Ape caves

The last family hike of the summer, we went to the ice Caves up at St Helens National monument. Is her really cool! It took us awhile to get to the entrance because we wanted to go to the exit an enter there because it would make it easier to go downhill in the caves. Once we got inside and turned our flashlights on we were ready for adventure. It was Pitch Black so we all had to flashlights at least. Those are really fun exciting hike lots of bouldering for many hours.

My birthday/ Columbia River Cruise

I had a wonderful birthday this year! Patrick surprised me with tickets for dinner cruise on a old fashioned paddle boat on the Columbia River. I was so excited I even bought a new dress to wear. The weather was perfect. We had a beautiful Window Seat actually it was where we boarded, they moved our table right in front of that area and once the boat got underway and we had a fresh Breeze and beautiful views. The food was pretty good, but not spectacular. Mostly we enjoyed each other's company and the beautiful scenery. It was a great night. We  actually celebrated being together for 20 years now! It's pretty amazing, time has flown by. Patrick also got me a cake, but me a back that I've been wanting and a New Mexico t-shirt. It was a really great birthday.

Thorns Game

We attended our first Thorns game!
We got free tickets from filling up our tank with gas, I have been hanging on to them all summer. Savannah brother friend, and Trevor's friend met us there. It was such a fun night! Super exciting Thorns fans are super serious about their team. We definitely want to go back also need to try out the Timbers game.

Sacramento, CA

Our final stop on our trip was my brother Bryan's house is Sacramento. We were so happy to see him, his wife Jenny and little Everett. The first evening, my oldest brother Mark came over with his grown son (my nephew) Bronson, his girlfriend and their little baby girl Aileen. We were super excited to meet her she's only three and a half months old and so adorable. On the 2nd evening, my brother Brad came over with his kids and hung out. It was also Everett's 2nd birthday so we celebrated with him which was really fun.
What a great end to a nice vacation!

Porterville, CA

After a long day a Knott's, we made the 3 hour drive to my mom's house. Dang, we were tired. Especially me the driver. I had to pull over and take a nap. We spent just over 2 days with my mom. Mostly we just hung around the house, but she did take us to dinner and a play one night which was really fun. It was a nice visit. I always love going thru old pictures while I'm visiting her, and I did plenty of that.

Buena Park, CA

I decided to surprise the kids this day with a trip to Knott's Berry farm. Funny thing, even though I grew up in Southern California I actually had never been myself. We got up early and packed the car, then hit the road. They were sleeping when we arrived at the park and I woke them up saying"surprise" right before the big Knott's Berry farm sign. I had already bought tickets, so we were able to get inside quickly. It was so cute!! Seriously loved the Wild West stuff.  We had such a fun day. I definitely want to come back. We loved it. We even had lunch at the original chicken restaurant. Oh my, the food was so delicious!! I'm so glad I took the kids. Great day.