Our first view of Oregon was our favorite....three cousins holding up signs to welcome us!
This was the view from one of the windows upstairs in my sister's family home.
Since Sarah homeschools her children, they have a wonderful playroom filled with educational resources. The kids woke to board games before breakfast every morning!
We visited lots of parks! This was one of the main parks of Eugene, which was a scaled-down representation of the city itself, with Skinner's Butte portrayed as the playset (which was high up), a well which the children could pump that would turn into the Willamette river, carve through the landscape "valley" and the kids could dam up the river with sand here in this spot. There were little buildings to play in to represent the first hotel, city hall, country store, etc. Such a wonderfully imaginative park!!!!
We went on campus and visited the natural history museum where we learned about the dramatic beginnings of the state of Oregon, involving many volcanoes and plate tectonics!
The scientists discovering fossils.
Our hike to the top of Skinner Butte, overlooking the city in the valley.
A picnic lunch overlooking Salt Creek Falls.
And this is what we watched as we ate!!!!
We stopped to take pictures of the "Three Sisters," part of the Cascadian Mountain Range. We were so excited to see snow in July :)
My little adventure boy at Sunset Cove.
Sand dunes outside of Newport Beach, off the coast. We stopped to do some "sledding."
This is a picture I took through the windshield of our car (see the dashboard at the bottom of the photo?) We pulled into a parking spot in this was our view. Enchanted forests abound in Oregon!
We hiked up Heceta Head to visit the Keepers house and the Light House.
These kiddos loved hiking together. What a bunch of troopers!
A sister moment! :)
I could not capture the majesty of the nature we were seeing with my little iphone!
We were hiking over volcanic basalt rocks and visiting tide pools. The mists were all around.
We had hoped to spot some whales but we were told they had migrated for the summer!
We stopped at Nana's Irish Pub in Newport on the way home for some comfort food. I had chicken pot pie!
It looks like all we did was eat, but I promise we hiked a lot too :) Here we are at Off the Waffle after Mass on Sunday getting ready to devour our treats!
We did go home every now and then :) Here's our beautiful niece Mary practicing her viola. I wish I could have caught some footage of Owen on the violin and piano. These kids are phenoms, and I don't feel bad to brag on them since they're not my kids! ;)
After a scenic trip to the winery, we stopped for a special sister dinner together. I love my big sissy Sarah who makes everything so special.
One more trip to campus where Uncle Josh works before we left. We ate at the Wild Duck. Go DUCKS!
A hike on the Ridgeline Trail. We ate wild blackberries along the way!
B on a sand dune on the way to the coast.
Josh and Bronius at the Brewery.
Me and Mary on a walk
Boys playing basketball on the only flat surface in the neighborhood.
Me and the boys with Spencer's Butte in the background. :)
Mary and Me in the Rose Garden.
Sarah & I
Goodbye magical land!
