OREGON 2009 - Part 1

Our Oregon trip has come and gone. We weren't gone nearly as long as last year and are home with plenty of more summer for the kids to enjoy before school starts up again.

I think I am going to have to post the trip in spurts since I am so overwhelmed right now with too many pictures and events to talk about. So just know that this is only a portion of the trip and I will post more later.

We had not 1 but 2 tires blow-out on the fifth-wheel (not both at the same time). Mark was a stud and kept the truck and trailer in control and we were lucky to be close enough to towns to buy replacements both times. We were already down quite a bit of spending money before we even got there. Unfortunately the fifth-wheel sustained some body damage that we will have to get repaired.

Here are some candids of the trip:

We couldn't resist taking this one of the two boys sharing a bed trying to stay warm after Mark booted Carson out of his bed (the kitchen table bed of the fifth-wheel) so he could make breakfast and get the table all set.

Traveling with your home-away-from-home on wheels definitely is the way to go! Last summer we parked our fifth-wheel in one spot and left it there the whole time while we traveled around. This year we got smart and took it wherever we went. The boys have gotten pretty dang good with packing up and hooking up and can make it all happen in a very short time. It was so nice to do lakes and beaches and have the convenience of water/showers/potties/food right there.

We didn't have to eat out a ton and spend lots of money that we didn't have thanks to the new tires.....ala the Griswald Family Diner, I mean the Garrison Family Diner. (FYI we have been deemed the Clark Griswald family because Mark IS Clark Griswald and we are his family!

We had a mini office set-up in the back of the fifth-wheel so Mark could work from home/fifth wheel when needed, even with a printer/fax machine in the kids closet!! Of course I needed to stay in touch with the world via the internet! :)

One day the kids were able to go on a birds-eye view of Portland in a friends plane. They had a blast! Thanks Mike!

And last of all for Part 1 of our Oregon trip, Tank who has always been afraid of the water is NOW a swimmer and has learned to love it! Notice in the picture that he has not only retrieved a ball we threw out into the water, but he went out further to retrieve a stick at the same time that we had thrown in earlier. It was so funny to watch him because the whole time he was swimming he was constantly wagging his tail! No more sissy dog...he really is a true lab now!