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…

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?

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!

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Most of them are from our trip to the playground.

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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!

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

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?

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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):

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What do you want your legacy to be at 85?

Yeah… he’s a trouble maker.