Oregon/California Vacation

We were so excited for our double vacation.  We had plenty of time to think about it too with our 4 1/2 hour layover in Pheonix.  We lucked out and found a very small play area that kept the kids busy for a few hours.

Reagan slept the whole second leg of the trip.

Matt picked us up from the airport and said we would BBQ for dinner.  What he didn’t say was that Beth organized a surprise party for me!  I was so shocked when Matt was grilling and Dad came out to the garage when we pulled up.  We had the most amazing chicken, veggies, salad, French bread, homemade ice cream and mom’s special chocolate vinegar cake.  Beth put up streamers and balloons and they got me gifts (earrings, mascara, walkie talkies and batteries).  It was the biggest and best surprise I have had in a long time.  Thanks Beth!

We had a fantastic time with the Newells.  The kids played good and hard.  In fact, Sat. night when the boys were playing football in the dark, Hunter fell and hit his head on the pavement.  Carda called me into the kitchen and I saw Hayden pressing one blood soaked paper towel after another on Hunter’s head.  We stopped the bleeding, assessed the cut (which looked about an inch long) and gave him some advil.  I worried half the night but there was only a small divit in the morning.

On Monday we went to Sean and Melissa’s.  They have a beautiful house.  We walked over to the country club pool and had a splashing good time.

Reagan loved little Emma.

Hannah was fond of RJ.

On Tuesday, we got a rental car and drove towards the de Sully’s.  We stopped and saw my niece, Alex and her husband Nash on the way.  It is amazing to see the Lord’s hand in her life.  She was baptized about one year ago.  I use to babysit her and her sister Brittany all the time.  I wish her all the happiness that life has to offer.

Since we were so close, we drove my high school and the house I grew up in (2051 North Park Eugene OR 97404).  It sure seemed bigger when I was younger!

We stayed the night at the de Sully’s and enjoyed Theresa’s killer carrot cake.  We are excited for them as they prepare to bring another child into this world!  They already have three girls… what are their chances of having a boy?

Beth, Matt, Dan and Sandy were in charge of the reunion this year.  They chose a place called the Box R Ranch (which unfortunately is closing this fall).  We had three cabins for everyone.  RJ and I shared the cabin below with Matt and Carda.

One of the hot spots was the lake.  There was a zip line, slide, paddle boat, and canoe.  McKenna wanted to do the zip line but I was nervous since the first 20-30 feet was above land.  She is a brave monkey and got right up towards the front of the line.

Even grandpa (at almost 70 years of age) was like Tarzan on the zip line!

Reagan, Gannon and Brooklyn

The tube slide!

They had a challenge course.  I thought it would be a dinky, easy little thing.  The woman working the front desk said that she had only seen two people complete it before.  This got our Morrison competitive blood pumping and we were determined to at least double that number with our group.

There were wobbly, thin, uneven wooden beams, spread out stumps, wires, ropes, spinning, swinging logs, cargo nets, teeter totters, multiple swings, a rod and a rope swing we had to traverse without touching the ground once!  At our first stop there, nobody made it continuously.  Sean and I were determined to return.  We created teams and had a friendly competition.  Sean completed the course successfully.  After two tries I decided I might have enough strength to attempt one more (it drained upper body strength) time and…. I DID IT!  I really enjoyed this activity.  It might be silly but it gave me a real feeling of accomplishment.

It was easier for some than…

Others!

Grandpa is still as young (at heart) as he once was!

Some of the children were quite skilled at archery!

RJ’s sister Amanda, helped me design these t-shirts that Beth made for the reunion.  I think they turned out great!

We had a baking contest but in the end there were no judges.  Everything was delicious there’s no doubt but I think Matt took the blue ribbon with his blueberry cobbler.  Josh helped his mom with a German chocolate cake, Sandy made a super carrot cake, Christine created a killer chocolate trifle dessert and RJ and I chose a simple, refreshing and easy lemon cake.

A group played paintball one morning.  I encouraged Hunter and RJ to go to support Dan.  They had some good stories to share when they returned.

A bunch of people also went fishing one morning.

I think Dan enjoyed being in his element for once.  Instead of getting schooled on a basketball court, he got to share his passion for the outdoors.

Hunter had several bites but never successfully reeled anything in.  Parker caught and ate this big guy!

Of course we playing games, relaxed and ate yummy food the whole time too.

We took pictures Saturday afternoon. 

Mom and Dad

Dan, Dallin and Sandy

Dave, Christine, Austen, Parker, Brynlee, Spencer, Carson, Riley, Brooklyn

Matt, Carda, Jarom, Amanda, Caleb, Rachel

Matt, Beth, Madalyn, Carter, Hayden, Bailey, Paige, Gannon

Sean, Melissa, Josh, Nathan, Isaac, Hannah, Emma

Group shots:

All the grandkids

Everyone

Children and spouses

Biological children

We left at 5am Sunday morning to drive down to Disneyland.  Dave and Christine followed and joined us at different times during the day.

RJ and Amanda created these T-shirts for our family.  The girls shirts had bows on minnie and the boys just had mickey.  The back was a map of the park that said “charting a course to memories.”  We loved them.

We spent our first and third day in California Adventure.  We went to Disneyland the second day.  Mom and dad let us drive their venza down and flew down to join us.  We flew out of California and they drove it back.  We are so grateful for them!

We enjoyed California Adventure the most.  Reagan wasn’t big enough for many of the rides but she loved sitting with grandma on her motorized scooter.  McKenna could go on most rides but was often too tired to walk (we had a double stroller, sit n’ stand) thankfully.  Hunter was the perfect age because he was tall enough for everything and enjoyed small and big rides alike.  His favorites were Goofy’s Sky School and California Screamin.  I didn’t anticipate how much fun I would have.

We returned to the hotel in the afternoon to rest but the kids wanted to swim.  In fact, it was hard to get them out of the pool to go back to the park! They also loved that the TV’s had the disney channel.

Mom, Christine, Brynlee, Brooklyn, McKenna, Reagan and I went to Ariel’s Grotto for lunch.  McKenna LOVES Ariel.  We borrowed dress ups from Aunt Beth but neither of the girls wanted to wear them when we put them on.  McKenna was persuaded by Grandma but Reagan was not having it.  She says that they are too sparkly!  Which really means too itchy.

We had to wait a long time even though we had a reservation but it was worth it when the girls got to see all the princesses.

The food was very good and we had a great experience.

Of course we had to go on The Little Mermaid ride after eating in Ariel’s Grotto.  RJ and Hunter joined us.  (Dad did not buy a ticket to the park the first day).

McKenna loved Splash Mountain.  She was able to go twice.

RJ, Hunter and I got to go on Space Mountain one evening while grandma and grandpa stayed with Reagan and McKenna.  It was as good as I remembered!  RJ read a book that Beth recommended and we were able to map out our days to maximize our time there.  We loved the fast passes.  RJ did a great job organizing each day.

My two favorite things were the Aladdin Show and World of Color (water show).  I could not believe how exhausted I was at the end of the three days but we sure had a great vacation (vacations).