Christmas Break Snow Trip

We decided at the last minute to check out the camp Zarahemla and play in the snow. So a couple days before Christmas we packed up ready to leave. We had a big storm but left anyway. We packed our chains and all. We take a ferry across and head on our way. We get up into Snoqualmie pass pull over to put on our chains. We get started and they closed the pass with us being the 2nd car in line. We wait there for 30 mins the police said it might not be long. She then came back and said it was going to be hours and hours so we turned around and came home. It ended up being closed for 8 hour plus hours. We then saw the pass reopened so we got up at 3am and tried  again and we made it through. We went the long way because 18 was closed taking 6 hours to get there. The camp is  near Yakima. It was a beautiful drive. The road into the camp wasn't plowed yet and we made it with our chains.

We then found our small little cabin. To get to the cabin the snow on the sides of the path was past my waist. Kyle and I had never been where there was that much snow except for skiing.

The cabin had a loft and 4 queen sized bunk beds. It had a microwave and small fridge. We brought our kettle to heat up water quickly. We also brought a electric burner to cook on.
It also had a propane heater like woodstove. It kept us nice and warm.

The sledding hill was just a little walk down the road. The hill was lighted for night sledding. The first night it snowed all night and we woke up to everything covered in 5 more inches of snow.  We walked down to the lake and checked it out it was so pretty.  The kids sled most  of the day. We played games inside when they got cold. We had a fantastic time.
We also did a service project for the missionaries while we were there. We shoveled a walk around one of the cabins. When it was time to leave we were a little worried we wouldn't get out but we made it and 18 was open again and it only took 3 hours to get home. We came home just in time for Christmas.  We had so much fun We booked it again for next year.

Californa Trip 2014

This year for vacation we went on a trip to  California.  We started on July 3 and drove to Salem and stopped for a visit to see Grandpa Hoisington we then headed down to my cousin Harmony's. We stayed the night and the next morning we rode horses. It was Bray's first time riding a horse he was so nervous at first but at the end was riding all by himself. Even telling us that he was doing tricks. The trick was to make the horse do what you want! We love Harmony and Dan and the Kids. I wish we could of stayed longer.

 We then drove 5 more hours to Ashland where we met my cousin Spring and Brianna. We went to dinner, Tried Lythia water, played at the park and then went and watched fireworks that were wonderful. We then stayed at my Aunt Jenny's house. She was on a trip but Spring was perfect host. Gabby and Kyle slept outside until the sprinkler went off around 4am. We then decided to just get up and leave we at 5:20am.

                                      Trying the Lythia water(sulfur water). It tastes so gross.



We drove 10 hours watching movies, listening to stories. We finally made it to my other cousins house Ian. We had a wonderful visit with Tess and Ian. We spent the day at the Beach. The kids boogie boarded and made sand castles, and just had fun playing in the ocean.
It was another first for Little Man. The bad part was I kept putting sunblock on but, we all got burnt except  Little Man. He wore a rash guard. I think next time I will buy those for the girls as well. After 2 days with Ian, Tess Nancy, John, Kasey and Emily we had to leave. 

We had so much fun visiting my Aunt, Uncle and Cousins. Now off to Grandpa Meyers.

Georgia Cont.

We love history and asked a ton of people where we might see some civil war or revolutionary war sites. We ended up spending most of our last day exploring such a site. It was a mile walk up the hill. I don't know how they dragged up all those cannons up the hill with out any roads with trees and everything in the way. They definitely were determined. The confederate army was the one who occupied this spot. The museum they had there was wonderful. I wish my kids would of been with us to learn so much about the civil war. Six flags was so much fun Kyles only complaint was that the lines were super long. It was nice to go to amusement park and not be worried about the kids.

Georgia Get Away!

I am still catching up from the months without a working computer. Back in October Kyle had two photo shoots one in Georgia and one in South Carolina. So I decided to go with him and we had a wonderful time!

When we first arrived we found our hotel got something to eat and then went and watched a movie I remember it being good, but I couldn't tell you the name. We woke up next morning and went and did a photo shoot. Then explored on our way up to south Carolina where the next photo shoot was. The people in the south were so friendly.
We went to 1 civil war site, Highest place in Georgia, Found some water falls, Went to a Norwegian town during Oktoberfest and to top it off we went to 6 flags. We had a fantastic time. I have a ton of pictures.



