Saying Good-bye to Lila

This weekend was a very special one for us.  Usually, we look forward to General Conerence, watch each session, take lots of notes, go out for our traditional ice creams after Saturday's afternoon session, etc.  This weekend was different.  This weekend, we said good-bye to Grandma Lila.  We did watch the Saturday morning session of Conference, but the rest are waiting for us on the dvr. 

After the morning session on Saturday, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's chapel to participate in a Celebration of Life.  I had been asked to accompany my aunt and two of my cousins as they sang The Lord is My Shepherd.  We got there early to practice a few times.  After we finished practicing, there was still a bit of time before people were to arrive, so Cadi started playing the piano and Rori got on the mic and began singing.  Eventually, they started to coordinate and next thing we knew, Cadi was accompanying Rori as she sang I am a Child of God.  It was so sweet and everyone who was there helping to get ready LOVED it!  Matthew loved it, too, and that was what clinched it for me (since this was for his mom's service).  Rori really wanted to sing in the program, so when it was time for the congregation to share their thoughts and memories of Lila, Rori and I went up so she could sing her song.  (Cadi didn't want to do it in front of everyone, so I filled in.)  I set her up with the mic and sat down next to her at the piano and she sang in front of everyone, all by herself!  And she did a really, really good job!  I don't know how many other people loved it, but I know my family did, and that's what mattered the most to me. :) 

We love the Hills... and they are a little crazy.  It's hard to ever get a picture without someone acting goofy!

It was so wonderful to be a part of this very special time, to remember and celebrate such a sweet and wonderful lady. 

The Celebration of life was fun!  There were lots of memories shared and several musical talents shared, most of whom were Lila's grandchildren; she had always been so proud of how musical and talented her grandchildren were.

After the Celebration of Life, the girls and I went back to the Hills while Ryan wen to Priesthood Session.  We ended up hanging out the rest of the night.  We goofed off, ate some of the leftover food from the service, and just spent time together.  My cousin Chelsie trimmed up the girls' hair since they both needed it badly and they both look so much better now! :)  Thanks, Chels!

There was a lot of leftover Martinelli's, so we toasted to Lila a few more times.  In honor of the "toasting", Chad made toast. lol

On Sunday morning, the girls and I headed into the Gorge to help say good-bye to Lila.  Ryan was going to join us but ended up getting caught up all day with work.  He was so disappointed!  The girls and I had a really nice time with the family though and I'm so glad that we still went, even without Ryan.

We began in the Gorge at HorseTail Falls, one of Lila's favorite places. 

(My camera lens was pretty wet by the time we took the group picture! lol  But it still turned out okay.)

Next we needed to head back in the opposite direction, all the way to the coast.  But first, we stopped at Multnomah Falls to take a restroom break before the long drive.

We caravaned along on our way to Cannon Beach, when all of a sudden the lead car pulled over at this little restaurant.  MaryJane remembered that Lila always stopped to get a milkshake there on her way to the beach, and she really wanted everyone to do that, too.  So, we piled into a side serving room and had milkshakes.  Rori and I shared a blackberry shake that was berry delicious. ;)

Finally, we arrived in Cannon Beach and met up with more family.  We walked along the beach to Haystack Rock and Matthew took her ashes into the waves.  His sister, Jill, brought white roses and threw them into the waves as well.  Of course, the waves just pushed them back on shore at first, so we sprinkled more ashes on the roses and waited for the waves to come get them.  After a few minutes, Jill decided that Lila wouldn't have waited, so neither should we.  She picked up the roses, walked into the water, and placed them into the ocean.  We watched as they were finally carried off, to her final resting place.

The whole weekend was a special experience.  Lila was a wonderful lady and we were fortunate to have been able to become part of her "adopted" family in her final years. 

Good-bye Grandma Lila!  God be with you til we meet again. :)

Daddy Daughter Hike

Last Monday, Ryan and Rori decided to go for a hike... in the middle of winter.  It was actually a beautiful day and we all would have gone except that Cadi had piano lessons, so she and I stayed behind.  But Ryan and Rori went and had a great time!  It wasn't quite as beautiful as it would have been if it was later in the year, but it was still pretty. :)  Ryan took a few pics, and here they are (the bottom left photo is a picture of their destination: Punch Bowl)...

