Washington Trip

LOTS OF PICTURES AHEAD!

After graduation (See post about graduation Here) and the blessing and all that's been going on with Alice, we decided we wanted/needed a break! We could have gone anywhere, but we wanted to go home to our roots in Washington where we first fell in love and started this whole adventure together!

Ben's parents left Utah on Wednesday, Aug 17. My parents left Utah on Thursday, Aug 18. Our plan was to leave on Friday, Aug 19, but our plans were thwarted! When Friday rolled around, we felt like we weren't ready to leave yet and that we would use that day to get things ready a little better. So we decided to leave on Saturday, Aug 20 early in the morning. Well, that didn't happen. Ben woke up that morning with a bad case of food poisoning. Later that day I had to take him to the doctor to get some IV fluids because he was so sick! Poor guy. It took a few days for him to recover, so on Wednesday, August 24, we finally made it on the road! We made the 800 mile trip all in one day with both the girls! It was doable because we left early in the morning. The girls did great! We stopped about every 2 hours to stretch and feed Alice. It was only the last hour or so that the girls had had enough and both of them let us know!

The girls all loaded up and ready to go!

Merrilee kept busy and happy reading her favorite books

Still happy after about 7 hours on the road!

We arrived at my parents house at about 8pm and put the girls right to bed! 

The next few days we spent with my parents and my Aunt Karen who was in town for a few days. We went blackberry picking, on long walks in beautiful Ridgefield, played games and had fun just hanging out.

Blackberry picking by the side of the road. Blackberry bushes grow like weeds here! They are everywhere!  Oh how we miss blackberry picking! 

At the park!

Merrilee with Nana

Merrilee with Aunt Karen

Blackberry picking Again (Second time). Don't mind my weird pose.

On Friday, Ben's cousin got married. Ben went down for the sealing at the Portland Temple and I met up with everyone at the luncheon afterwards. We didn't get any pictures for documentation, but it happened.  On Saturday, we took the girls down to Portland to the Saturday's Market and Powell's books. 

We saw our good friend Whitney at her booth at the Market. She makes the cutest little girl stuff!  Check out her etsy shop  Here.

Bucket drummers and dancers. Fun!

We were going to go to VooDoo Doughnuts because apparently  you HAVE to go try their donuts if you are in Portland. The line was WAY too long on Saturday, so we went back a few days later and got some. They were good, and interesting, but I still don't get what all the hype is about!

Merrilee checking out Portland from her comfy ride.

We walked down to Powell's City of Books. I LOVE this place! It is a whole city block full of new and used books! I wish we could have spent a little more time there, but the girls were getting fussy and it was almost impossible to maneuver a stroller there. Merrilee (the book lover) was in heaven when we went to the children's section. We got her a little book about puppies. She loves it. 

We saw many street musicians and performers, but this guy was the coolest!  He played the most awesome, captivating cello music! There was a big crowd around him. We were tempted to buy his homemade CD for 10 bucks! We didn't but now I'm kind of wishing we did! He was Amazing!

We got some yummy greek Gyro's for lunch! Gotta love Market food!

Sunday, We went to Church at Ben's parent's ward and then went back to my parents for lunch and to pack up. We spent the next few nights with Ben's parents.

Monday morning, Ben woke up to a phone call from a recruiter he's been working with. A company he interviewed with in Provo a couple weeks ago wanted a second interview either that day or Thursday! He obviously could not make it on Monday, so we decided to cut our trip short to make it back by Thursday. Monday morning, we went to the Salmon Creek Trail with the girls and Ben's mom to pick more berries. (Can you tell we like picking berries?) We love this trail. Ben and I have been on many a walk and many a run on this beautiful 3 mile trail. We barely went a half mile on the trail, but we sure got a lot of berries!

This is just the beginning!

Merrilee was surprisingly very well behaved sitting in her stroller for so long!

Alice decided it would be a good time to take a nap!

You can't see it that well, but I tried to take a picture of a blue/gray Heron. 

I even taught Merrilee how to pick berries and she helped add to the loot! Gotta start em' early!

Blackberries EVERYWHERE!

Monday Evening, we went on a walk on the Columbia River Waterfront. This is where Ben and my romance blossomed. It is "Our" spot. This is another place we've been on MANY walk and talks together. This is the spot where we decided we would marry each other after Ben got home from his mission! It sure is beautiful and peaceful.

The girls loved the walk.

The obligatory kissing picture at the waterfront. 

 Monday night after the kids were in bed, Ben opened his graduation gifts from his parents. He has officially stepped into manhood now that he has TOOLS! Yay! Thank you Mom and Dad Brewer!

This is just a tiny sampling of the generous loot he got!

Tuesday we went to the Oregon Coast with Ben's Parents. It was so much fun! We went with them last August to the beach also...its starting to be a annual thing! Merrilee LOVED playing in the sand. We had fun just relaxing, eating a picnic lunch and enjoying the girls. 

Daddy and daughter on the beach!

Alice was a little fussy at first.

Then she calmed down and dozed off

Playing in the sand!

After she got a nap, Alice was as pleasant as can be!

Merrilee found her favorite "spot" on the beach where she played, relaxed, and watched the ocean waves in this position! Funny girl.

Sorry, another obligatory kissing picture. We went on our honeymoon to the Oregon Coast!

After relaxing on the beach for a couple of hours, we drove to Seaside and walked the main drag.

Salt Water Taffy! 

Wednesday, we started the drive back to Utah to get back in time for Ben's job interview. Instead of doing the drive in 1 day, we decided to take 2 days to get home. It was a little more relaxing. We stopped in Jerome, ID Wednesday night and everyone had a good night's rest. We got back yesterday (Thursday) around noon and got Ben off to his interview. We are a little sad we had to cut our trip short. There were lots of things we were planning on doing, including hiking in the Gorge, going out to eat, playing golf, going to the temple, and enjoying more time with more friends and family. Oh well. Hopefully this job stuff works out for Ben! We are looking forward to a fun Labor Day Weekend! :)