Portland over Memorial day weekend

Trent and I knew we wanted to travel somewhere over Memorial Weekend. We talked about Phoenix, camping, and then Portland came out of no where...and that's where we decided to go. We wanted to fly or rent an RV so I could watch movies with the kids and let them play around a little while driving...but that was not to be. We stocked up on treats from Walmart, DVDs and books on CD, and plenty of battery for the camera for the long drive. A 11 1/2 hour drive. We took off Friday after Trent arrived home from work and made it to La Grande at 1:30am. We unpacked the car, set up the crib and cranked up the heater (which I left on ALL night and woke everyone up at 6:30 with a good sweat...dumb move). Terrible hotel breakfast, even the OJ tasted like they had went to the back of a restaurant and took what they were about to dump. But we passed on the McDonalds and ate the dry cereal so we could spend as less time on the road driving to our destination and get to Portland before noon. We had a great time. A trip, though quick and too much driving, was worth it. Too many pictures to post in one night so here's first group.

Kids had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
Me: "Hey B, wanna go on a car ride?"


B: "Sure. Where we going?"


Me: "Just over to Portland, OR. It's a quick 776 miles."
B: "Yeah right, Mom. Where are we really going?"


Me: "Seriously. We're heading to Oregon. And you're stuck. Too late to turn back now."
B: ...


B: "Will Poppy be there????"


Me: "No, I'm sorry, honey. He went south to Arizona"


B: "Hey Mom, maybe Poppy will come after he's done with Arizona!!!"


The first leg of the trip wasn't so bad cause the kids went to sleep pretty quick so most of the driving was done while they were asleep. Once we hit La Grande, it was a quick 4 hours to Portland.

The scenery is unlike anything I am used to growing up in Arizona and Vegas. This is a different shade of green than my eyes are accustomed to. It made the trip less monotonous.


Looks like this runaway ramp goes right off the cliff...


Beautiful little towns. Love the light peeking through the clouds and highlighting some of the hills.


Random tree farm. Was huge. Could tell when they planted each section of trees.


Cloud cover gets real low...and this guy with his top down is about to get a little more moist...


So many trains along this highway. Made for a happy little toddler. Seemed like someone was yelling, "Choo Choo!" quite often.


Another train on other side of river.


My future home. Private island. Plenty of space in the backyard for kids to run around. Nice size swimming pool. Instead of driving lessons in a car, it will be in a boat.


Got real windy.


Needed a potty break and time to stretch out. This was right before the big waterfall just as you enter Portland.




 Terri called and needed a few minutes to do some last minute stuff, so we ran on down to the river and threw some rocks in.




I wish we could have done what my parents did on road trips. Take out the middle seat of the big van, lay foam mattress pads down, load up our toys and let us play, roll around, sleep and do whatever on the drive. These guys at least had each other



It may seem as though many of our pictures were taken in the car...that's probably cause it was where we spent a good portion of the trip.
But a trip like that is worth it when the driving part is overshadowed by the people at the end of the road...
Grandpa Lee and Kathy, me, Aunt Terri, Aunt Julie, Uncle Bob, Aunt Linda, Trent, Kyleigh and B


First time these two have met.


Aunt Terri spoiled us and took Brenden on some carnival rides. She even provided roasted cinnamon almonds. Never had them before but am definitely looking forward to the next time I do. Tasty.



Cars and motorcycles....Heaven for a little boy. Terri is a marvelous hostess. She knew the best places for little boys (and great treats for Mom and Dad).

That was all just on Saturday. We slept pretty darn well that night.