Horse Tail Falls/Triple Falls Hike

On Monday, we hoped to go to Mt. St. Helens, but it was a bit cloudy so we decided to hold off for a day since the forecast was predicting lots of sun on Tuesday.  Instead, we headed into the gorge for one of my favorite hikes: Triple Falls. 

We started at Horse Tail Falls, right off the highway, then hiked back to Triple Falls where we stopped to eat and relax for a bit before heading back. 

(Click on collages to enlarge.)

GORGE-OUS!

The other day, I had a really good conversation with a really good friend.  We talked about how we really don't have any reason to complain about life, we are so blessed.  Yet, we do still find reasons to complain. lol  Why is that?  Perhaps because life is hard!  Wherever you're at, you become accustomed to it, so when bumps come along the way, they can cause us to struggle.  The truth is, we both (my friend and I) have great families with loving husbands, we have the gospel, we live in comfortable homes (as opposed to lean-tos on the side of the road), etc. 

Then yesterday Ryan and I took the girls into the gorge.  It was a half-day of school, so Ryan took a half-day of work, too. :)  I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE THE GORGE!!!  ;)  As we entered the gorge and I was overwhelmed by it's beauty, I thought again of the conversation I had with my friend.  She is right, we really don't have any reason to complain.  I know there are many beautiful parts of the world, and everyone has their own preference as to what is "most beautiful", but for me, this is it.  I need to live here.  I've lived in several different parts of the country, each with it's own beauty, but THIS is where I belong.  I just don't think I can be as happy anywhere else.  :)

We visited three waterfalls yesterday: Latourell, where we walked the short walk down to it's Lower Falls; Wahkeena Falls; and Multnomah Falls.  We didn't anticipate hiking up to the top of Multnomah but when we got there, it just kind of worked out.  We got about half way before my knee stopped me.  If I had known we were going to be hiking, I would have worn my brace, which even then still might not have been enough.  So, I didn't go to the top with Ryan.  Acadia elected to stay back with me and she and I got some alone time instead. :)

I could take pictures in the gorge all day long.  As it was, I took nearly 200 in the 3 or 4 hours we were there.  Here is a slideshow of my favorites.  Warning: these pics may give you the strong, sudden desire to drop what you're doing and plan a trip out here.  (Or if you live here, they may cause you to drop what you're doing to plan a day in the gorge.)  Don't say I didn't warn you. ;)



(Scroll over the slideshow to bring up the pause/rewind/fastforward buttons.)

Rooster Rock

We've had a nice visit with Ryan's mom and stepfather this week.  Unfortunately, Ryan has had to work everyday this week, even yesterday when he took the day off, he went in for a meeting in the afternoon.  But today was one day that he could spend the whole day with them, which is good because they leave tomorrow morning.  We decided to go to Rooster Rock State Park for a day hike.  It was a beautiful day and a nice hike.  Here are some of the pictures we took:



See?  Pretty! :)

Today was also the first day of General Conference.  We set the DVR to record the general sessions but I almost stayed home from the hike to watch it live, just because I LOVE General Conference and I didn't want to have to wait to see it.  In the end, I obviously chose to go with the family to Rooster Rock.  But I did watch part of it before we left; while everyone was deciding where we would go, I shut myself in my bedroom and watched the first 40 minutes or so.  And as soon as we got home from the hike, I watched the rest.  There were some fantastic talks!  I'm planning on posting my notes after tomorrow's sessions.  :)

Happy President's Day; it's not raining, let's go on a hike!

We love living here, have I mentioned that before? lol So this morning when it looked like a nice day, Blue and I decided we should take advantage of the holiday and good weather to take the kiddos out for a hike. To make it even more fun, we called a friend to invite her family along. Turns out she had been abandoned by her family as they were playing on Mt. Hood, so it worked out really nice. With her youngest in tow, we all headed into the gorge for a chilly but very enjoyable hike.

