Oregon Part 5

Yesterday I left you at Crater Lake National Park, remember one of the 1000 places you should see before you die?

Today, let me tell you about some of the cool things to do on your way up there.

Most of you know that we have a daughter named Peyton. Imagine her excitement at getting to cross her very own bridge. If you don't have a daughter or son with the name Peyton then this really means nothing to you at all. I, however, wouldn't miss an opportunity to brag and show more pictures of our Peyton.



Let's talk food, frankly there isn't a whole lot up there. There are a couple restaurants in the park. The one in the lodge that overlooks Crater Lake is FANTASTIC. Expensive, but FANTASTIC! That being said, it's more adult food, and not (imho) very kid friendly.

On the way up however there is Beckie's Restaurant. This quaint little restaurant with seating for 30, at most, is packed every time I've been through the area. After sampling 2 slices of pie and having a fantastic lunch with our family there I understand why.

People come from all over JUST for the pie. Specifically the Huckleberry pie that is only available late August until they run out ... (I know I know but that's the way it works).

When we went for lunch they had a very accommodating kids menu at a reasonable price. I personally had the cheeseburger, and can I say, BEST CHEESEBURGER EVER. It was soooooohooohoooo good.

This place is a must stop, even if you only have the pie. I don't care if they tell you there will be a wait (and there likely will be even at off hours) to be seated, look around the area, and enjoy the wait. You will be rewarded.



A small drive, read 500 feet if that, up the road you'll run into the Upper Rogue Valley Gorge. Here you will find cascading waterfalls, chipmunks galore, a living stump, and a great deal of information about how the entire place was formed.

This stop is something that can be as long as you want to make it. You could spend hours here or a short 30 minutes depending on your schedule. Just be sure you go! I wouldn't recommend it if it wasn't totally worth it.









And.. because I like this picture. Mike took over the toting and had Caide in the carrier.



Enjoy your trip TO Crater Lake as much as you enjoy Crater Lake itself. There is so much to do, you just sometimes have to look!

I Heart Faces - Friends and I

This week at I Heart Faces the topic is "Friends and I."

My kids entry I am going to appropriately title "Boys will be Boys, or Girls?" While over at a friends house one night the girls "attacked" the boys and put make-up on them. The "attack" portion only lasted seconds before I think the boys kind of got into it. :)



This picture comes with a very touching story. Our family is a blended family. When "my" children first met Mike and spent the day with him, my youngest son (at the time), Blayre, exclaimed, "Mike, your my bestest friend EVER!" Both Mike and I were so touched. This is the picture that represents that to us.

This was taken the first week that Mike met Blayre.

Stellan Post Day 4

From what I understand today Stellan had a couple bouts of SVT but they were quick and he was able to come out of them on his own!

YAY!

Stellan with Mike!



Day 157 - Cigars

My husband enjoys an occasional cigar in the summer time, so for his birthday when I couldn't figure out what to get him for his birthday I went to our local Cigar shop and picked him up some for a gift.

Last night he decided to partake in one... He hates having his picture taken so as I was walking away I snapped this without even looking.

Not to shabby for not looking...

Day 150 Happy Anniversary Mike

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary. What a wonderful day.

This is a blog post I made the day after we got married.

5 days ...
Five days... 5 days can seem like a life time or so very short. You can waste 5 days doing nothing or you could spend 5 days deciding to get married, flying for the first time, landing in a state you have never been in, going to a road side stand in Tijuana and having tacos. In 5 days you could try mahi mahi, you could hold a crab in your hand and worry that it will pinch. You could see your first sea urchin, you could rent your first car, you could learn to speak very broken spanish. In 5 days you could stand on a beach in San Diego, barefoot at sunset holding the man of your dreams hands and saying I do. All without a care in the world, the smell of salt water in your nose. The feeling of having sandy grains under your feet all while waves crash against the rocks behind you.

If you haven't figured it out yet, Thursday night after a long discussion with my mother I realized that I just wanted to marry the man I love, the man also known as my best friend. It didn't matter when, where, or how I just wanted it to happen. Jokingly we talked about eloping, then suddenly light bulbs went off in our heads and we said... ya know that isn't such a bad idea. So Friday Mike frantically searched and called me with the news... we could pull it off, we were going to San Diego to get married.

