Hi. We haven't written for a while because we were on vacation for a whole month. Well maybe not a WHOLE month; we were actually gone for four calendar weeks but that's pretty close. Christina might delete that sentence later. (and that one).
"Where did you go on such an extended vacation?" you may ask. "Somewhere really cool and exotic I hope." If Idaho is exotic, then yes. More specifically, we took a tour through much of the Western United States to visit friends and family.
First we traveled south to California. Our first visit was with Christina's grandparents near San Jose.
Next we traveled down to
Soledad to visit Adam's parents in their new house!
We had lots of fun adventures with Adam's parents, his sister Amber, and Lily's only cousin Amelia.
We took a hike through Pinnacles National Monument.
And visited the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Lily and Amelia (and the grown-ups) had a great time looking at all of the fish and other sea creatures.
We also went out to breakfast; Lily thought the menu was superb.
And we took a trip down to the beach to have some fun in the sand and the waves.
Next we drove out to Utah, stopping to visit some of Adam's relatives in St. George and Enoch along the way.
We stayed with Christina's family in Salem but spent lots of time visiting old friends,
family members,
and former co-workers.
We also went to the zoo...
and the Air Force Museum.
We also saw some really cool cars. Lily wouldn't let us leave until we took a picture of this one.
Our next stop was
Stanley Lake, ID where we went camping for a family reunion with Christina's mom's family. And yes, that really is how we dress when we go camping with the Lofgrans. (okay, not really)
One great thing about family reunions is that there is always someone willing to hold or watch the baby for you.
Lily had a fabulous time playing in the sand and the water while we went kayaking and tubing on the lake.
She sat in the freezing cold stream, playing happily with the rocks and the sand for over an hour! Good thing mommy has been feeding her so well.
We finally made it home safe and sound which is no small feat considering that there were massive wildfires burning just north and west of where we had been camping. Fortunately a timely rain storm suppressed the fires enough that the road was open when we needed to come home.
So that was our trip. Thanks to all of our friends and family who let us stay in their homes along the way. We had a wonderful time and miss all of our loved ones across the country already. So if you're ever in the
Willamette Valley please give us a call and stop by!
