Bye Summer

Last weekend we went on a trip to Vancouver, Washington to end our summer with a bang. Some of our family lives up there and we have not been able to visit them yet.

We did all of the things we love which include: being with family, being outdoors, and hiking. My sweet grandma owned a farm in Eugene, Oregon, but had to sell it when she got older and could not take care of it by herself. That is really the only part of the North West I have seen of the United States. The whole time we were in Southern Washington I could not believe how GORGEOUS it was. I am sure I annoyed everyone around me by constantly commenting on how breathtaking the views were.

Our nieces and nephew are the cutest things and are the most incredible children. It was so much fun to play with them for four days!

This hike was gorgeous and gave us some spectacular views of the Columbia River and the gorgeous mountains. I think ever since we have moved to Utah our breath constantly gets taken away by the gorgeous mountains! These mountains were covered in trees and different than our Utah mountains, but they were magnificent.

One day we went spelunking in the ape caves. This is one of the coolest things I have ever done. It is a massive lava tube under ground where you have to scramble over huge piles of lava rock. It was so dark in the caves that when we turned off all the lights, you could not see your hand directly in front of your face. We all had headlamps or flashlights. I want to say we were in this long lava tube walking and scrambling for about 1 1/2 miles. It was so neat, and I was incredibly impressed with my nieces and nephews who had to rock climb an eight foot wall at one point in the spelunking adventure. They did great!

It was really cold down there.

Nicholas and Annalise riding razors together. I now know what Nick wants for Christmas. He loved that thing.

They live in such a nice neighborhood and live at the end of an awesome culdesac.

We were all ready to go down "Blackberry Lane" and pick wild blackberries.

Annette, Kilee and I.

There were so many delicious huge blackberries at the very top. Don't worry we figured out how to get them with Annalise's help!

Vista Point. One of the coolest state parks I have seen.

This is totally a model picture of Nick. Actually both are. He wasn't even trying.

This state park has tons of waterfalls along the Columbia river. I am not sure what this one was called.

Priceless Kian face!

Kian loved hanging onto Nick's leg on one of the hikes. It was really cute.

I love this family!

We are sad that the summer has come to an end, but what a terrific way to end it! We will definitely have to do this as much as we can. Annette and Kimball, thanks for the greatest trip.

School starts tomorrow! I am so excited!