Quick Cousins Trip

Jeremy decided on his way back from his fair in Wyoming to stop by and visit our cousins in Wyoming.

I wanted to visit our cousins, too, so without his knowledge, I made plans to visit the same day so we could meet him there and have some nice family time. He was pleasantly surprised. We had lunch together and talked sooooo much and later Nichole rode the rest of the way home with Jeremy.

Have I mentioned I love my family?

It was also Play Outside Day so Jet had fun playing outside with our cousins' dog. 

Something Special

I found out recently that my cousin who I haven't seen in maybe 30 years, give or take, lives not that far from me. So we got together for lunch one day and did some catching up.

You know family is important to me so this was so nice. 

Uncharted Worlds

We got to see Jeremy's sister and brother in Washington. His other brother and family visited Utah after we got back. It was Pioneer Day, July 24, as was it National Cousins Day.

So our kids got to go with their cousins (the youngest of which we got to meet for the first time) to "Uncharted Worlds: A Journey with Giants" at Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point. It is similar to Dinosaur Island which they had the last couple Summers there. 

 

Aaaagh! It's going to get me!

Always have to get a picture of me with my favorite dinosaur: stegosaurus... and with my Jurassic Park shirt. It's important to wear that shirt to a place like this.

Of course we had to stop to feed the fish... ducks... and a turtle.

That leatherback sea turtle looked menacing.

 

Pirate ship fun. "Ahoy, matey!" 

 

Look at Jeremy, the uncle with the interesting beard.

Watch out! High Voltage! Didn't you watch Jurassic Park? Oh, yeah. You haven't watched it yet.

It was fun after watching Jet holding hands walking around with his older cousins at the zoo in Washington to watch Lucky doing the same thing with his little cousin.

Oh, no. Trapped in ice...

...next to the mammoth. 

 

We had a great time with this family.

Later Jeremy and Jr. were working on a project at home, so Jet and I went out for a drive up Kyhv Peak Road (it used to be known as Squaw Peak. It was hazy because of fires both in state and out) then a walk along the Provo River Parkway and by Bridal Veil Falls.

Afterwards we read a Provo Story Trail, "How Coyote Stole Fire," at Quail Orchard Park.

Since it was Pioneer Day, at the end of the day, Jet and I watched fireworks from the front lawn with our neighbor.

It was a big day but a good one full of family and fun.

Our Vacation, Thy Creations, and Our Relations- Part 8

Road Trip!

Goodbye, mist.

Goodbye, covered bridge.

Goodbye, slug. It apparently wanted to come with us but we moved it before we left. 

We drove along the Southern part of the Oregon Coast from California. We also wanted to drive along the Northern part of the Oregon Coast to Washington. So that's what we did. We drove to Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. We got a kick out of the signs that all called it that. It's not just a natural area, it's an outstanding natural area. I'll be honest. It was outstanding. We spent so much time there looking at birds and seals... and the lighthouse. We didn't even make it down to the tidepools. 

We were able to use Lucky's National Parks Pass to get in the area. I loved it. We got see different kinds of cormorants and we even got to see an oystercatcher- lifer for Jeremy, Nichole, Lucky, and I.

At one point we were watching nesting cormorants (and the nearby seals) and realize that some of the cormorants had eggs and some even had babies in their nests. So awesome.

I love how much the common murres look like penguins, even waddling around... until they take off flying. Not so much like penguins in the air. Tee Hee.

We found out about Yaquina Head Lighthouse because Jr. went there with his cousin and grandparents on his Oregon trip. My parents showed us pictures of the birds they were able to see and get pictures of with just their cell phones. We definitely wanted to go because of that and were not disappointed.

We got to celebrate International Kissing Day and Play Outside Day, July 6.

We drove by the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Wow, that place is busy. Glad we got our cheese curds at Face Rock Creamery. I remember going to the Tillamook Cheese Factory once when I was a kid and it was not like it is now. Huge line of people waiting to go in, overflow parking, crazy busy.

 

We were hoping to stop at Haystack Rock since a few days before we left we introduced a couple of our children to Goonies. Unfortunately, Cannon Beach and even Ecola State Park were so full we didn't stop and only got glimpses of Haystack Rock as we drove by. Oh well. 

We continued up through Astoria, once again pointing out the setting from the movie. We crossed a looooooooong bridge into Washington and took a huge break at the rest area on the other side of the Columbia River before continuing on.

Welcome to Washington.

I told you the doll head made its way around on our trip.

We made it to our final destination of Jeremy's parents' house.

They had a bubble machine to entertain Jet when we got there and root beer floats (one of Jeremy's favorites).

I'll share more of our wonderful vacation later.