendly Flowers.

Rolin and I went to Rochester on Tuesday to see Kelly and baby Jaxon. I failed, for the second time, to get a picture of the two kiddos together so you'll just have to take my word for it! Kelly and I went to WSU at the same time and got to know each other when we both lived in Community Hall. We had some good times together, for sure! The following pic has nothing to do with my visit to Rochester, but it's proof that I have, in the past, remembered to take a picture of a time when Kelly and I were in the same place!

Kelly and me, long before Jax & Rolin were twinkles in our eyes.

Justin's birthday was Wednesday, so the Team Thompson went to lunch at Savory Faire in Montesano, the venue where rehearsal dinner was to be held. We wanted to check out the restaurant and go to a place in the Harbor we've never been. We arrived during lunch rush, but Rolin held it together and Justin and I both liked what we ordered, even though I can't remember what I ate because I was constantly moving things out of Rolin's reach or taking away things he managed to grab!

After lunch we drove wwwaaaayyy out to Wynoochee Dam just to see what there was to see. It was a gorgeous drive through all the forest land in the county. I can see now why Justin has a chainsaw chain tattoo on his leg. Wait...what's that, you ask? Yes, it's true. But if you want to know more about his tattoo, you'll have to ask him yourself.

Turns out, there is just a dam to see. And the lake behind it. 

The lake behind the dam -- looks like it would be a hoppin' spot in the summer!

The road there is paved now, but back when Lee & Karen worked at Camp Grisdale, it was a terribly pot-hole infested and windy road. Camp Grisdale, as you'll read on the sign pic below, was a logging camp. Upon its closure in 1986, it was the last logging camp in the nation. Lee and Karen lived at the camp and taught school there for two years before they moved to Aberdeen. 

After our trip to Wynoochee, we picked Lee up at school and then darted up to Olympia so the boys could try on their tuxes. After we returned, it was time to dine on Justin's favorite dish of all...Frankfurter & Bean Supperdish. I don't like to admit that I actually like this dish, so I won't. 

Thursday we relaxed until birthday party time. (We waited until Thursday to have more of a "party" for Justin so Curtis, Kate & friend could join the festivities.) The evening was complete with grilled steaks and homemade rhubarb pie -- a recipe courtesy of Justin's Grandma Grace. 

Enjoying snack time with Grandma Karen.

Rolin loves with Grandpa Lee reads The Animals of Farmer Jones!

Getting in some playtime with Grandma before dinner.

Wrestling with Uncle Curtis!

Friday was a day of last minute to dos, a bike ride for the boys and rehearsal dinner prep. The weather was unexpectedly nice, so we all enjoyed some time outside before rehearsal. 

Rolin and I stayed home during the church part of the evening, but met up with the gang for dinner at Savory Faire. 

Me, Curtis, Karen, Lee & Rolin before they left for rehearsal at the church.

The Thompson Family!

Rolin did amazingly well at dinner, considering it started at his usual bedtime. All I can say is thank goodness for Baby Mum-Mums! We were served blackberry salmon or prime rib -- both were incredibly delicious! Dessert was a decadent amaretto bread pudding. Ohhh, my. It was rich, it was dense, it was flavorful. Trust me...I'll go back to Savory Faire for the bread pudding, if not for the salmon!

Team Thompson at rehearsal dinner. Photo courtesy of Chelsea R. 

Saturday was wedding day! I'll have to post about that later -- it deserves its own post! The sun was shining, the bride was gorgeous, the groom was all smiles and the event went off without a hitch!

Sunday we hit the road after breakfast at The Bee Hive in Montesano. We also stopped outside Elma to visit with the Ellingsens who were in town to celebrate their son, Ethan's, first birthday! It was great to see them and to meet Ethan. We're hoping Rolin's hair takes a hint from Ethan and comes in soon :)

Hope you had a fun birthday celebration, buddy!!

Ethan showed Rolly a few new tricks, like holding on to something and walking around it.

"See, Rolly? You just hold on with your hands and move your legs side to side...eventually you move to a new spot and then you can reach things your parents think they've moved far enough away from you!"

They also terrorized a poor, small dog. It didn't really stand a chance between two baby boys. The dog finally went and hid outside. 

No one likes the long drive home after a nice vacation, but we're thankful it was uneventful and we arrived home safely. It was a fun week with the family!

Sunriver -- Days 4, 5 & 6

Day 4 posted a while back. However, I forgot to post this:

The Emersons and the Thompsons parted ways on day 5 -- the Emersons headed back to Grandview, while Justin's parents and bro headed back to Aberdeen. Justin and I stayed an extra day and night because vacation was planned before Joe and Brianna set a wedding date...and as luck would have it, the wedding was planned for the following weekend. A special thanks goes out to my boss who let me stay in OR/WA instead of going back to Cali to work and then fly back to WA for the wedding. He said I could work from home in between events!

With an extra day on our hands, we decided it was time to do what most grown ups do on vacation when they have a vacation house to themselves.

Went to town to watch the final Harry Potter movie.

It was glorious.

It was a blustery day in Bend, so we also went to the Columbia outlet store for new outerwear.

On the way back to Sunriver we stopped off to hike to Benham Falls. The clouds looked ominous, but we decided to proceed...our new Columbia outerwear made us feel invincible.

Mind you, it did rain. Oh, did it rain. But, the clouds did make for some beautiful pictures.

As luck would have it, we had a bottle of bug spray in the car and decided to take it with us. It seemed every mosquito was on the prowl that day, and they had it out for Justin. And Justin wasn't having it.

If he would stop for even 20 seconds, they would attack. Not even the bug spray could keep them away. We reached the falls, took a few pictures, felt the first of the rain drops and decided, "well, if you've seen one white-water water fall, you've seen them all," and bid Benham Falls adieu. We made it back to the car only half soaking wet.

