summer fun part II

After our Independence Day fun, we drove to Wallowa Lake in Oregon.
We have heard about this place for a long time and decided this would be our chance to explore it.
We drove from Council on the road that Chris used to ride as a child when he got to go to work with his dad who drove a big truck hauling ore. He shared lots of memories with the kids. And we got to see Hells Canyon and we had to stop and take pictures at the Seven Devils lookout, the beloved backpacking spot. The drive was very long and windy but gorgeous and absolutely filled with wildflowers.

It turned out to be a very fun place to camp.
(Especially since it had showers and hardly any mosquitoes!!)
We have never experienced anything like the deer at that campground.
They are so used to people that they just wander through the campsites and even eat out of your hand (not that we tried -we're rule followers).
We loved going on some nice hikes.
My sister told us about one that ended in a pretty waterfall.
We were glad that we found that one.
And loved the views of the lake along the way.

Austin wanted to spend his money on a new hat (visor, actually) that said Wallowa Lake on it. It had nothing to do with the hat itself...only the fact that he wanted so badly to be like his dad who often wears a visor. He was so excited and kept asking me to take a picture of the two of them in their visors.

There is nothing like spending time away from everything with the people I love the most.
This is where my man is in his element.
He is patient, calm and happy.
And it is so great to enjoy our children and just play together...
bocce ball, hiking, swimming, card games, smores, riddles, exploring, frisbee, rafting, football, stories around the campfire.
Speaking of stories around the campfire...one night we tucked our kids into bed around 10pm because they were exhausted from so many late nights. A few minutes later, Chris was over at the tents asking them if they wanted to get back up and sit with us at the fire for awhile longer. He missed having them with us and he said that's the best part of camping and we hadn't really done it yet. There is definitely something about just staring into a campfire. I thought that was very cute.














Next up on our agenda was a family reunion.
Chris's brother Josh was in charge and was hosting it at his house.
So we stopped back at home and I gave my washing machine a workout (can't stand smelly camping clothes sitting around!).
And then we were off to a quick reunion.




We had a great time hanging out with the family.
And the kids were sad to see it end.

We did get to make a detour on the way home to meet our newest nephew/cousin.
I'm sure that he decided to make his grand entrance three weeks early because he heard we were passing through.

Mike and Jen's baby boy, Max.
What a cutie.