These Are The Days We Will Remember: Oregon Part 1: The Columbia River Gorge & Cannon Beach

Mark and I decided to go to Oregon and visit our families this summer. We got to visit with my family in Banks, Forest Grove & Hillsboro and then visit his parents on their mission in Eugene. Since there was so much to the trip and SO MANY pictures I decide to brake in down into 3 different posts. On our way to Oregon we stopped in Boise to visit some of my good friends from college from dorm days :) Angela Stark and her family were kind enough to take us in for a night and it was so fun catching up with her, meeting her husband and her cute kids. Jaden had lots of fun playing with Jared & Nora and I sure had fun seeing Angela. The next morning Angela & I met up with Lindsey who I roomed with for most of college and went out to breakfast at IHOP. It was fun catching up with everyone. We laughed alot that morning... Good times... Good times...

After Boise we headed for my sisters house but not before stopping in one of my favorite places in all of Oregon... Cascade Locks in the Columbia River Gorge. There is a Restaurant called "Char Burger" that overlooks the Columbia River Gorge and is right next to a beautiful bridge called "The Bridge of the God's" It is my favorite spot in the Gorge and I was so excited to show it to Mark. We stopped and had a picnic dinner and took in the view and let Jaden stretch his legs. Jaden was so excited to be out of the car for a while and it was hard to put him back in but he was such a trooper. He really is a good traveler and the DVD player was there when he'd hit his limit.

We stayed the night at my sister Ronda's and Jaden enjoyed with his Aunty DooRah (Ronda) that evening and she was so sweet to give him a little Doggy that blows bubbles out it's mouth (he still calls it his DooRah bubbles to this day). Thank you Aunty DooRah! Then the next morning we met my brother Patrick and his wife Stacy and the kids and headed to the beach to join up with my brother Jim and his family. We met a Seaside which had changed so drastically in the past several years I hardly recognized it. It had become a majorly crowded tourist trap... There were so many new buildings and the streets were so crowded with people it almost made me closterphobic. But it was still a ton of fun. We visited the Carosel and the crazy hat shop and the Candy shop (Mmmm...). Then we headed for the beautiful Cannon Beach. (I so Love Cannon Beach!) It was a grey, cloudy, misty day as is so typical on the Oregon Coast but it was still breathtakingly beautiful. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and just played and talked. At one point in the midst of our talking we heard a loud roar and the collective voices of those playing and walking down below on the beach screaming... I looked down (we were on higher ground) from our grilling and picnicking spot to see a rouge wave crashing with great speed toward the beach and everyone on the beach running frantically for higher ground. Thankfully most of the young kids were up with us but there were still some of the others that were playing below we did a frantically fast head count and breathed a sigh of relief as we realized everyone had made it safely although a little soggily in along with the rest of the coastline. After enjoying a wonderful day with the Dowd's (my side of the family). We packed up and headed to Eugene to spend the next several days with Mark's parents.

Jaden & I with my niece Tara and her daughter Sara and she also has another baby boy on the way...

I thought this was a pretty unique picture... This is my oldest brother Jim with his first grandchild and I'm holding my first son...

Cheese!!! Jaden on Cannon Beach with Haystack rock in the background...

Yay Beach!!!

What a glorious day Mommy!!!

Walking on the beach...

Mommy & Jaden walking hand in hand...

Daddy & Jaden playing in the sand

Soo Cute!

Daddy & Jaden taking a stroll...

My brother Patrick and I... If I look like a "Stay Puff Marshmellow" in these pictures it's because I've got four layers of clothing underneath that jacket! I was trying to readjust to wet Oregon cold which is alot different than dry Utah cold!

Cheese!

Jaden and Sara

Jaden being so cool & so cold!

Mark brought his golf clubs to Oregon spefically so he could hit some golf balls into the ocean. And as you can see from the pictures he loved every minute of it!