Final Oregon Coast Trip.

Oregon's beauty
Vegging on the beach

I don't know if I can describe the beauty of Crater Lake. It is about 3 hours inland from the Oregon coast, but well worth the side trip. It is an ancient volcano that has collapsed. It's about 6 miles across and about 2000 ft deep! The deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world. There are no rivers or streams going in or out. It has filled over the centuries with rain and melting snow. It is pristine and there is not boating or fishing, except one tour boat that takes you around the edges.

I had to hold up the tree so other tourists could continue on the Redwood trail.
Had a blast in San Francisco walking all over the city. Ate at the funnest little Italian Deli. I tried and tried to buy a bunch of crap in China town but it was all Chinese Food (most of it very scary) Chinese dishes and crappy stuff. I wanted purses and perfume and jewerly! China town is not the place for those things. We were brave and drove into the city and parked right downtown. I wouldn't have wanted to do it without the GPS.
At the Marina at Monterey Bay.
Ned in front of the clubhouse at Pebble Beach Golf Course. Talk about ritzy! This place reeked of money and snootyness. They tried to sell us a $6,000.00 ostrich hand bag. Right.

Oregon Trip part 2

Oregon Beauty! One of the many lighthouses we saw.

Astoria is also the home of the filming of Goonies and this is the Goonies house (this was a Ned request to see this house...)

For you Kindergarten Cop fans, this is the school in Astoria that was in the move.

These pictures are so beautiful. Ned and I are standing on the Astoria tower, in Astoria. This is where the Columbia River flows into the Pacific Ocean.

After Astoria we drove up to Washington State and went to Long Beach. We took a little drive and drove to the very tip of a peninsula. This is what our GPS looked like. All the blue is the Ocean and I thought it was funny that it showed our car driving on this scary patch of land surrounded by ocean.

This picture is showing you the temp. gauge on our car. We had left HOT Utah and almost the whole time we were in Oregon the temp. was about 60-65 degrees. It was refreshingly cool. But I missed a little sun. (Hey, even though my picture was facing the right way on my computer, when I copied it here it is facing the wrong way~anybody know why??)

Classic Oregon Coast Icons; Blueberries and Hydrangeas everywhere. I was going nuts over these beautiful plants. I love them and people had them growing in their yards. They probably wouldn't do so well in hot, dry or freezing temps of Utah.

Oregon Coast Trip

Hi, I'm somewhat dense (it could be argued that I'm mostly dense though) as this picture was supposed to be down the page a bit and it's facing the wrong way. I do not know how to move it or turn it the right way...seriously, how hard can blogging be? Apparently too hard for me. I'm finally in the mood to blog. This is not a good way to start out.

Ned and I went on a 17!!! day trip to Oregon~down the coast this past Summer. It was so wonderful for many reasons. We had fun just the two of us together. It was low key, we saw and experienced a lot of beautiful nature, mountains, ocean, hiking trails, beaches, wonderful little towns. It was relaxing, no crowds, some days we would only drive 30 or 50 miles. We sat on the beach and ate lunch, watched the ocean, read our books. It seemed we stopped at every little viewpoint or scenic drive. We started in Portland then went to Astoria where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. Then about 3/4 of the way down the Oregon coast we took a side day trip to Crater Lake (wow) then back to the Oregon coast for more fising villages and towns then went through the Redwoods and on to San Fransisco, then Carmel, Pebble Peach and then to Ned's home town, Ione, for his 30th year class reunion. After being with Ned 24/7 for 17 days, I loved him even more. I took about 400 pics! I know you want to see them ALL. But I will give you a sampling of our trip.

This is Multnomah Falls in Oregon. It is along the Columbia River and it is amazingly beautiful. Ned and I hiked to the top of these very tall falls (well, Ned almost made it but he has quite a fear of heights and he had to turn around). It was a pretty tough hike but at the top is a beautiful view. We did quite a few hikes while on this trip. The outdoors is incredible in Oregon. There are ferns and foilage and moss growing on trees~it's hard to describe how beautiful the outdoors is. I hope some of my pics will do the beauty justice.

This is the famous Voodoo Donuts in Portland. The line went around the block. When we got home and I saw this place featured on the food network, I wished we would have waited line and had a donut or two.

Ned and I having dinner in Portland at an outdoor resturuant. We loved Portland. It was a very walkable, clean, fun to explore, beautiful city.

Ned reading a map of the city. He is forever reading maps of where ever we are. I'm so glad because I don't like to read maps...

Portland

More to come.

Elder Holland and the Book of Mormon

THIS is the most powerful, profound talk I have ever heard. If you have time--listen to the entire talk--If you just have a few minutes, please listen to this fourish minute excerpt.

I can only hope to one day have the vision and testimony of Elder Holland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkKblIMfmjI

Russian Cream

Remember sisters and mom, every time we go to the Trolley, we keep asking for the "Russian Cream"? I found a recipe for it whilst blog stalking today. We probably need to try this! Wouldn't it be great with fresh raspberries on it?

RUSSIAN CREAM

Heat 3 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup brown sugar till dissolved

Empty 1 package 1 oz. gelatine in 1 cup boiling water.

Cool until warm

When warm mix with cream mixture

Cool until warm

Fold in 1/3 cup Sour Cream

3 tsp. vanilla

Blend well

Refrigerate up to 6 hours or over night.

Serve with raspberries or chocolate sauce or whatever fruit your heart desires.

Makes about ten 9 oz. cups

My Cute Babies---I love them so much....

My favorite things about them; Hudson--the slobber on his chin, the two front teeth he always shows when he smiles, the way he thinks he is in charge, his beautiful brown eyes and great hair. Roman--his chubby cheeks and tummy and chin and legs and..., the way he is starting to coo and yell out when he is excited, the way he always gets mixed up and thinks whatever touches his face could possibly be a food source.

Infinite-Power-of-Hope

I'm feeling so much gratitude today for the Gospel and the Hope it gives me in my life. I know there is power in having Hope and I know the Lord loves each one of us and if we go to him in prayer and hope, he listens and answers our prayers.
Take the time, if you can, to listen to this beautiful message below;
Infinite-Power-of-Hope

It doesn't appear that family members or others are getting on Brooke's blog. She went "Private" and apparently when you are private, your status does not update on others blogs. So make sure and look her up when you are blogging.

I want to go private, but am wondering if my blog will be looked at since my status won't update--Hey Blogger people, can't you fix that?????

Sweet Little Roman Michael Housley

First family photo--Kaila worked so hard and long during her labor. Kaila and Michael are so happy Roman has arrived...Alot of others are too.

Reflections

With the sudden, unexpected death of Ned's younger brother, I have had so many reflections this past few days. Life can change and be taken in the blink of an eye. Jeff will be missed--he was so funny and had a big heart. He also had a lot of pain and had a hard life with his mental illness.

I have thought so much about all the relationships in my life and felt so grateful for them.

I don't know how I would cope if Ned or my children were taken from me--but I guess when it happens you just have to deal. I'm so grateful that I know that our relationships and life continue beyond the veil.

Today, in planning a funeral, I've seen how important it is that we prepare ourselves for this thing called death--spiritually, AND financially. If someone dies without any savings or life insurance--it leaves a big burden on the rest of the family. We know we are going to die and we know, if we don't pay and prepare, those we leave behind, are going to have to cover for us. Ned and I decided that next week, we are going to go buy plots and pay for a funeral plan. We just don't think it is going to happen to us--but it will.

Love you all.