Crater Lake

In early May Nate had a rare Sunday off! We decided to get out of the house and ended up going for a drive. We had heard about some falls that were on the way to Crater Lake, so we headed up that way in search of them!

We drove, and drove, and drove, and drove ... we didn't see the falls, but we saw a sign indicating that the turn off for Crater Lake was only 20 miles away ... we looked at each other and decided, "why the heck not, we are already here."

As we approached the turn off for Crater Lake, we saw the turn off for the falls - we debated which way to go but again decided to head up to the Lake ... it was a very wise decision!

We were definitely unprepared for all of the beautiful snow and had to stop off at the gift shop to get a long sleeve shirt so we wouldn't freeze. After getting to the top, the sun was so warm that the long sleeve shirt was rendered unnecessary after hiking around for a few minutes ... oh well!

We stopped at Beckie's Dinner on our way back down the mountain for some dinner and some DELICIOUS cherry pie!!

Anyway, as you can see, it was a beautiful, beautiful day and Crater Lake is absolutely amazing! We loved the stark contrast between the lake and the snow, we loved that there was still a layer of ice on part of the lake, we loved the green pines, we loved it all!

Perhaps one day we'll head to the falls ... or maybe we'll just go back to Crater Lake!

... the drive home was beautiful, as well, and I can't resist posting this picture ...

We had Visitors!!

This blog post is WAY overdue! In early April, we had a visit from our favorite Duts family! We were both able to get a few days off of work and to spend time showing them around GP and playing tourist with them! We laughed, we played cards, we toured, we relaxed, we talked, we hugged and we had such a wonderful time with them! A visit from their sweet family was JUST what we needed! Here are a few pictures of the fun things that we did!

Hanging out downtown! Historical Grants Pass is awesome! We spent an afternoon wandering around, going to the chocolate shop, and having a wonderful time!

The Glass Forge! We spent HOURS here and took SO many pictures! Brynn & I were able to make our own ornaments and the rest of the family had fun picking out ornaments to take home with them! As we arrived, they were working on a beautiful vase that I fell completely in love with and when we went back the day after to pick up our ornaments, we brought the vase home with us as well! I'm so fascinated by blown glass and can safely say that we'll be going back!

The Bear Hotel! Grants Pass is amazing ... I'm not sure if I've mentioned that yet! Evergreen Bank runs The Bear Hotel - a storage space for all of the bears that are put out around Grants Pass in the summer! Every year they change up the theme and let families tour the hotel and have a fun experience! We spent a few hours there and had a most enjoyable time!

Just being silly! There was a lot of time to relax and chat and catch up and take silly pictures - my favorite times with our friends!

Riverside & Reinhart! We also spent an afternoon hanging out at our favorite parks! We played soccer and Frisbee, walked along the bridge, took pictures at the river and played on the playground!

We are SO grateful that we were able to spend so much time with some of our most favorite people in the world! We love them so much and had just the best time!

Boatnik 2014

This year Nate actually had some time off during the Annual Boatnik weekend - we went together a couple of times and we had a great time - I love it when he gets time off during community events like these - we love getting out together!

So, Boatnik ... The day started with a parade down sixth street that I actually ended up walking in with the Club ... it was a lot of fun and the kiddos were all really excited ... I'm super grateful for comfortable running shoes, though - my feet really could have been hurting!

 

After the parade we went to the V.I.P. tent with my co-workers (it's kind of nice knowing people who know people) - we sat on the deck, had lunch & drinks and watched the boat exhibitions! 

 

The following day, Nate & I headed back over to the V.I.P. tent but instead of sitting up on the deck, we went and sat below it and had great, great seating for the Memorial Day celebration and the boat race that followed ...

   

 I absolutely love the Memorial Day traditions that they have here, which include the National Anthem while the American Flag is unfolded over the bridge, a moment of silent and a wreath that floats down the river while bagpipes play "Amazing Grace," gunshots from the local military branch and this year, we had an awesome flyover!

   

We had a wonderful weekend together!