peterson family reunion (vacay part 2)

*Note:  This was such a busy/crazy summer and going through photos and catching up on blogging about everything is a little overwhelming.  I am not giving the details I might normally...  For more photos of this great reunion, please visit Rob's sister's blog   She has several different posts about each day of the reunion and some great photos of the kids  :)

On Friday, June 28th, we drove from Portland to Lincoln City for the first part of the Peterson Reunion.  Rob's brother, John, was in charge this year and knew just the place for a little clam digging:

We eventually discovered that just digging your hands in a big hole was the best way to find them.

Hewitt was so excited to discover a cell phone (with case) buried in the sand!

We ended up with way more than enough...John made a big batch of clam chowder.

It was so sunny and warm in Lincoln City!  The warmest I remember the Pacific ever being that far north.  We spent most of Friday afternoon at the beach and it was a blast!

This is one of my favorites of Liv and Rob

This photo of Tosh is one of my very favorites of the summer!

Cute cousins!!!

This was the view of the ocean/sunset from our balcony.  Not bad at all.

I really like this place.  A lot.

As with every Peterson reunion, we played lots of games (Rob's sis took this pic of our game of Scum).  That's a lot of people around one table.  So fun!

Saturday we explored Boiler Bay.  We had a great time exploring and looking at the sea creatures. Here are just a couple of the photos I took with my phone:

The Boiler

After church on Sunday we went for a little family walk in a beautiful area by the lake in Lincoln City.

Rob, Liv, and Patti

Awww, family love.  Literally a photo of some Oregon Tree-Huggers :)

The kids played at a nearby park for a bit.

Liv's hair was so much curlier in the northwest!  Cute girl.

Three Peterson men hanging out prior to dinner:

These cousins have so much fun together.  I wish we were all together more often!

After dinner, we did some singing and visiting.  I love this photo of these three watching their talented aunts sing!

Monday was overcast and cooler (a great day for some photos).  Here is Liv warming up for the camera:

Too funny, this girl!

Patti with all of her grandchildren except one (we missed Elder Peterson in Africa).

The big group shot (this will be Patti's Christmas card, no doubt).  It turned out pretty cute (Tosh was being a little turkey!):

I really like this one I got of the siblings with their mom.  Sure love all of these great people!

Our family (I LOVE, LOVE this of Hewitt and Liv):

Monday also involved a little skimboarding.  I even tried it and did OK, although I didn't ever glide very far (too afraid of really going for it and falling).  Rob was fun to watch:

The kids still had fun although it was a much cooler day

On Tuesday we packed up and headed to 'part two' of the reunion; camping on the Columbia River Gorge.  I guess the kids were sad to leave the coast?

Let the meltdowns begin!

The kids continued to have a great time together.  Here they were playing "Harry Potter" together (you might notice the Hewitt has a 'wand' in just about every photo from our vacation):

We had a nice big area to spread out in at our campsite and got our tent set up fairly quickly.  On Wednesday we hiked to Punchbowl Falls, which Rob and I have been to before.  It is such a pretty hike.  Rob and I actually hiked here and a few miles past it (with our BIL, David) when we lived in Oregon.  It was great to go back.  

Wading in-- we should have brought our swimming suits!

The falls are around the left corner

On the trail with the kids.  They were great little hikers and were pretty speedy too:

Back at camp, my sis-in-law organized a fun activity for the kids with these cool bubble blowers.  I didn't get many photos (it was my dinner night), but this one of  Liv cracks me up!

Rob's brother requested that we do some dutch oven cooking.  We did the same bread (two loaves) and cowboy stew (with chicken and veggies) that we made on our pioneer trek.  I was nervous about this meal all week, but I think it turned out OK:

We closed out the evening with some s'mores before we sent the younger kids off to bed.  The older folks (which includes Burke now, crazy!) stayed up for various games and visiting.

It was such a fun reunion!  Thanks to Rob's brother for organizing.  Let's do it again soon!

summer vacay 2013 (part 1)

I loaded up the van with everything we thought we would need for the month (was quite a stressful task!) and the three youngest kids and I took off early Saturday, June 22nd.  We drove to Flagstaff to meet Rob and Burke.  Just before we got to Flag, Hewitt and Liv were complaining about not feeling well (it was a curvy part as we were climbing up the mountain).  Our kids have never gotten car sick before, so I guess I don't drive as well as Rob!  I just happened to have a Ziplock bag in my purse and was able to pass it to Liv (directly behind me) while I was driving.  She threw up and felt much better.  We met Rob and Burke at a gas station in Flagstaff and somehow we managed to get all of their camping gear to fit in the van.  We then drove the remainder of the way and got to Utah around 7pm on Saturday.  

Sunday morning we were able to visit the cemetery before church.  It really is in a beautiful location with a great view of the mountains and Utah Lake.  It was our first time back to the cemetery since Rog's funeral.

