Week with Dave

After our trip to Idaho, we were able to take Dave back with us to Washington between his semesters. We had a fun week with him.

On the way home we took a rest in the Blue Mountains.

On Tuesday, we took Dave to downtown Vancouver. This included a walk through Fort Vancouver, the original settlement here.

 

And the Vancouver Waterfront.

 

Wednesday, I and my sister Elina took Dave up the Columbia River Gorge. We hiked to Elowah Falls, one of my favorites.

 

We stopped at Horsetail Falls, Multnomah Falls, and Latourell Falls.

  

Besides the great waterfalls, I also found the same salamander from a few weeks ago, and several cool bugs.

Here we are at Crown Point.

Thursday we went to the coast. We had wonderful weather, so the views were very nice. We stopped at Ecola State Park, a place where we took Ruth’s family to when we spent Christmas at the coast back in 2007.

We walked to Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach. And we stopped to get some of our favorite salt water taffy at Bruce’s Candy Shop.

We ended the day trip in Tillamook at the Cheese Factory. Dave and Ruth pose here as the farmer and the cow. Dave’s expression is particularly good.

And we were all very happy to get some ice cream…

Thursday was also my Mom’s Birthday. We are glad we actually got to be home to celebrate it with her, and Ruth even baked the cake. Hope you had a good birthday, Mom.

We were glad to have Dave visit with us a few days.

Utah and Idaho

We had the opportunity recently to go to Utah and Idaho! The trip was mostly to go and help Dana’s sister, Elina, pack her stuff up and return home. But we decided to stop by Utah and visit some people first.

We missed the pretty mountains and Dana had to take lots of pictures of them all covered in snow.

 

This panoramic is the view off Uncle Sherman’s deck. We were able to stay with them and had a great time!

 

We also got to see my friend, Jackie, who just got back from her mission in Holland. Here we are after eating some tasty In’n’Out.  For the record, it’s just as good as I remember it and not over-hyped.

In Rexburg we got to see the temple all completed and Elina took us on a tour of the rock and mineral collection on campus.

Dana’s mom was even brave enough to come with Dana and I to Craters of the Moon. It was very snowy (and a lot of the park was closed) but it was still fun.

We also took a day to drive down to Idaho Falls and go through the temple there. We also got to see my cousin, Jessica, and her kids. It was a quick visit, but nice.

While in Idaho we stayed with my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Bruce; Thanks for letting us stay with you guys! (And for the tasty brownies!)

Here are some shots of the drive from Felt to Rexburg. We were quite happy to see a moose making its way across a field and for being able to see the Tetons come out from the cover of clouds. Yay for Idaho!

We were also able to see Ruth’s brother Dave, and he even came home with us to Washington for the week between classes. Our next post will be our adventures with Dave in the Great Northwest.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone! We hope that this season of renewal and rebirth is a time of growth and improvement for all of you.

And we hope you get lots of candy from the Easter Beagle :-)

Super-Cute Adorable Baby! And some other stuff…

This last Sunday we had the opportunity to go to Cheney, WA to see Will and Courtney’s new baby, Whitney, get blessed. We had a great time spending time with them and were happy to see them. Whitney is a wonderful baby. She even let us hold her.

Will seemed especially proud of his new baby.

 

So here are some more shots of Whitney. We enjoyed her awesome hair, and how pleasant and happy she is.

On the way home we took a small detour to Palouse Falls State Park. It was a neat place that we had never seen. And like the last waterfall we stopped at it had a cute little animal pose for us on the edge of the cliff.

 

Here is a close up of our little marmot friend.

We want to say thanks to Will and Courtney for putting up with us and letting us come and visit, and we hope to see them again soon.

Wahkeena Falls

Recently, we decided to go on a little hike. The only problem was that everyone else had the same idea. We headed to the Columbia River Gorge and many of the trailheads were packed with cars. We decided on Wahkeena Falls since Ruth had not been there yet.

 

It is a very nice waterfall with a beautiful cascade below the main falls. An added bonus was this little salamander we found by our car in the parking lot. It lives near streams and waterfalls and wanders around in the moss and rocks. He is a cute little guy.

Message for Matthew

It was our nephew Matthew's birthday yesterday, and we thought we'd celebrate by posting these videos we made for him.

Their coolness was too massive for us to post them ON the blog, so the above link will take you to them.

And if you're worried that it's late, just remember that in Russia, it is terrible bad luck to wish someone happy birthday too early.
So, Happy Birthday, Matthew!

We love you and miss you!

More About Clyde

Clyde's story continues: http://rfblogopolis.blogspot.com/