Oregon Trip 2015 Part 2: Fun With the Hindmans

Kelson had to go home after our week with his family, but Sarah and I got to spend a couple more weeks at my parents' house. It was so much fun relaxing and just being there with my family. Sarah loved spending time with her grandparents and her cousins.

 The first weekend we were there was Miner's Jubilee, and Jeremy's kids were there visiting as well. Mom and I took the kids to the park for an elephant ear. The kids were all big fans of the fair food.

These kids love their grandma! I'm not sure who was stealing lemonade from who here. We will just say they were sharing. 

 Saturday morning was the Miner's Jubilee parade. Animals and guys in funny cars ride by and throw you candy? Sarah thought this was the best idea ever. She was less excited when I took away the blow pops. 

 I think we collected almost enough candy for everyone.

Sarah tried to go along on the trip to Seattle.

The next day, Sarah fell asleep on the 5 minute drive home from church. It was much too late for a nap, and I figured she would wake up when I brought her inside. She slept through the transfer, multiple tummy raspberries, and a diaper change. She is her father's daughter.

 Grandma's house is so much fun! Sarah loved playing in the play house and the gravel box. She requested to go outside as soon as we got up in the morning.

 We went to Union one day, and Sarah did some splashing in the creek at Uncle Donny's house.

 There isn't anything much better than a creek on a hot day!

 Grandpa & Sarah checking out the goldfish in our friends' pond.

My little pioneer girl.

 Ah, summer. Just relaxing.

 Aunt Katy got to come from Portland to visit for one weekend. We were so excited to see her!

Aunt Katy and Sarah having a little Winnie the Pooh time. Katy is an expert on Pooh.

Sisters are the best!

I took advantage the free babysitter to get some sewing time in. Sarah and I looked pretty cute in our matching outfits. Girls are so fun!

Someone discovered where Grandma keeps the chocolate chips. This kid can sniff out chocolate from a mile away.

 Sink baths were a favorite activity at Grandma's house. She once spent almost 2 hours in there.

What, I'm not supposed to be on the table? But there was a dinosaur up here!

We found Sarah a walking, talking dog at a yard sale. She was in love. She insisted that puppy needed some breakfast, so I got her a bowl of cocoa puffs. Sarah was glad to assist the dog with her food. Of course, now she thinks that dogs eat chocolate.

Jeremy's family stopped by again at the end of their trip and we all had fun making s'mores in the back yard. Managing 4 little ones around a fire is a little bit exciting, though. Sarah was ready to dive right in. 

Our last night there, Grandma & Grandpa took Sarah for a walk and then Sarah and Grandma had a little snuggle. Sarah fell fast asleep. This girl sure loves her Grandma. Thank goodness for FaceTime so we get to see her every day!

Kelson's Family Reunion 2015: Oregon Trip Part 1

We were so excited to spend some time with family this summer. We hadn't seen any of our family since Christmas. Living thousands of miles from our loved ones is rough. Sarah is a great flyer and slept for at least half of the trip, so our travel wasn't even terribly painful.

 My mom met us at the airport, and Grandma was Sarah's best friend within seconds. Sarah & Grandma talk on FaceTime almost every day. Sarah was pretty excited to have Grandma in real life.

 The morning after we arrived, we went to my grandpa's house to get it ready for our family reunion. This was the first time since we got married that we were able to get all of Kelson's family together. Baker City was a good central place, and Grandpa was kind enough to let us use his house. 

 Kelson's parents,brother, sister and nieces arrived that afternoon. Sarah was quick to adopt Aunt Jehana as a new friend. 

 Sarah followed her three cousins around like a little puppy all week. The girls had a great time.

 It was unusually rainy for Eastern Oregon during our reunion, so we treasured any sunny hours that we could spend outside. We gathered a bunch of boards for the girls to draw on, and then Kelson cut their designs out with his Dremel.

 Uncle Kelson was very popular when he pulled out the bows and arrows. The girls were pretty good archers. The adults got to have their turn later.

 Biggest dandelion ever! Make a wish!

 Sarah found some arrows. She wasn't interested in shooting them. Instead, she started waving them around and singing Bippidi Boppidi Boo. Magic!

 Then there was this one time when Kelson accidentally fired an arrow in to the canoe. Oops.

 Don't worry, Kelson was in charge of damage control on his last ship. He was qualified for this situation. He found some epoxy in the shop and fixed the hole.

 We took everyone to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and learned about the pioneers. Cold wind!

 We went to my Uncle Jerry's house at Medical Springs and swam in the hot spring-fed pool, managing to sneak in between thunder storms. Sarah absolutely loved it. It's like a giant bath tub!

 Another morning, we took the (repaired) canoe up the mountain to Anthony Lakes and paddled around. We saw lots of jumping fish and watched an osprey dive into the water.

 Beautiful!

Kelson gave all of the girls rides on the lawn mower. That was a very popular activity.

 I'm big enough to drive this alone, right?

Kelson's birthday was the day after his parents were leaving, so we celebrated a day early with homemade ice cream and yummy strawberry cupcakes. Sarah enjoyed adding the ice to the ice cream maker.

All of that cranking was worth it!

Sarah usually doesn't like ice cream, but apparently this was extra good. 

Kelson always has strawberry pie for his birthday. This year, his sister made yummy cupcakes instead. They definitely satisfied our strawberry craving.

Sarah & Nana

The boys did some shooting. I gave Kelson a rubber band gun for his birthday. The shotguns were necessary for the clay pigeons. 

Getting all four of these girls to sit still for a picture was just about impossible. 

Attempting to hit targets with a slingshot. 

Sling shot shooting is much harder than it looks. We were pretty unsuccessful.

The next day was Kelson's actual birthday. Sarah and I made him a delicious breakfast of a smoothie, breakfast burrito, Riesens, and gummi bears. Sarah couldn't wait for Daddy to wake up so she could share.

We had a relaxing afternoon at the library and the park.

Wee!

We had birthday dinner and ice cream with huckleberries at my parents' house followed by presents. My parents gave Kelson a kit to make his own gummi bears. He was pretty excited. He had a great birthday. We love him so much, and we loved being able to celebrate him with all of our family there.

It was a fun week with Kelson's family. We don't get to spend time with our family often, so we truly treasure the time we do have. Kelson had to go home just after his family left, but I got to spend another couple of weeks with my family. More details to come!