We went to my favorite hiking place: Horse Tail Falls. The first little bit is all uphill and makes you wonder why you ever thought this was a good idea to begin with, but eventually it evens out a bit and the rest is quite enjoyable. I love all the moss. Here, in the dead of winter, we were surrounded by green. It was really pretty. I love how alive the Northwest is, year round. :)

We hiked past PonyTail Falls and Oneida Falls before deciding it was time to turn around and head back. We ended up hiking for about 2.5 miles. Rori did really well and hiked almost the entire first half by herself. In fact, she actually hiked most of it, only allowing Daddy to carry her a couple of times. Big girl! :)

Here are some pics, scroll over the image for an option to pause the slideshow...
 

What the NorthWest is REALLY like.

After a great day at Mt. St. Helens, the next thing on the list of things to experience in our area was the rain the Columbia River Gorge.   Well, they got both.

We attended church, then changed, loaded up the cars with kids and lunch and headed into the gorge.  Just as the raindrops began to fall.  Welcome to Washington. ;)

But fortunately, as is often the case, the showers came and went and we actually enjoyed a fairly rain free lunch when we arrived at LaTourell falls.





After we ate, we took the short walk down to the Lower Falls.








Next we headed to Oregon's number one tourist attraction: Multnomah Falls.  And wow, were there tourists!  Despite the drizzly, rainy day, it was PACKED!  The whole gorge was full of hikers/campers/observers, but Multnomah was definitely the busiest place.





We walked the 1/4 mile up to the bridge and I took this pic, it's an angle I haven't shot before.



Proof that I carried Rori during part of our walk.  I just won't tell you which part (uphill or down). ;)





After Multnomah, the rain really started to pick up.  We continued driving up the scenic highway and stopped at HorseTail Falls, where we had originally planned on hiking a couple of miles.  The rain wasn't going to let up and we had three young'uns with us so we decided to call it a day.  But before we headed back, some of us took a few minutes to check out HorseTail Falls.



The rest of the day was spent at home.  We played games, mostly the Wii, and had dinner together.  Don't tell the kids, but as soon as they were in bed, Tom, Laura, Ryan and I fired up the BBQ and roasted marshmellows for S'mores! lol  It was silly but fun!  I really can't wait until we finish our backyard and have our firepit. ;)

Early the next morning, the Davis family headed back to Idaho.  It was a great visit, I wish it could have been longer, hopefully they liked it enough to consider coming back for a longer visit next time.  :)

A week late... again.

I'm pretty slow getting up some of my pics from last week.  Last Saturday we went into the gorge with Landon and did a small hike, Horse Tail Falls.  It's one of my favorite hikes in the gorge and it's even better when you go further back to Triple Falls. :)  This time, however, we just did the Horse Tail trail because we were concerned Rori would get too fussy if we completely missed her nap.  We need to get a backpack to carry her in where she can sleep if she wants - then we can do some longer hikes. :)

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful hike!  Check out some of the pics we took...

This is Horse Tail Falls, where the trail begins:














As you can see, Cadi was in quite the posing mood.  Sometimes it is like pulling teeth to get a picture of her, but during this hike, she was posing left and right!  I guess she was inspired by the beautiful sights all around her.   Who could blame her?  :)

From Gorge to Coast

This week we ventured out in the beautiful NorthWest and experienced some of the reasons why I love it here so much! 

Check out some of the pics from our visit in the Columbia River Gorge:

(Scroll over photos to get a description.)


































And here are some pics from our visit to the Coast:







































Yesterday a friend of mine took these pics of us at a park near our house:









Yesterday Ryan's brother's family headed home.  :(  Today, Ryan's parents and little brother got on a plane to head back east. :(

We had a wonderful week with everyone here!  And we have so many wonderful memories that we get to keep forever. :)

If you are interested in seeing the hundreds of pictures that I took (plus some that Susan took - I've been promised copies of the ones that Rance and Jess took soon), just check out our Photobucket album and browse through the various sub-albums.  Enjoy! :)