Oregon Trip

We have been home from our trip to OR a few weeks now and I finally have time to blog about it with pictures. Mark's brother got married on March 28th so all of us who do not live nearby drove up for the wedding and to do a little sight seeing with the kids. We left Wednesday after Mark got home from work and made it to Twin Falls, ID before we stopped for the night. We made pretty good time but there was a bad snow storm with white out conditions for part of the trip. Mark drove that stretch since I get really nervous driving in that kind of weather. The motel we stayed at was aweful. The beds weren't big enough and the floors were wood laminate so it's not like anyone could have slept on the floor. The 4 oldest kids slept on one bed and Mark and I shared a bed with Megan. Poor Mark had to sleep up against the wall because he was nervous about rolling over on Megan and hurting her. Adrianne fell out of bed sometime durring the middle of the night so I picked her up and put her inbetween Rachel and Bethany. A couple hours later Bethany fell out of bed. Sam and Rachel were the only ones who got a good night sleep that night.
We arrived in Vancouver, WA at Mark's older brother's house on Thursday night. Their kids had school the next day so we all put the kids down at 8 and then the adults stayed up late talking. On Friday we took the kids to the Portland Temple and went to Washington Square Mall to do some shopping. We also took the kids to the duplex we lived in when we got married as well as the house Mark's parents lived in before they decided to move closer to us. Then we went to Ryan's house (the groom) to help with decorations, etc. but there wasn't really anything for us to do. Since I was 8 months pregnant Megan and I took a nap together and then Uncle Jeff decided we needed to go out to dinner. Terrel did a little complaining because she thought it was early for dinner and had more work she wanted to get done. But her tune changed when Jeff paid the bill and they still managed to get everything ready in time.
Saturday was spent getting the gym ready for the reception and the chapel ready for the wedding. I have never been to a civil ceremony held in a chapel before. I didn't know it was allowed but apparently it is. We hope that Ryan and Lisa will get sealed in the Temple someday. Lisa is not fully converted yet and still has issues and lots of questions. Hopefully they will be able to help eachother to reach the goal of becoming an eternal family.
On Sunday we went with David and Krista's family to Tillamook. I know you shouldn't skip church but it was our last day there and we promised the kids we would go to the cheese factory and the beach so that is what we did. We had a tour of the factory and lunch, then we ate the yummy Tillamook ice cream. It was so good. We then went up to a beach who's name I can't remember and then we drove up to sea side. The kids got to go on the bumper cars and then we ate dinner and headed home. It was really a lot of fun. I love spending time with David and Krista and this trip has given me the chance to get to know them better. I really think it's what we needed. The boys got to play with eachother and the girls did the same and I found out that I really like and admire Krista a lot. We might never have been friends if we weren't family but I love her so much.
On Monday afternoon we started the drive home. We made it all the way to Boise, ID before stopping for the night and there was a treat waiting for us when we got there. My parents decided to go to ID and attend a few Temples while there and they were in Boise at the same time we were so they got us a room next to theirs in a really nice hotel. Rachel and Bethany bunked in with them so that gave us more room in the beds. The beds were so comfortable that I lifted the sheets to see the brand they were. Oh I want one just like them. I slept really good that night though Megan was the one to fall out of bed this time. I felt so bad for her.
After breakfast the next morning Mark went to help my parents with baptisms while I stayed behind with the kids and got our stuff packed up and ready to go. It was nice having a little break from all the driving around we did. We made it home by 7:30 that night and put the kids to bed. They did have school the next day, after all. We are still not fully unpacked. There are some things I am missing and I am just praying we didn't leave behind. I'm just glad we got home safe and that I didn't have the baby while out of town. I am due in 2 weeks but I have a voluntary induction scheduled for next week as long as my body is ready physically. We just can't wait to have our little baby here on the outside. So far we have decided to name him Jonathan William. I'm still not sure on that name but we can't seem to come up with another one that feels better so I'm sure that will end up being his name. To date this baby is the most difficult one to name. I guess we'll just have to trust the spirit on this one.
Like I said at the begining of this long post that I was waiting on pictures. When I saw the file I was surprised at how few we took. We didn't get any from the reception at all or even most of the family. We did get a few of David and Krista's family, though. Next time we go up we'll have to make sure to take more pictures. Here are a few of the ones we took.