Oregon

Last month I took the kids to Oregon, to visit with Papa David & G'ma Laura.  On the way in we were able to stop and look at a few waterfalls.  Indie was so precious with her camera, taking pictures and constantly muttering to herself, how beautiful everything was.  There is a feature on Indie's camera to lock certain photos you want to protect against 'accidentally' deleting.  She makes sure to lock every single photo on there. Because they are all treasures.

Waterfalls:

I love that Indie's got the overdrawn mother look down. 

Walking:

We went hiking (walking) with Papa David.   The girls love this spot because of an old tree stump that looks and feels like the perfect house. 

Finn died a thousand deaths that he couldn't crawl the whole trail after we let him tackle these stairs. He couldn't ever recover, and spent the rest of the trip (on and off) in a rage. 

We made it to the magical tree stump!

Papa helping Finn recover from the betrayal of being carried, while the girls played. 

We found a bouncy log that had fallen. So naturally, we bounced. 

Playing at Papa David's:

The girls love this inflatable hot tub so, so, so much.  They spend hours upon hours in it. 

Finn decided to not go to bed til around midnight one night. I'm not sure if Papa David or Finn was more tickled to be able to stay up so late and get so many snuggles in. 

Heading out in Papa's jeep. 

Children's Museum:

Train ride along the coast:

The hat fiasco.  Stella trying on Papa's hat.  

Stolen!

Stolen with an assist. 

Reclaimed!

Feeling triumphant in securing the hat. 

...Not for long...

Reigning champ.

Humble defeat

Beach:

Withing seconds of arriving, Stella shot straight out to the waves.  Determined to touch the water.  She however, did not quite understand the ebb and flow nature of waves and marched right out to the waters edge while it was retreating.  As the water started flowing back into the shore she got caught up in a small wave that quickly rose higher and higher.  Before she knew it she was up to her thighs in cold Oregon ocean and in the throws of despair. Papa David stood not far off where the water still hadn't touched, trying to encourage her to keep walking.  She was too hysterical though. So reluctantly Papa David went into the water and saved her from the ocean that was now around her chest. Stella stayed far far away from the water for quite some time after that. 

Indie curls.  I love them, but have no idea how to style them, and feel pretty confident that after a few more hair cuts (shes only had one) they may turn into just a gentle wave.