After working nonstop, going to school full time and being so wrapped up in other things, Mat & I realized that we needed to have a little time away and have it just be the two of us. We decided to leave early to Oregon to have sometime for us to "refocus". It was the best! We have not taken a trip that wasn't family related or due to an emergency since we have been married. For us, it was great to have a little escape!
We flew into Oregon late Thursday night, because of the weather we were an hour late getting in and had such a full flight we didn't even get to sit next to one another, but still, we didn't let it get us down! We got up early Friday to go to the Evergreen Aviation Museum or the Spruce Goose Air Museum, it was so neat!! We spent all morning walking around, looking at the planes, reading about the pilots and different time periods of aviation, not to mention going into the Spruce Goose! This plane is 20 feet LONGER than a football field! The building was literally built around the Spruce Goose - it was so HUGE! If you don't know about the Spruce Goose, (or H4, or Flying Boat, as it's also called) we would recommend watching the movie, The Aviator about Howard Hughes (it's a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio) and goes over the (approximate) 30 second flight of the Spruce Goose. Here is a picture of backside of the plane....
Can you see me?? It's almost like a "Where's Waldo?" since I am in stripes, but I'm toward the bottom of the picture. Yep, I'm there!
After the museum, Mat & I drove to Lincoln City, on the Oregon Coast. It's a place that I would escape to when I lived back in Oregon and take some time to recharge the ol' batteries. There is something about the coast with the ocean waves, the intoxicating delicious food and the atmosphere that is truly hypnotizing. Take a look and see for yourself....
Daytime...
As the storm was rolling in...
The Oregon Coast also has a tendency to make you do crazy things. I'm convinced of this. Especially since at 40 degrees outside, winds whirling up to 70 mph, my husband decided to take advantage of the ocean water by doing this....
All of this dare devil style of guts turned into this....
But then, to show no fear...
I love my husband for this simple reason...he makes me laugh and isn't afraid of much.
However, he thought he might of lost a toe after this picture was taken, but then he double checked and all 10 are accounted for. :)
Mat & I spoiled ourselves by staying in this place...it was a special treat and completely A-MAZ-ING!
Since this weekend was also General Conference (if you're curious, let me know...), which Mat & I knew we wouldn't have a chance to see all of the sessions, we thought we'd at least try to catch some.
Saturday morning, we ordered room service for breakfast, set up our laptop on the table and enjoyed the first few talks of the morning session. We did the best we could by improvising and to be honest, we both didn't mind it at all. Conference was also on earlier since we were one hour behind Utah, which also was a benefit in our favor, since we heard more talks then we thought we would have. It was such a spiritual uplift for the day.
Saturday we also spent time with my dad, who we were excited to see and visit with. And since we don't get out very often, he was excited to show off a few of his toys to Mat. So they decided to shoot a few arrows in the front yard. To see my dad be able to do such a thing is such a treat. It was just last April that he was left with less than 10% of a heart and was fighting for every breath he took. He was blessed on April 18, 2009 with a heart transplant. He looks like a whole new man and has a new perspective on life.
The party didn't stop there, we thought it would be fun to get into the Easter traditions by coloring eggs with our niece and nephew - it was definately an excitement to see their little faces light up!
My sister and I even had a few good laughs (as shown in the picture). I miss seeing her and wish we lived closer, but hopefully she'll come out for a visit...hint, hint. :) Mat & I have made our Easter trip an annual thing since we have a much harder time travelling over the winter holidays. I look forward to every Spring having the chance to visit Oregon, knowing that it's going to be raining the entire time doesn't set me back at all. I look forward to seeing the family and catching up.
Sunday, for Easter breakfast, Mat & I grabbed a waffle from the hotel's complentary breakfast (it was mighty tasty!) and headed back to our room to catch the morning session of General Conference. We wanted to relax before the big family Easter lunch. However, the rest of the day turned into a blur. We had lunch, dropped off the rental car, went to my mom's, had dinner, etc. It was really nice to visit with my mom & Jim, we don't get much time due to our trip coming to an end, but it was nice to have a little more time than we normally do. We were also sorry that we weren't the best of morning folks before flying home (it was early!). Even at 6:30am, before breakfast has been consumed we still look "bright eyed & bushy tailed", as my mom would say.
Even though Oregon has passed, our travels don't end here...we've got an upcoming Texas trip...and there will be a whole lot of picture taking going on there! Look out warm weather!!!
Can you see me?? It's almost like a "Where's Waldo?" since I am in stripes, but I'm toward the bottom of the picture. Yep, I'm there!
Saturday morning, we ordered room service for breakfast, set up our laptop on the table and enjoyed the first few talks of the morning session. We did the best we could by improvising and to be honest, we both didn't mind it at all. Conference was also on earlier since we were one hour behind Utah, which also was a benefit in our favor, since we heard more talks then we thought we would have. It was such a spiritual uplift for the day.
The party didn't stop there, we thought it would be fun to get into the Easter traditions by coloring eggs with our niece and nephew - it was definately an excitement to see their little faces light up! 
My sister and I even had a few good laughs (as shown in the picture). I miss seeing her and wish we lived closer, but hopefully she'll come out for a visit...hint, hint. :) Mat & I have made our Easter trip an annual thing since we have a much harder time travelling over the winter holidays. I look forward to every Spring having the chance to visit Oregon, knowing that it's going to be raining the entire time doesn't set me back at all. I look forward to seeing the family and catching up. 
Even though Oregon has passed, our travels don't end here...we've got an upcoming Texas trip...and there will be a whole lot of picture taking going on there! Look out warm weather!!! 
