Beach Pictures

And of course we took some pictures on the Oregon Coast, that's a no brainer!  We ran into a couple of issues with wind in the evening when the light is better and sleepy kiddos in the morning, but we did get some keepers :)

Dawn and her horsies

Dawn is one of my oldest friends!  We met my freshman year of college while I was dating her brother.  Of course, that didn't work out, but we continued to be running buddies and friends.  Since she is 13 years older, I have always looked up to her and appreciated her great advice.  

We got to visit Dawn at her farm twice during our stay in Oregon.  The first time, Dave and I went out by ourselves.  We got to go to a fun rodeo with Dawn and Cheyenne on Saturday, stay the night, then spend Sunday out at the lake with jet skis, paddle boats, lawn chairs and lots of snacks.  It was wonderful!  While Dave was on his motorcycle trip, I took the girls back out to ride horses and play at the lake.  It was not quite as relaxing, but always fun to visit one of my favorite people.

Milan's Baptism

Milan chose to be baptized while we were in Oregon.  Grandma Scott organized the event and it was an intimate affair with a couple of her friends, our family, grandma and grandpa Scott, and grandma RuthAnne.  Milan looked beautiful so of course we took a lot of pictures!  

Oregon Coast

We spent 3 wonderful weeks on the Oregon Coast.  We played on the dunes, collected sea shells (and every shell fragment that caught our eyes), squealed while running from waves, hiked, visited the lighthouse, swam, paddle-boated, picnicked, visited with family, rode a dune buggy, were spoiled by grandparents, splashed Aunt Marie on Bumper Boats, and stayed up way too late during sleepovers with Brynn.

We missed dad and grandpa while they toured Oregon on motorcycles, but dad missed us too so they came home early!  It was definitely a summer to remember!

This wave snuck up on Milan haha.

Seattle

Dave had a month break so we decided to get the heck out out of the midwest.  We packed up the kiddos and headed west for an epic road trip.  We did lots of driving with stops in Cheyenne, Ontario, then finally reached our first destination, Seattle!  

We got to stay with my friend Jen Wiley and her family.  Jen and I met the summer after high school when we were both State Park Rangers.  We remained friends through college, careers, and now families.  With busy lives, we don't get to talk often enough, but she was the first person I told I was pregnant with Milan and one of the first people I told about our Down Syndrome diagnosis (she offered the perfect response that all children have challenges.).  She is now uber-accomplished and it was so great to catch up during our visit! 

We arrived at Jen's house late and the girls had too much energy to sleep so we let them get crazy on the backyard playground.

We also got to visit with Dave's Aunt Yuri and Grandma Betty.  Yuri and her husband Albert are seriously the nicest people!  They hosted lunch right after returning from an out of town trip, thoughtfully gave the girls goodie bags full of candy, and took time to share family stories and old pictures with us.  What a wonderful visit!