Hewitt and Burke loved playing with these shoe horns that were Grandpa Pete's

I LOVE this photo of Patti and Rob

 We were able to spend some time with Rob's older sister and her family on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.  Sunday evening, my nieces and their husbands came over for dinner, and then Rob's mission companion/friend Damon (and his family) joined us for dessert.

Monday we met our good friends, the Haynies, at a reservoir in Herriman.  We played at the 'beach' for several hours and ate a picnic lunch, before going to their home for dinner.

Zac and Burke have been best friends since they were three!

Such cute kids and great friends 

My niece, Melanie, had tickets to a "Princess Festival" at Thanksgiving Point and invited Liv and me to go.  Liv really enjoyed it and felt pretty special, for sure.

Liv took her autograph book to all of the princesses for them to sign.  Here she is with Tinkerbell:

Liv and Rapunzel

Liv kept telling everyone that her favorite princess is "Tiana" from the Frog Princess, even though she's never seen it

 
 Liv's dress didn't slow her down from climbing on the play equipment:

A tea party with cousin Melanie (or "My Melanie" as Liv calls her):

After the festival, we joined Rob and the boys and headed to my cousin Jackie's house for lunch with my Aunt Pat (my mom's 88-year-old sister).  It was so great to see Pat and Jackie and I was very emotional being with my mom's family and feeling her presence there with us.

We had dinner with our good friends, the Ashby's (my college roommate, and they were our neighbors in Riverton), on Tuesday night.   Our stay in Utah was TOO SHORT!  We are usually there for at least a week!

We added Patti to our crowded van and took off for Oregon on Wednesday morning.  The beautiful pines, slower speeds, and rain all indicated that we were there!

We stayed at Rob's brother's house in Portland Wednesday and Thursday nights.  The kids had a blast playing in their huge backyard.  

Liv loved swinging with her cousin Emily:

On Thursday morning I went running with Julie and then we were able to go to the (gorgeous) Portland Temple with John, Julie, and Patti.  I don't think I have been there since we lived in Oregon in 2000.

I love these people!

And I really love this guy:

After the temple, the brothers and I hit Burgerville; our northwest favorite!

catching up (early june)

I'm slowly trying to catch up on blogging about our summer.  I am sort of wishing I had brought my laptop with us on vacation, but am also glad that I didn't...

I realize that I missed some things of note BEFORE our trip to Hawaii that I don't want to exclude.  We had about a week and a half in there at the beginning of June before leaving.  It was great having Rob home and off work.  We were able to get lots of organizing done (pantry, closets, garage, etc.).  Here's a cute shot of the kids shucking corn for dinner:

Family outing to the store--always an adventure:

This photo is classic!  

Really?  Everyone wants to be in the cart?

I went to lunch with some girlfriends on my birthday (they made me feel very loved).  I don't remember this next photo that was taken on my birthday, but just found it on Rob's phone (gotta love that I'm wearing a sweatshirt on June 3rd when it's well over 100 degrees!  I get cold at night with the AC!):

My sister came for a quick visit (yea!) the day after my birthday.  We did some shopping and she dyed and trimmed my hair.  Thanks, Min!

We went out to dinner and indoor rock climbing with our friends the Dommers (just moved to Utah--sad) and Lundells.  I hadn't climbed a rock wall since Rob was in MBA school.  We had a fun time and were pretty tired by the end of the night:

 The guys always make us laugh.  Couldn't resist getting these photos of Paul, Rob and Rob sharing the front cab of Pauls' truck.  (My) Rob couldn't find his seat belt and the other Rob hammed it up for the camera by planting a kiss on his cheek.  Funny boys.

Liv was so excited to get this dress from her cousin-- Rob's folks bought it in Armenia on their mission.  She loves it, can you tell?

Liv learned how to come up for air in the pool (finally!).  She is so fast (and strong!) now.  She loves swimming:

A little makeup, Liv?  Rob thinks the dark eyebrows make her look more like a Peterson:

 Compare to Rob's eyebrow (this was us swimming at our house just before going to Hawaii)  :)

On our way home from Fresno (post Hawaii), Tosh lost his first tooth!

We got home from Fresno on Saturday night, and Rob and Burke left for scout camp at 4:45AM on Monday morning.  Burke was so excited!

 Here are some photos from camp that I stole from Rob's phone:

(don't be fooled, he had a GREAT time!)

 Burke worked VERY hard and earned nine merit badges!

Best buds!

I had a very peaceful week (for reals!) home with the three younger kids while Rob and Burke were gone at camp.  It was a little stressful trying to get everything packed for our big trip, but we took it easy, hung out with some friends, and swam.  Here are some great shots that I got of Liv while we were taking a break from swimming one day: