Archive - Travel RSS Feed

Our Trek Down South

I took a million photos on our way down here to El Paso but haven’t had the time to post them till now.

So… let’s play catch up:

Pax getting in the way of packing… with a chocolate face.

Before we packed the truck up in Portland, Oregon.

That’s our 26 footer that trailed our Durango. And my hot husband, Brian.

A few of my closest girlfriends sharing a “bon voyage” meal with me.

Chance’s last day at school with his good friends, Grant & Samson.

At 7am in the morning at the PDX airport.

On the airplane. We flew Southwest. Got stuck in the back in the first leg.

Thankful my bestie flew with me and the kids. Couldn’t have done it without her.

Reading up… just in case, so they know what to do to be heroes.

In between flights. We were the only ones connecting through.

Southwest Airlines is awesome. They let the boys sit in the co-pilot seat for a bit. The pilot even took this photo for me.

Again… I love Southwest Airlines.

Watching outside as we land in our new hometown, El Paso.

Our new hometown from the sky.

And… we made it. Physically. Mentally? Well, that’s debatable.

Paxton getting some love from his Papa.

There’s my story…

… for now…

Seattle

I was born and raised in Seattle.

I moved to Portland in 2000 and have only been back for visits and short trips since. Since David & Diane have extended their stay with us, we KNEW we had to make a trip up here.

So, today, we got to be tourists. We went to Seattle Center to see the Space Needle, EMP and even rode some rides. Here are some snap shots I took from my iPhone.

Chance & Brian riding a little rollercoaster. My sisters and I rode this EXACT same rollercoaster when we were little. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. They boys are alive… and that’s good.

Chance and David riding a spinny boat thing. Chance was smiling the whole time… and David screamed like a girl. It was awesome.

Paxton and Chance driving their little car. Pax was “all done” halfway through… and signed it to us the last 3 laps around. You can see him on the second photo.

EMP. None of us (Brian, David, Diane, Mikey, Chance, Paxton & I) have actually ever been here. It was built after I moved to Portland so I just never got the chance. It was fun to see something as cool as this! The photo below was taken with the Pano app on my iPhone.

Guitar love. AMAZING!!!

I love taking my friends on a tour of my hometown.

What’s the highlight of YOUR hometown?

Wallowa Lake

For my birthday, my in-laws took us to Wallowa Lake for a tram ride and a nice hike. We would have loved to hike more, but the kiddos can only take so much.

I think Chance did a pretty good job though. He hiked over two miles at 8,200 feet without complaining. He’s a trooper!  Here’s a short video of some of what we did.

Here’s photos of our whole Wallowa experience!

Labor Day in La Grande Photos

I just realized I didn’t post the rest of our La Grande photos. So… here they are.

Most of them are from our trip to the playground.

Grandma Peggy’s 85th Birthday Party

This past weekend, we had the privilege of celebrating Brian’s Grandma Peggy’s 85th Birthday in Cove, Oregon.

We went back to where he grew up. It’s always a nostalgic trip for us. It’s the only time I (kind of) wish I grew up on a farm. Here’s a photo of the house Brian grew up in (it was on 55 acres of cherry farm).  Oh… and if you didn’t know… they also BUILT this house… like hammered in the nails in THEMSELVES!

Cove House on Hill

Cove House

And here’s a photo of the house they rented WHILE they were building the big house on the hill.

"Wait" House

Below, in the collection, you’ll see the view surrounding the house. I wish we had money so we could buy this house back.  Can you imagine waking up to this view every day?

View from House

Brian & Me at the old house

The best part of the trip was seeing the WHOLE family.  Here’s one of just Brian’s family:  Kevin (Brian’s big brother), Dennis (Dad), Linda (Mom) & Brian.

Kevin, Dad, Mom & Brian

Here’s 4 generations of Clayville Men:  Kevin, Dad, Grandpa Bob, Brian, Chance & Paxton.

Clayville Men: 4 generations

Here’s Grandma Peggy, Grandpa Bob and their children:   Dennis, Don, Doug, Grandpa Bob, Grandma Peggy, Diane.

Clayville's: 2 Generations

Here’s Grandma Peggy, Grandpa Bob, all their children & grandchildren:
Back Row: Dennis, Don
Middle Row: Caleb, Doug, Grandpa Bob, Grandma Peggy, Diane
Front Row: Cherylyn, Camilyn, Kevin, Brian, Ben

Clayville's: 3 Generations

Here’s Grandma Peggy, Grandpa Bob and all their children & grandchildren & GREAT grandchildren (we’re missing just a few): From LEFT to RIGHT:

Back Row: Dennis, Don, Selena
Third Row: Caleb, Doug, Robert, Peggy, Diane, Rachelle
Second Row:  Cherylyn, Camilyn, Kevin, Brian, Ben
Front Row: Joseph, Matthew, Chance, Paxton, Luke, John

Clayville Bloodline

And here’s the whole family… well… the one’s of us who were there (of course, Chance is the only one goofing around – that would be MY genes):

From LEFT to RIGHT:
BACK ROW – Me, Brian, Linda, Casie, Kevin, Ben, Diane, Renwil, Wilma, Doug, Sue, Selena, Caleb, Matthew, John, Danielle, Luke.
FRONT ROW – (A very limp) Chance, Dennis, Peggy, Paxton, Robert, Don, Joseph, Cherylyn, Rachelle, Camilyn.

the WHOLE Clayville Clan

It’s amazing to see four generations running around all on one property.  I haven’t honestly really picked up my Nikon D70 for quite some time, but this weekend, I couldn’t seem to put it down.  I wanted to capture EVERY SINGLE moment.  These moments are rare… and one day, I hope I can see four generations of my own bloodline.

God has greatly blessed Grandma Peggy!  What a privilege to help honor a woman who has sacrificed and loved the best she knew how.  She is TRULY amazing.

“Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.” So God granted him what he requested.

Brian, Grandma Peggy & Me

Here are all my photos from this weekend – from just hanging out at Brian’s parents house to visiting the old house and cherry farm… and maybe picking some yummy cherries (we didn’t have a container for the cherries… all we had was an umbrella *shrugs* it worked):

What do you want your legacy to be at 85?

Book Time

Watch this sequence:

storytime1

storytime2

storytime3

storytime4

Yeah… he’s a trouble maker.

Page 1 of 41234»