A week in Klamath

I suppose if I wanted to, I could come up with much to blog about from the last month...but I dont' want to. :) We've been on adventure after adventure this summer, and so far, it hasn't been too much. Instead of taking hours to play catch-up on everything we've been up to, I just wanted to post about our most recent adventure - a week at my parents' in Klamath Falls, OR!

It was a wonderful week! Klamath is so different from Tacoma, and in most ways we don't think we could ever move back. But not necessarily because it's a bad place - just because we've become so used to Tacoma/Seattle and all this area has to offer.

Originally, Steve was supposed to spend the whole week with us, but it turned out that he had to work (it was July 4th weekend, which is when pretty much EVERY officer in Tacoma is required to work). This meant that the drive down was not so much fun. Evan fussed almost the whole time, which is enough to drive anyone insane. Then Steve rode the train down a few days later and still spent 4 days there with us.

I have to pause here, because I know there are some who don't know this....my parents still live in the house we grew up in (for me, from mid-elementary on), which is also directly next door to the house where Steve lived from the day he was born until the day he graduated. His mom no longer lives there and the new neighbors have made many changes to the place, but it was still fun to be able to tell Travis that this house was where mommy grew up and that house was where daddy grew up. Travis and Steve even rode bikes together - Travis learning on the same street where Steve learned to ride a bike.

Anyway, once we made it, we had a great time. We arrived July 3rd, and the next morning we got to go to church, at the church I grew up attending. I love that place so much. It's funny because the church we attend now (RVCC) and the church we grew up in (BBC) are so different, yet they're both places I love very much. I guess they're alike in a lot of ways, too. This is the church (BBC) where my faith (and Steve's) was really solidified, where we were baptized, where we got married, where I had the BEST youth group experience one could ask for, and where I was known and loved by so many really great people. I always time my visits to KF around a Sunday so that I get to see these people! Later, my parents had some friends over and we had a really nice 4th of July with good food and fireworks around the firepit.

The rest of the week was lazy and great! My parents have a huge yard, so we had toys and the pool and the slip-n-slide out and went through a whole lot of sunscreen! It was nice and hot, but my parents have AC, which was nice to escape to. The kids loved playing with grandma and grandpa! And the best part was that my brother and his family were able to join us for the last few days! (they are currently spending time here in the NW between just leaving AZ and moving to VA next month...so we don't see them often. Jayna is STILL asking when "cousin Ada" is coming over.

And toward the end of the week, Steve and I had fun driving around town, visiting a few favorite places and reminiscing. Thanks, mom and dad, for your hospitality and help! We all loved our visit!

Fun with sparklers! One time when I was young, I accidentally put a sparkler up to my neck and burnt off several layers of skin. I still remember my dad and uncles holding me over my grandparents' sink, doing what they could to treat the area. So, I'm not a big sparkler fan, and it makes me VERY nervous to see my kids holding them. But Travis did a great job holding it FAR from his body :) At the park/lake...throwing rocks, of course.

LOVE this picture!!
Fun on the slip-n-slide! I just want pinch Jayna's little tushie when she's in a swimsuit! Travis and Daddy riding bikes. Travis is still pretty timid on his bike - which is perfectly fine with me!
Jayna and Ada - the only girl cousins. So far, anyway. WHERE is that turtle?!

There it is! Evan loved the turtle (it's hard to tell how big this thing is...but it's huge!) By "loved", I mean that Evan put his head on it, stood on it, poked her legs...the turtle was quite tolerant :)

The kids, jumping from couch to air mattress, air mattress to couch... you should have heard the giggles!