Portland Trip, Part Two

After our week with everyone at the coast, we stayed to enjoy extra days of Payne vacation in the beautiful pacific northwest.  Mom and Dad are gracious to allow us to invade their space for that long!  And they were able to be flexible with work so we could enjoy adventures together.  Kaye K took all of us to the Portland Zoo one day:

We were sitting directly under a perch during the bird show, so we had a CLOSE-UP view of the birds flying right towards us (see the colorful beak of the toucan heading our way)!

Mom and Dad's backyard is magical.  And Kaye K made it more enjoyable with s'mores and her stories.

Our bunch of Paynes took a day trip to hike on several trail stops driving towards Mt. Hood.  It was perfect weather, and our crew handled all the hiking with minimal complaining.  I think the cronuts (think: a croissant married to a donut) from Joe's Donut Shop on the way was just the morning energy everyone needed. 

The base of Mt. Hood at the start of our longer hike

The view at the end of our hike - glorious!

Another shorter hike in the heart of Portland with Mom and Dad, still enjoying views of Mt. Hood in the distance

Our second day trip was with Kaye K and Big Daddy to Hood River, with a stop at Multnomah Falls on the way

We drove along parts of the Fruit Loop, stopping at several orchards and farm shops.  Though I don't have a photo, we'll never forget our first fruit stop was across the street from the factory where Juanita's tortilla chips are made.  We wandered in, watched the most delicious tortilla chips being made and packaged, and then I unexpectedly crossed paths with one of Juanita's daughters!  After chatting for a bit, she sent us on our way with five free bags of WARM Juanita's chips - amazing!  They rivaled the juicy peaches and samplings of EVERYTHING we enjoyed at the next fruit stand stop:

A lavender farm

Picking rainier cherries (which we paid too much for, but we won't remember that, will we, Mom?!)

Our last stop fruit farm stop was to scavenge for raspberries:

Big Daddy gave each of the kids a few dollars to spend at the orchards and farm shops, so we made sure to choose wisely for our last treat stop where they used up all their treat money!

Unexpectedly, our trip coincided with my 20-year high school reunion.  Ryan had to fly back for work, but the kids stayed with my parents so I could drive down for an evening of seeing old friends.  Some of these friends I hadn't seen in almost twenty years, but catching up and reminiscing was so much fun!  A group of us met up before the reunion dinner.

And then it was time to pack up.  This sweet girl is a big of a pack-rat!  I asked her to empty her backpack and get it ready for the plane ride home.  Here she is, showing me her collection of "treasures" =)

It was a fantastic trip and, despite being gone for over two weeks (a long time to be away from home), we were all still a little sad to be leaving.  What a gift to have time with family in a beautiful place!  We returned home with full hearts.

Portland Trip, Part One

We spent two weeks in Portland this summer.  It was one of our best family vacations!  

The girls brought a bag of legos to play with while waiting for our flight.  My rule is that screens have to wait until we're on the plane . . .

. . . plugged in a ready to go.  Delta Airlines making dreams come true with personal screens =)

My goal during our time in Portland was to stay outside as much as possible!

You know it's going to be a good vacation when the sun is up, cousins are playing, and everyone is still wearing their pajamas!  Kaye K and Big Daddy's badminton net was a total hit (no pun intended!).

Nana joined us for the first few days - what a gift to have four generations gather together and make memories that even youngest will remember.

Hike/walk through the Portland Arboretum . . .

And then we all drove to stay on the coast for a week.  Eight adults with nine kids ages 2-11!  The weather could not have been better.  Mom and Dad found a great house for us to stay in a short walk from the beach.  After everyone arrived and dumped off for stuff, we headed down to the coast:

The youngest cousin needed time to warm up to the feeling of sand!

Glorious blue skies and warm sun

One day we packed a lunch and went for a hike to Drift Creek Falls

A fun suspension bridge near the end of the hike 

The cousins from oldest to youngest (missing Stark, who was napping)

Tired little legs needed help getting back to the vans =)

  

This is a little of what it looks like to feed  17 people with a random collection of kitchen utensils and dishwater

Grandparents-of-the-year award goes to Kaye K and Big D, who brought a wading pool AND enough water balloons for a fun family fight!

How many people can YOU fit in one hot tub?!

Bookend cousins:

Despite the inevitable whining along the way, it's so fun to go hiking with all of our families together!

Feeling small along Cascade Head Trail.   

Each evening, after kids were in bed, the adults took turns planning something fun to do together.  We took turns providing dinner to eat together.  The kids got along and enjoyed running around the fenced-in yard, playing on the tree house and in the "bamboo fort," and each couple got to share a meal with just Mom and Dad.  We didn't sleep great, but played a lot of games and laughed a lot.  I'm so thankful for the week together.