Why do boys like to climb out on rock ledges? I took this picture just in case I needed to show the park ranger in the event Justin slipped and fell.

Closer to the resort I saw a sign for the Lava Cast Forest and asked to drive out to it. Remember...I was diggin' the lava on this trip, so having seen the signs up and down the highway for this Lava Cast Forest, I wanted to check it out. The rain had let up, so Justin agreed.

Now, usually, when driving a car, the driver reads signs around him to simply be informed and aware of their surroundings/location. At least to be aware of the distance between point A and point B. Well, my dear Justin is a different case. Signs mean nothing to him. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

I, however, did see the sign after we exited from HWY 97, which read: Lava Cast Forest, 9 miles.

Knowing full well that Justin would have tried to convince me we didn't actually need to see the Lava Cast Forest, had he been privy to the distance, I decided to bite my tongue and enjoy the scenery.

Suddenly, the road went from smooth and paved to bumpy and unpaved. We slowed down. We slowed much. There was not a soul to be seen. Anywhere. Some deer ran in front of us a ways ahead, but that was it. Justin started to get visibly agitated, and it wasn't just because the road was bumpy and unpaved. A few more minutes went by and then...I saw it: a paper plate stapled to a tree, acting as a mile post marker. The number? Two. We'd gone just two miles.

Justin didn't see that "sign" either. If he had, I don't think he would have thought much of it because he didn't know the forest was nine miles off the freeway in the first place. Eventually he asked how far in this place was, so I told him...

...............silence................

Teehee.

We rounded a corner and saw the entrance sign. Again, not a single soul is out visiting this sight. Odd, I thought, for it being so well advertised along the highway. A small info sign at the entrance told us that along the trail there are trees that were surrounded by lava, but didn't burn immediately because the lava was pahoehoe so the trees eventually burned or died, leaving casts, or molds, of the trees behind. In other cases, the trees grew up out of the lava in weird ways, affected by the lava, like so:

I really thought...no, hoped...there would be more than just a few trees looking like that...simply for the sake of my husband who was a good sport and drove out to the middle of nowhere to appease his wife's temporary lava obsession.

I scooted ahead to see what else there was to see, leaving Justin behind to take pictures of the trees. I was soon out of Justin's sight when I heard it: a low, breathy growl. I stopped in my tracks and slowly looked over my shoulder, expecting to see a werewolf, an alien, a killer orca, a bear, a mountain lion.

I saw nothing. But I heard the breathy growl again.

I turned around and started to book it back down the trail, as fast as my poor-choice flip flops could carry me. I said to Justin, as I scurried past, that it was time to go. I noticed that he was taking his time, snapping a few more pictures, so I said louder, "It's time to GO!"

It is a lovely picture of the flowers...

He replied, "Oh, haha, do you have to go to the bathroom? Cuz it's about, haha, a thousand miles of gravel road away."

I opted to keep quiet. I dared not let the forest monster know where I was by following my voice.

Finally we got to the car, safe and sound, and I told him about the growl. He let out a nervous laugh, looked around, noting again how we're in the middle of nowhere with no one around, and then hit the gas.

Apparently we missed the best part of the trail...the actual lava casts...We only saw trees coming up through the lava...we saw no casts. Boo. Maybe someday we'll go back. Maybe.

We celebrated making it out alive by going to Goody's for ice cream where I ordered one of the biggest banana splits I've ever seen. I couldn't move after eating it. It was a good end to the day.

Also, and I'm not ashamed to point it out, but it's apparent my Oil of Olay night eye gel hasn't worked a wink, no pun intended, for the last three years. Perhaps I should look into a different brand. Any suggestions?

Mama mia. At least now my spiral macaroni gray hair won't seem so out of place.

I'll spare you a recap of Day 6 -- it was spent on HWY 97, where I fought with my wireless internet card, worked in the car, drank a lot of coffee and ate a lot of white cheddar popcorn. We also stopped for a picture of this from the top of the Horse Heaven Hills.

The valley is a sight to behold.

Sunriver -- Day 3

The Emerson and Thompson clans met at the High Desert Museum in the late morning for a lesson on the history of Central Oregon.

Here we took pictures of fake animals:

Made paper quilts:

Took video of real animals:



Took pictures of old quilts we weren't aware were not to be flash-photographed until it was too late:

Yelled "Go Cougs" to the bronze(?) statue of a cougar. Who wouldn't? In fact, I dare any WSU alum not to say it while looking at this picture: 

 

Perused sets about the Old West:

And paid a little girl to keep watch over Karen and Lee as they shoveled sawdust.

Just kidding. Don't know that little girl. But Karen and Lee did shovel sawdust.
For fun.
It was part of the old log mill contraption at part of a settlers' camp. It still works!

After the museum we headed for the lava tube cave. Justin had purchased headlamps...we were ready.

It was a huge cave -- so weird to think it once transported lava through the earth. Kinda creepy if you think about it too long! It was cold and damp...two things I really dislike...but I really liked the cave tour! Daddy-o and I took a break a little past the half way point and let the rest of the group go on ahead. We knew it'd be dark in that cave, being that it was a cave, but turned off our flashlights when no one was around anyway, just to see how dark it really was. It was this dark:

Pitch black. So thankful we had flashlights to get us back out!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing at the cabin, with good food, good drinks and good company.

I'll leave you with pics from the lava cave. Stay tuned for more!

Karen led the way.

 The mouth of the cave.

 

This one gives you a little more of an idea of the size of the cave.

Heading in.

 

Who knew we were driving back and forth over this the whole time we were in Bend! Click picture for a bigger image.

Light at the end of the tunnel.

Thompsons in a cave.

 

Not the best picture, but here mom demonstrates how you could see your breath in the cave -- chilly down there!