Nomad Lifestyle- Portland, OR

After a week with my sister, we picked up Michael from the airport and got on the road again!  This time, we were headed to Portland, OR.  To help break up the trip, we decided to take a day hike north of San Francisco.  Thanks to some car sickness, rain, mud, length, crazy wind, and poison oak, the hike was not quite what we expected but it was nice to be together and it was incredibly beautiful!

Crossing Golden Gate

Even with drizzly weather, it was a beautiful trail. 

Getting to the shore was a bit tricky.

Michael ended up going down so that he could get this shot of the falls on the beach! Amazing!

How's that for a mighty good man!? One kid in front, one in back.

The next find was probably one of my favorite last minute finds.  The kids were getting restless in the car so when we stopped for lunch, he googled things to do in the areas around us and he found this "drive through" zoo!  It was so fun and they had a great variety of animals.  

Hello Bear right outside my window!

We finally made it to the Wonderful Walker home and I LOVED seeing all the kids play together!

Christi got these matching shirts for our girls! I cannot say enough how much I LOVE matchy matchy babes! These two are no exception!

The week went by so quickly running errands, playing, having fun outings, good eats, and great company.  Michael had another work trip during this week.  He went to Louisiana for a few days so it was nice that the Walkers were willing to take care of us.

Awww! We are huge snugglers! Especially with Aunt Christi.

We had some rain so we got some wiggles out at the indoor play place.  These two were the only ones who would pause (one second) for a photo.  

Christi let me tag along to her ward's Relief Society Birthday evening.  It was a nice dinner and a sweet program without kids.  It was just the buoy this mommy needed.  Christi and I also went to play volleyball with people in the area after bedtime one night.  No pictures were taken because I was having WAY too much fun just playing! Playing my favorite sport with Christi felt so good! Fun night!

The rest of our time was spent enjoying our time with each other.  And of course, a trip to OMSI- One of our family's favorite places now.

I love Brycen's pride in his awesome tower.

This girl LOVED being Mommy Eagle.

Play dough time is always golden.  Check out the awesome baby photo bomb! ;)

This time OMSI had a video game exhibit, this was Laila's favorite game.  Harrison thought it was alright.... 

I love when my Grandparents' and Parents' friends end up being my friends too!  It was such a special treat to see Kathy and her beautiful girls.

And it's always fun to try and get three adults and five children to smile and look at the camera.  I thought this one was a fair attempt.  Love this crew!

Our last rainy morning in Portland was celebrated with a St. Patrick's Day parade!  (Parades, candy, small town feel, what's not to love?!)

And last, but not least, we all went on a breathtaking hike together to these beautiful falls.  Oregon's beauty and vivid green everywhere will never cease to amaze me.  It was such a great week.  We love spending time with the Walkers and always appreciate their hospitality!  Now if only we could convince them to visit us in Europe.... ;)