Back to Oregon

Chuck's Dad got married last weekend, and we were thrilled to be able to travel back to Oregon to be there for the big event. We rented a car and made the 26 hour drive west with out a single glitch! Ava was amazing! She never cried once! She slept great in the car, and half the time the only reason we knew she was awake was we would hear her little toys rattling! She did almost as well on the way home, but by the end was a little ready to be home (as were we!).

Our great friends Lee and Adrienne Evans were kind enough to let us crash at there house for our long weekend, and we loved being with them again. You can sure tell who your good friends are when years can go by without seeing each other, and then when you do finally see each other, its like no time has passed at all! We stayed up late talking, playing games, laughing and eating brownies and ice cream. We miss them and had a great time!

Their daughter Emma, who is Dallins age, was a huge help with Ava! She is gearing up for the birth of her twin brother and sister in October, and was eager to help change her, feed her, bathe her, or just entertain her on the floor! She and Adrienne kept her one afternoon for us so we could get some additional work done on our condo that we're selling.

Now the reason for our trip was not just to see friends or to work on our condo, but it was to attend the "Wedding of the Millennium" as Sandy calls it! We have known Sandy since Chuck and I were first dating almost 11 years ago! She and Reed have been best friends all that time, and we all have loved Sandy as if she were an official member of the family. Now she is! And we couldn't be more thrilled! Our kids love that they have a new grandma, and we are thrilled the Reedster is no longer a bachelor!

They were married in the Portland Temple, which is where Chuck and I were married 10 1/2 years ago. It was amazing to be there with them, and it brought back such sweet memories of our own wedding day.

We were able to spend time with lots of Chucks extended family and had a great time catching up with them all. We don't get to see his brother Ryan and sister Anne very often, so it was great to have time to be with them. Chuck and I also had just a great time being together. It was strange (but nice) not to have the three older kids with us. Maybe next time we'll leave all 4 with grandma and grandpa! (Are you up for that Mom & Dad?!)On our way back to MN we were able to stop in for an hour and see out good friends Dan and Stacey who live in Washington. As we left we were so sad we couldn't stay longer, and vowed next summer to take the whole family back west for a real vacation.

We love going back to Oregon! It will always feel like home to us. It's where we fell in love, got married, had our sons, and had so many great friends and experiences! Don't get me wrong, we love Minnesota as well, but if we could pick up and move all the family and friends we love in Minnesota (our business too:), and move them all to Oregon tomorrow, we would-no questions asked!