We went looking for some waterfalls and this is the only one we found.



The highest place in Georgia is Brasstown Bald we got there right at dusk so we started climbing to the top. Let me tell you I am so out of shape. Kyle went ahead to take some of these pictures before it was too dark. As you can see it was pretty dark. We then started back in the dark with just my cell phone for light. My cell isn't that bright and of course Kyle had to keep making bear sounds to freak me out. I was freaking out a bit. It was such a beautiful sunset. On our way up to the highest place in GA. We saw a ton a leaves turning unfortunately it got too dark, for me to take some good pictures, but I have a couple of pictures I took from the car window.



As you can see I didn't do those trees justice. In the top picture look at all the reds I had never seen anything like it. This is what I get when I take pictures in a moving car.



Here we are at October fest. The music was loud and fun! Kyle lived in Germany as a child and Heidelberg is where he lived. It reminded me a lot of Leavenworth. It had a ton of cute shops.



We had decided before we left that we would attend the Georgia Temple while we were there. We planned our hotel and everything around us going. It was Kyle's first temple he went to when he was 12 for baptisms. After we were in our hotel the night before Kyle went to look up the temple schedule and we found out it was closed. It had been for a year. If we had known we could of went to a temple in South Carolina. So if you look closely in our pictures you can see men up by Moroni.

Fort Casey Fun

After a full afternoon at the park on Whidbey Island we found our way to Fort Casey in pursuit of adventure. We went and toured the Light house. Played in the bunkers and enjoyed the wonderful weather. We then left and went searching for the ferry. The ferry heading to the peninsula wasn't leaving for like 6 hours because the others were already full. So we took the Mukiteo Ferry and then went to the Southworth ferry and came home. It was a nice end to our week at Whistler.

Brandywine Falls

 

On the drive up to Whistler we saw that there were some water falls on the way. So the next day we went down to squamish to pick up some stuff at Walmart that we forgot. It is cheaper then buying stuff in the whistler stores. On our way back we decided to stop and check out the Brandywine Falls. They were so beautiful.

Whistler Apple Fun

 

Every time we come to Whistler we go to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. They have these delicious carmel apples. My favorite is the apple pie it is so yummy.

Whistler Swiming Fun

Whistler Vacation

When we come to Whistler usually in the spring we do a lot of skiing. So this time it is summer and there is no snow. So we have done some fun stuff that doesn't include snow and a few things that we always do when we come to Whistler.

The Rec Center

Is this place that has this wonderful pool with a river like thing in it and a whirlpool. It also has lap pool and a hot tub and a slide to go into the pool. I am not giving it justice as I explain it so here are some pictures. They also have ice skating but we decided not to skate this time.

 

I guess these pictures don't do it justice either.

 

These pictures were taken at our out door pool at the condo where we were staying at called the Aspens.

Cape Disappointment

This light house Kyle and the 3 oldest girls went and hiked up to it. I stayed in the van with slumbering Lydia. I read while they played. It was a short hike up to the light house. Gabby and Miley walked up to the top of the light house with Kyle. While Belle stayed and helped watched the store. She was too little to climb up there. It was a beautiful sight. Gabby took quite a few of these pictures. After I saw the pictures I wish I would of went with them.

Ft Stevens Bunkers

We spent the morning at the Ft Stevens Bunkers. The girls had a great time exploring and I was able to get some pictures of the girls in the same places we took some about 3 years ago. So every year we go back I hope to take the same pictures.

We also found this strange looking beetle and the girls were fascinated with it so they all took turns holding it and looking at it. Kyle liked it so well that he brought it home to animate it. It was dead already when we found it.

It was fun just exploring and being together as a family.

Seaside Fun!

 

The girls really wanted to go to Seaside and go in all the shops and go to the Arcade. So we went by ourselves to Seaside while the rest of the group went to Cannon Beach. We went on the bumper cars some of the girls liked it and some did not like it. We had a great trip.

The Getty and the Columbia River

The next day a couple more families joined us for the rest of the Trip. So we all went down to the Getty. Had a wonderful walk along the beach and down to the water.

We then went down to the side where the Columbia meets the Pacific Ocean. It was really warm there and the kids decided to go in and to play in the warm sand. It was really fun.

