A Perfect Escape from the City

We recently got back from a wonderful vacation in Oregon with my family. We got to see everyone, and it was delightfully relaxing. I love being at home! The first day we were there, we overlapped with my brother, Jeremy, and his family.  It was so fun to play with everyone!

 We got to have a little fun with nail art with Anne the manicurist. She loved getting to paint our nails, and she sat perfectly still for me to paint hers. Unfortunately, we discovered that the lime green nail polish was almost impossible to remove, so Mom and I both looked like our fingers and toes were moldy for a week.  Oops. At least Anne had fun.

 Kelson won Anne's heart by making her a glass of chocolate milk at dinner. 

Chocolate is definitely the way to this girl's heart.

 I finally got to meet my new nephew, Will. Isn't he sweet? There is nothing better than snuggling a squishy, sleeping baby.  Love it!

 When I asked Kelson what he wanted to do for vacation, he said that all he wanted was to be outside. What better place to do that than home in Baker? Our first adventure was a little exploring near Elk Creek. I love the mountains.

 All Kelson wanted was to get in a river, so I stopped off by the road and let him climb in.

 The top layer of our wedding cake was still in my mom's freezer, so we followed tradition and ate some to celebrate our first year of marriage.  It was pretty stale, but we did each try at least one bite.

 Dad has been really excited to have Kelson and I come so that we could all go hiking and fishing and do manly stuff like that. Our first hike was on the Elkhorn crest trail above Anthony Lakes...or at least that was the idea.

 This is Dad and Kelson attempting to read the map and figure out which trail we should take.  I'm not sure about the skills of these two boy scouts.

 We ended up on the trail going to the peak of the mountain instead of the one going around.  It got a little bit steep, but the view from the top was beautiful.

 People ask me if I am from the "ugly side" of Oregon. I think not.

 Dad and I quit a few hundred yards below the top, and Kelson climbed all the way up.  See the little dot up on top of the peak? That would be Kelson. I almost had a heart attack when he started climbing and hopping down the cliff face. Crazy boy.

 From there, the boys decided it would be best to leave the trail (which I was under the impression was against one of the cardinal rules of hiking) and bushwhack our way down the mountain until we found the right trail. That was an adventure. I wasn't sure if we were ever going to find this elusive trail.

 Apparently I should have had more faith in my men, because we finally ended up where we wanted to be, and we finished up a great hike.

 The next day, it was time for another great Baker summer pastime-floating down the Provo river. Perfect way to cool off in the hot weather!

 We packed up the camper, and the whole family headed up to Wallowa Lake for a few days of rest and relaxation. Our first morning, I hiked up to the waterfalls with Dad and Kelson.

 On the way back, we had to cross the river, which didn't have a bridge where we were. Instead of walking down to the bridge, of course the boys chose to make use of a series of logs. What's the fun in a bridge?

 After our hike, we threw on our suits and hopped into the freezing cold lake. It was a bit chilly for swimming.

 We played three rounds of mini golf. I will take it any day over the real thing.  Way more fun.

 Paddling around the lake in a paddle boat. We got around much better once I let Kelson steer. Apparently he really has learned some important skills in the Navy.

Dad and Kelson spent lots of time fishing, and they were so proud when they finally brought home a trout. There was just enough for each of us to have a taste.

 Saturday, Kelson had to fly home so he could go back to work, and I stayed in Oregon for an extra week with my parents. Mom and I started off our mother-daughter week with some delicious frozen yogurt.

Mom and I wanted to do a craft one day, so we followed some instructions we found online for how to make your own chalkboard paint with non-sanded grout. We decided to make a magnetic chalkboard. It worked great, except that we mixed the whole can up at once, which was apparently a mistake. Grout has cement in it. Oops. Within a couple of hours, our can of paint was the consistency of warm tar, so we had to use it up fast. We started painting everything we could find, including a metal bowl, a plastic bucket, some beadboard, and a couple pieces of styrofoam. We are now the proud owners of lots of chalkboards.  Take home lesson: only mix up a little bit of chalkboard paint at a time.

Mom is such a good shop partner!

 We had a great vacation. Thanks for all the fun, Mom & Dad!