The JOY of Family

We did have fun in Oregon, visiting some of our family. Wish we would have had more time to spend with everyone. Morgan and Zane loved seeing their cousins and sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa's house! (I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of my sister and her kids.)

 (Morgan & Brinley)

 (Zane, Corbin, & Addison)

 We took flowers to the cemetery to Scott's mom...

 and to his grandma.

 We went for a drive with Grandpa and stopped to skip rocks in the Grande Ronde. Zane asked if the forest was a real place. I asked him if it looked like he was in a forest. He said yes. Yep. The forest is real.

We had hoped to get the cast off before we headed to Oregon but the doctor said it wasn't quite ready. Zane was very angry and insisted he was going swimming at Grandma's any way. Luckily the weather was a little too cold for swimming.

 Morgan searched for just the right rocks to skip across the water.

 I loved taking my kids to places I where I played as a kid! (I spent many hours swimming in that river.)

We had a friendly game of kick ball at Scott's cousin's house. The kids thought it was the most fun ever! And the big kids were gentle, most of the time.

 Morgan finally figured out how to kick the ball up and run with out missing a step.

 While Zane easily mastered the jump kick.

 They played until the sun was almost behind the mountain and their toes were sore and bruised.

 One last look at our beloved Mt, Emily and it was time to leave Oregon.

 Not so happy to be leaving and very tired.

 I think he was saying lets go get this cast off.

We stopped in Twin Falls and had dinner with Aunt Erin's family. It was great to spend time with them and fill ourselves with Gertie's Pizza. Wish we could have stayed longer but we had to get to Brit's to reach our half way home mark before bedtime.

There really isn't much to look at while driving across Wyoming but the smoke from the fire burning in Colorado was pretty exciting. As we approached Cheyenne the smoke was so thick it was burning our eyes and throats. In fact, we could barely see Cheyenne through the dark, gray clouds.

Although this was not a planned trip I am so glad we were able to go. And I'm glad Brit was able to get some time off and come for a few days as well. 

There truly is nothing more important, or anything that brings greater JOY, than family.