pacific northwest: part 2

Continuing from yesterday... after a week at Wallowa Lake, Oregon we went back to my dad's home in Kennewick, Washington and spent half of a week hanging out all together under one.lovely.roof.


Here is round two of our trip through photos:

grandpa jerry, sawyer, and my dad

sawyer and taylor swift

diesel dan

groundbreaking ceremony for KGH (the hospital my dad works at)

my brother-in-law david and sister ashley

pinata fun

mr. swift and me

cake face

sawyer, ashley, my dad, me, and diesel

freckle face

I hope you are enjoying the photos!

pacific northwest vacation: part 1

Two weeks ago Mr. Swift and I flew out of Denver to visit my Dad and family in Eastern Washington. It had been a long time since our last trip.

I was so excited to see my dad and family. It had been the longest time I had gone without seeing them.  (A little less than a year).

We were expecting to spend the following 2 weeks with them, my sister and her family. But we were happily surprised by a pair of disguised grandparents picking us up from the airport. It made our holiday even better to have my grandparents with us in the pacific northwest.

The morning after we arrived we drove 4 hours south to Wallowa Lake, Oregon. Here are some of my favorite snapshots from our holiday travels:

**Warning: there are many photos of my adorable nephews! Beware.**

baseball with mama and grandpa jerry

little nephew sawyer

i think there was a crazy story being told here

my dad and my nephew diesel

cutest.thing.ever.

jospeh, oregon (pretending we're parents)

antiquing

mr. swift loves coca cola

my brother garrett

mama and my sister taylor swift

david, grandpa jerry and mama

wallowa lake, oregon

my sister ashley and her husband david

guided fishing tour

my sister and my dad 

vacation, part two to come!

Week 3: Fern Lake (late)

Fern Lake Camp Site, RMNP

It's been almost a month since we have been in RMNP and so far Chris and I have done 5 hikes. I have posted two of them earlier. Now here is another.

Sometimes people ask us why we like camping/hiking. Hiking for us is many things. It's an adventure. It's away from crowds. It's a challenge. It's rewarding. But most of all, we are usually just amazed by how beautiful our Creator has made nature to be.

Here are some photos from an overnight hike we did a few weeks ago with our pastor's family and some friends. We hiked a little, ate a lot and learned to filter spring water. It was awesome.

Big Thompson River|Bigelow Tansy-Aster

the river and my friend Amy

morning cup of coffee, instant coffee made from stream filtered water

Mule's Ears| stream filtered water

Look at those vasculcar plants growing off the trees!

We love our camelbacks! (Camelbacks are water pouches that you can fill and stick right into your backpacks. They're much easier than using water bottles when hiking because the tubes and come right out of your backpack and stay next to your mouth. So... you don't have to stop to take a drink of water).

More hikes to come as I catch up on posting!