california trip part 3

On Sunday afternoon, we drove from Camp Alta back to Oakland to visit our friends, Tom & Lauren. Lauren & I were roommates during our first two years at Oregon State University & Kenton & Tom were friends in high school in Alaska. They both ended up going to OSU & Lauren, Tom & I all lived on the same floor in our dorm. Tom introduced us to Kenton & we all became friends. Fast forward a few years, Kenton & I got married & a few years later Tom & Lauren got married. So there's a little history for you all! :)


Tom & Lauren live in a cute home with their dog Neko in Oakland, CA.

We walked to the park to get some energy out before dinner.

Tom met us there & the boys warmed right up to him! :)

After dinner, Tom helped the boys make super hero capes out of their blankets.

Super Cedar!

Lauren showed Finn some Where's Waldo books that he hadn't seen before!

Super Finley!

Monday was the 4th of July, so Lauren & Tom took us to the Marina where they were having a kite festival & Independence day celebration. We could barely make out San Francisco across the bay through the fog.

The huge octopus kites were blowing in the strong wind!

Climbing the hill.

It was much cooler than we expected with the wind, so Finn wore Cedar's coat & we covered Cedar with his blanket. :P

We walked the path at the Marina before heading over to the rest of the festival.

The boys were super excited to see the bouncy house-type things & Tom & Lauren bought them each a ticket to try one out.

Finn chose an obstacle course that ended with a huge slide!


Cedar only had one choice because of his size, but it was pretty cool!


He loved the cool bouncy jungle!

Mr. & Mrs. Sharpton
So cute! :)
Side story: Kenton & I had to miss their wedding because it was on the day after Cedar was born. Still breaks my heart a bit, but I'll never forget their anniversary! