I have had the hardest time getting this post up and running. I'm sick of trying to figure it out so I'm going to do one big journal entry and hope I can iron it out in my blurb book.
I looked forward to this trip like I look forward to Christmas. It was every bit as fun as I anticipated. Beth picked us up from the airport on Friday and we played beauty spa as usual (I'm so lucky to have her!) We drove down to Reedsport the next morning. On our way, we stopped in Albany to visit some friends. We enjoyed pizza with the Meyers (who recently welcomed a new addition to their family, Anna) followed by a quick but fun visit with the Prices. Sunday was Father's day and I made breakfast for my dad and RJ (the rest of us ate it too). RJ got an early gift (a heart rate monitor) and we bought dad a customized tie with pictures of the kids on it. It sure turned out cute. Mom and Dad's shi tzu had puppies and their eyes were just starting to open. Boy did that experience make Hunter want a dog even more! I even started to waffle in my thinking. It was a nice quiet couple of days and I was inspired by my parents' example of service.
One act that directly affected me was the offering to watch all three kids while RJ and I went to a bed and breakfast with our friends Chuck and Theresa. RJ and I drove up to Depoe Bay (in the van that Matt and Carda so kindly donated to our cause) on Tuesday to enjoy our June date (from my Christmas date list). We stayed in a room with a great view of the Ocean and enjoyed (some more than others, poor Chuck's dinner was so spicy, I don't think he could even taste his cheesecake) a wonderful dinner. We watched a funny movie and played an old favorite "Settler's of Catan" while noshing on junk food. I was able to extract some big news from the deSullys who are expecting a baby! Despite their news, they were up for some physical adventures. After walking down to a beachy area at the B&B, we drove to Newport and rented bikes. We rode (as part of RJ and my triathlon training) to the Yaquina lighthouse and took a tour. Unfortunatley, Theresa had to "chuck" before making the tour (hence the pailness). We walked down to the loose pebbled beach and played in the tidepools. There were also several sea lions lounging on some rocks not too far from us. We ate some lunch at a park then had to say goodbye to our good friends.
We went straight to Lincoln City and found the lodge where the family reunion would take place. What a wonderful location! The boys had a room with an Xbox and the girls had a wii. There was a hot tub, pool table, theater room, four games of Ticket to Ride, and plenty of soft places to relax for the adults. We kicked off the night with some karaoke. RJ and I thought people might be apprehensive in the beginning so we prepared a number to the song "Grenade" (switching the lyrics). Everyone jumped right in and it was a riot. Matt Morrison sang his favorite disney song from the Little Mermaid and really hammed it up. Dad did his go-to song, sixteen tons in conjuction with a spanish seranade and duet. It felt good to see everyone laughing.
Thursday, we did a fun clue game by Carda and most families went to the beach. In the evening we played a minute to win it game that I organized. In the blog are several pictures of contestants gearing up and participating in each station which were as follows: Face the Cookie, Balls in the Air, Bobble Head, Stack Attack, Separation Anxiety, Nose Dive, Bite Me, and A Bit Dicey. The top two teams moved on to the tournament and played an extra three games (Junk in the Trunk, Elephant March and Magic Carpet Ride) for the championship. This game led to the biggest scandall in Morrison reunion history (with the oiji game of werewolf taking a close second).
Friday was picture day! Beth did a great job (as usual). We probably won't have very many more pictures with the whole gang. Grandkids will be going on missions and to college soon.
Christine (and by association, Dave) did a great job with FHE. It was about putting on the whole armour of God. We got to dress dad up in our armour and the kids got to throw "fiery darts" (straws) at him afterward. We got to protect his head with the helmet of salvation.
It went by so fast and I was sad to think that the reunion was actually over but still hand hanging out at mom and dad's to look forward to. On our way down the coast, we stopped at Izzy's and that's where RJ's family vacation ended. He and Matt Newell drove back to Boring and he flew out the next morning. Dave's family and mine went back to Yaquina beach. A kind woman saw me carrying Reagan and trying to keep a wiggly, wobbly McKenna on her feet around the tidepools. She offered to show McKenna all the fun stuff while I took care of Reagan. I think her name was Ida? What a blessing!
We survived another Sabbath day at mom and dad's (McKenna was so squirrely) and had our 5-k on Monday. Beth has been hittin' the gym and I'm really proud of her. I thought it would be fun to do a 5-k together while I was in Oregon but I couldn't find one that worked so I put one together for our family in Reedsport. There were about 28 of us! RJ helped me map out a loop from church that came out to be 3.18 miles. We figured to the little ones would have to drop off after one lap. Mom helped out by staying at the start/finish and giving out water, gaterade (which I was short on...story of my life), granola bars and oranges. I wondered if people were really going to do it when there was some moaning and groaning the morning of but they were fantastic. Everyone participated (except for dad who told me staight up that he wasn't going to do no run) and really made it a hit. We had a policeman watching us for some time and I thought that we might get in trouble. I had all kinds of come-backs in case he came after us. He never did. We had a simple raffle afterward and called it a day.
The family reunion was so fun filled that we didn't get to do the pinata there. We hung them up in the tree at mom and dad's and the kids busted them up pretty quickly. Ironically, after all of mom and dad's rantin' and ravin' about socialism, they made the kids hand back their candy and divied it up equally!
Thanks to Carda and mom, I got to go back in time to my pre-married days and hang with the guys (and Beth). Dad, Matt Morrison, Beth (Sean was supposed to come but that's another story) and I went golfing in Reedsport which was really meaningful to me (I usually stay with the kids and send RJ on those outings).
On Thursday, I went to Springfield and visited Theresa again. I wanted Hunter and McKenna to be able to see their friends Kistena and Kayla. It's always fun being with friends that you can be yourself around.
Friday I drove up to Matt and Carda's and we did all kinds of fun stuff like a backwards dinner (the kids wore their clothes backwards, Amanda made backwards invitations and we ate brownies and icecream first- yeah!), pizza and movie night, swimming and bowling. Carda helped me keep up with my triathlon training by swimming and biking with me.
Sunday morning we drove down to Albany for Hannah's baby blessing. It was neat to be there with everyone. I sure miss that since we moved to Minnesota. Hannah looked beautiful in the dress that mom made and Sean gave her a really nice blessing.
I drove back to Beth's with Dave in tow (actually, he drove) and we had an awesome fourth of July! The weather was awesome! Matt and Carda and Dad came. We had a wonderful BBQ and took the kids to a really fun park. We watched fireworks for a little while then Matt, Carter and Hayden did some of their own. Beth bought glow necklaces for all of the kids and they started playing tag in the dark. Poor Hunter didn't navigate the surroundings so well and ran into a rope and tire swing. He had a nastly black eye for at least a week!
I had a great visit with Beth and her brood then mom and I flew out on Wednesday. Mom came to help me on the plane and it was a great blessing. We were all anxious to see Daddy but had so much fun in Oregon that it was hard to say goodbye.
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