Fun at the Beach at Ft Stevens

We made it to the Oregon Coast and met up with some of our friends. They stayed at Ft Stevens while we stayed at the KOA just down the road. Our first day there was quite the adventure. Lance one of our friends from Manchester Ward has some friends that live in Oregon. They have horses and were willing to bring them down to the beach for us to ride. It was so much fun. The horses were a little freaked out at first but most of them settled down soon and we were able to ride them.

As you can see it was pretty overcast but by the end of the afternoon it cleared up and was pretty nice. The kids had a blast playing in the sand flying kites. Swimming in the water with all of their clothes on. Then they decided to cover themselves in the sand. They were quite the mess. We found sand everywhere. That is what happens when you are on the beach. We stayed the whole day.

To our cousins for Fun!

After the Ape caves we made our way down to Corvallis Oregon.My cousin who is 4 years older than me has a wonderful place down in Corvallis. Not to mention two wonderful children that happen to Miley and Belle's ages. The kids were so anxious to get there to see them. We try and get together at least one to two times a year. So we made plans to visit and we had so much fun.

The other wonderful part about visiting Harmony and Dan is Harmony is a horse trainer. They have a fabulous barn with 50 stales and many horses to ride. Along with a lot of other girls there just taking care of their own horses. My girls love it. They all rode this year even Lydia. I was even able to go for a trail ride on their 40 acres with my Dad's baby sister Erin. It was fantastic.

The kids swam in their pool. Played hide and seek in the tall grass in the dark. Rode on a golf cart, which my 1st cousin once removed Tanner drove all over the property with my girls. They will always remember that. It was working pretty slow so don't worry. They watched movies, played dress up, rode bikes, picked berries and just had fun. When the kids picked the berries we thought we would all share the berries by making shakes with them. The kids were so mad that we had used the berries they said those were for us and they were plotting to get revenge. In the end Kyle went with them and picked more berries. They all had the shakes they were SO wanting. It was pretty funny!

When we were there it was also my Cousin Amber's 15th Birthday. We all went out to Panda's Express her favorite place to eat. Then we came back and had Cake and Ice Cream and the kids made her some pretty cute cards. Amber we had so much fun.

I also learned how to play this really fun Board game called Ticket to Ride. It was so much fun. I also learned how to play a game called James Bond. It was all really fun and I loved it. Since Kyle doesn't like board games that much it was nice to have someone to play with.

In the end we had a great time with my Cousins and Aunt. We love to visit with our family. We are looking forward to next time we can all get together. We sure love you all.

Ape Caves

We left the Horse camp early and made our way up the mountain to the Ape Caves. These Caves were made by a lava flow that was flowing so fast that the out side cooled and formed the cave. This is our second visit to the caves. Last time we went Kyle took us to one spot were it was flat and very dark. This time Kyle decided to take us on a part that was more difficult. It was pitch black and all we had was a lantern some flashlight and head lamps. At first it wasn't to bad then there was this huge mound of rocks and boulders. We finished that one and there was another one. All the while Kyle carried the lantern had Lydia on his back and was helping Belle swing from one rock to another. There were spots were we had to take Lydia off his back and he had to pass her to me. It was pretty tight. I banged my head a few times. The girls were troopers they just kept going and none of them complained. About three quarters of the way through there was an 8ft lava fall. We had to climb lucky for us there was some other people who helped us get the kids and my self up the lava fall. After that we reached a point where there was a sky light. The kids thought that was great. We soon reached the end we had to climb up a small ladder and squeeze on out having to take Lydia off Kyle's back again. We then had to walk back the 1.5 miles back to the van. It was really fun. I suggest if you have little kids to go for the easy route. For all you adventurers the hard way was a lot more fun.

Horse Camp Camping

Starting the 1st of August we left on our Family Vacation to the Oregon Coast with stop in Corvallis to see some cousins. On our way down we decided to stay our first night near Mt. Saint Helens. We kind of left a little late so we ended up camping near the bottom of the mountain at a horse camp. There was horses camped all around us. I was a little worried about the horses being to loud. I think it ended up our kids being the loud ones.


Kyle and girls at our Campsite



We went on a small hike at the horse camp and we found this water fall.