Today was the day... March 26th at approx. 6:30pm I married Michael James Lyon. I am now Mrs. Lyon.

I could not be happier. He has made all my dreams come true and I am looking forward to a wonderful life with him.

Don't anyone be offended only 3 people knew we were coming here. Mikes parents dont even know. More later...

Thank you, Honey, for a WONDERFUL Anniversary, I love you more today than I did that day. You've forever changed my life for the better.

Isn't he the most handsome man ever? He hates when I take his picture but he's so darn photogenic.



The eyes... I still get lost in them every time I look at him.






Finally a cute picture, the kids wanted to make Mike and I brownies for our anniversary. I bit the bullet and let them do it all by themselves. They were... a very thoughtful gift. :)

Day 145 Random Pictures from Saturday

Shadow Games


Sides of a building that I liked.

Day 144 Happy Birthday Mike!

March 20th 2009 My wonderful, incredibly handsome husband turned 29!! Happy Birthday Honey.

After a nice dinner out with no kids, and a few drinks with friends we came home to hang out with Rick and Krysten. Thanks for coming over and celebrating with us guys!!

Mind's Eye - Family

It's another week for Mind's Eye! I just upgraded Mr.Linky so I can have more than one Mr. Linky running at once. My intentions are to run them two weeks and then close the link leaving only those who have participated still linked up.

So onto the fun! This weeks theme is "FAMILY". I thought it would be nice to see the families of those of you that follow my blog.


Don't forget to spread the word!! The more people that participate the more fun this will be!

Lastly, next week's theme is going to be "LOCOMOTION" anything that moves, I want to see your pictures.

I just got back from Florida to visit my husband's grandmother. This is a picture of our two youngest boys, Mike, and his grandmother. We had a GREAT visit.



Now let's see your Family!!

I Heart Faces - Messy

This week over at I Heart Faces the theme is "Messy".

I admit these aren't my best submissions, but they are from when I first started taking photographs more often. This week I am just enjoying playing along.

Here is my kids submission for the week... While she doesn't look too messy here, I assure you there was watermelon juice EVERYWHERE! Can't you just smell that sweet sticky goodness?



My adult submission is from my husbands birthday party, we got into a bit of a frosting war.



I <3 Faces *Wonder*

This week over at I <3 Faces the theme is "wonder" this week!

This is my adult entry... This was Mike when we went to San Diego to elope.



This is my kid entry... Kendyl's gorgeous eyes.

I <3 Faces - Adults Week 3

It's another contest week over at I <3 Faces, and this weeks theme is "Joy".

Below is a picture of the first time my husband, Mike, held our son Caide. While he doesn't have a huge grin plastered on his face I assure you I couldn't possibly capture the amount of joy he was feeling right that very second.

I <3 Faces - Adults

As I mentioned in my previous entry this morning I was linked to a photography contest.

There are two categories to enter, kids and adults. This is my adult entry. Feedback is always appreciated. Thank you!

First my personal favorite... My incredibly handsome husband.



I wasn't going to use this one but my friends liked it so I decided to add it in.

Day 70 Game Day

Game Day, Vikings vs Eagles. A balmy -5 with wind chill more like -20.

Outside the stadium is pure electricity flowing through purple veins, just as it usually is. The sidewalks are packed, the Hiawatha is crammed full of people as tight as sardines in a can. Everywhere you turn you see purple and gold, and unfortunately the occasional green speck. We'll call them "the others".

As we approach the lines we separate into our respective boy/girl lines for the pat down that allows us access to Viking's Mania.

We get blown into the stadium, (a true vikings fan will understand what it means to get blown in and out of the stadium). People are everywhere, beer lines are long, security is thick, it's GAME time folks.

Enjoy, we did, even with the loss.

Pre-game at the hotel.



Dressed for his first game.



Ragnar... Superintendent by day, Viking by night.















Not an empty seat in the house.







I really like this domino effect picture. I think it shows the true effort of an entire team.





Only my child could fall fast asleep in the loudest stadium in the NFL.



Self-Portrait with Mike



Post game drinks and food at Lyon's!