Amy visits - July 2016

Living way up in the left corner of the USA and 3 time zones away makes me feel pretty far from family.  In some ways, it feels way closer than Switzerland.  In other ways, it feels the same: far away.  One funny thing about being far, is that somehow, being in the same time zone as someone, even if they live a flight away, makes you feel closer.  Like my little sister, Amy, in Las Vegas.  I know that I can call her after I put the kids in bed and it's not too late or too early to call her.  It's also a much cheaper flight for her (or me) to go visit.  So when Bryce planned his 10 day Montana fishing trip with friends at the end of July, I asked her right away to come stay for a long weekend.  She had never been up to the Portland area.  Here are a few fun pictures of her visit...

We took the kids downtown for a few hours and tried to stop at a few yummy spots like Pips Original Donuts, the food truck block, and Salt & Straw for dessert.  

Bend Fourth of July trip: Part 2

To continue...

Day 4 (Tuesday, 7/5):

We drove along the Cascade highway towards Mt. Bachelor and stopped at Cultus Lake.  This highway passes so many lakes-Devils Lake, Elk Lake, and Cultus Lake, just to name a few.  There are tons of outdoor activities along this scenic byway like camping, hiking, boating, and mountain biking.  We really had a hankering (for lack of a better term) to rent a pontoon boat on one of the bigger lakes to picnic, swim, and hang out.  We ended up at Cultus Lake as one of the few lakes that allow motor boating.  When we got out there, it felt freezing, probably in the high 60s with a strong wind off the lake.  We rented the boat anyways and went out on the water wrapped up in our towels.  Luckily, on the far side of the lake, there was a calm beach situated perfectly without much wind.  The water was really cold, so we didn't swim, but we did picnic, play in the sand, and lay in the sun.  It had me missing the warm North Carolina lakes in the summer, but it was still fun.

Bend Fourth of July trip: Part 1

We took an unforgettable trip to Bend over the 4th of July.  Bryce took a week off and the four of us had a different adventure every day.  We were able to stay at our friend's house (free!) for the entire week.  Back in July, the weather was actually cooler than usual not only in the Portland area but even in Bend on the other side of the mountains.  It was low 70s and sunny every day, so perfect for hiking and getting outside, but not quite warm enough for throwing on swimsuits and swimming as much as we had hoped.  Although we did spend the warmest day swimming all day.  It felt like a perfectly packed itinerary with lots of different things and the kids loved it as much as we did.  So, here's what we did, day by day.



Day 1 (Saturday, 7/2):

On the way to Bend, we actually stopped to do a hike.  It was on the way to Bend and a very nice place to hop out and take a break from the 3.5 hour drive.  The McKenzie River Trail to the Tamolitch Blue Pool was a hike we really wanted to check out.  Since it goes along the river, it wasn't straight up hill.  This was the first hike that we only brought one backpack for Carter.  Bryce and I miscommunicated about the length...I thought it was about 2 miles round trip so I was sure that Maddie could do it.  When we got started, Bryce said it was almost 4 miles round trip!  With lots of encouragement and probably less than 1/4 mile riding piggy back, she made it!  The blue pool was amazing, but difficult to hike/scramble down to actually put our feet it.  Lots of people were jumping in or just sitting around it.  One negative about the hike-mountain bikers shared the trail, so many times, we had to quickly move to the side.  Plus, it was pretty crowded, but with good reason.  Carter even enjoyed hiking a little bit when we first got started.