Trip to Oregon {part 1}

The kids and I had the great privilege of spending two weeks in Oregon with family!  The kids are at such fun ages to make great travel companions.

Thanks to Kaye K and Big Daddy's frequent flying, they had passes to share for our five-hour layover in San Francisco.  We found our corner in the United club lounge and camped out like we owned the place =)

One of our first outings in Portland was a trip to the Forestry Museum with KayeK and cousin Finnick.  The kids tinkered on an ornately decorated piano outside.

I took the kids to pick blueberries!  One of my favorite summer things to do in the Northwest.

Dutch Brothers coffee #1.

One of my favorite times from the trip were our visits to the coast.  Mom and Dad are a 1.5-hour drive to Cannon Beach where you can see Haystack Rock.  This was the kids' first up-close experience with the Pacific Ocean!  

This one wasn't posed . . . love him.





Bridgette can be a bit of a chatterbox, but Big Daddy was happy to listen! =)

A yummy breakfast out before church

Growing up, I heard my dad preach most Sundays.  What a gift to be in town the Sunday he preached at their church and sit under his teaching once more.

Sprinkler!

We joined Konnor, Tana, and their boys for a lovely Saturday morning nature walk.  Rooke led the pack of cousins on some adventurous climbing because they all followed whatever he did!

Jessie and I planned a meet-up day in Olympia with all the kids - so much fun!!  

We started with what was supposed to be a beautiful beach with a rocky shore.  Turned out to be a total mud pit!  So we scrapped that place and went to Plan B . . .

. . . a short hike down to a much more manageable beach shore with some cave-like structures for exploring

And who doesn't love Izzy's Pizza Buffet for lunch?!  

Sweet friends since birth

Aubyn and her kids drove down - HOORAY!!  We went back for more berry-picking all together!

Cutie cousins!

Fun in July

We joined friends for a BBQ on July 4th, and afterwards walked to another neighbor's house for some fireworks!  The special surprise of the night were these lanterns that the kids got to help light and let go.  They were beautiful!

We took a little family trip to a vintage furniture market.  In true Ryan style, his first stop with the kids after getting out of the car was straight to the donut stand! =)

The girls enjoying the chairs we brought home from the market 

Sometimes a book is just too good to put down!

Crafting sisters

Our church did VBS for our neighborhood!  Our family had so much fun taking part.  The kids had a great week, Ryan helped lead one of the groups, and I helped lead the singing. 

The girls got to join special little friends to a birthday party at the Yards Park splash pool 

G-Daddy came for a visit!  He was a perfect first guest for our new house: flexible, easy-going, and happy to explore (or swim!)

G-Daddy loves a good hike as much as we do, so we went to Harper's Ferry for some hiking before a storm blew in

Me and my crazies!

Time to Move!

If you've known our family long, you know that we have a history of moving about every two years (this started before the military!).  Our two-year mark was approaching, and we were earnestly praying for clarity on the next step when Ryan got a call about his new job assignment.  When the call came, Ryan was given a new job in the same building where he's been working the last two years!  We both immediately agreed it was good to take that assignment and stay where we are.  So we don't have to move, right?!  It couldn't be that easy =)  We did end up moving, but with a new exciting twist for the Paynes: we bought our first home!!  A good friend is a realtor and helped us look for houses in the same neighborhood we were already living in, but ultimately God provided a way to buy the house of our friends who were moving to a nearby town - win/win!

We signed all the paperwork in late May, but didn't move in for another month.

The excitedly scared smiles of first-time homeowners - ha! =) 

The Sunday leading up to our move-in day, I took Rooke to his first sleepover camp!  He joined a good buddy at Camp Ligonier for an entire week, and had a great time!  Thanks to loving family who sent letters and care packages, he barely missed home.  He left living in one house, and returned to boxes in our new house!

The last night in our rental house, I hosted a piano recital for my students.  It was fun to celebrate their hard work with one last event in the house we'd been so grateful for the past two years. 

Moving week was full of late nights for Ryan and I.  Our last night in the rental house was no different for the girls!  Several friends helped us move with a "minivan brigade".  Since we were only moving one mile away, we were able to shuttle almost everything in minivans!  

These sweet sisters enjoyed the week of moving, painting, and also getting to play with friends so Ryan and I could move and paint without the extra "help"!

Several dear friends offered to help knock out some painting one night.  The house would not have been ready for all our stuff without their help.  So grateful. 

Our first dinner in our new home, delivered hot and fresh from a kind friend! 

  

Boxes and morning coffee.

Another yummy meal in our house, delivered by and shared with great friends.

In the midst of all the boxes, our church's new electric piano was delivered to our house!  The girls helped me put it together for Sunday.

And then our boy came home!  Ryan went to pick him up and we were glad to all be together again in our new house! 

Rooke will tell you that he prefers the rental house to our new house (his room is smaller, and he's not big on change in general), but the porch is helping the house grow on him =)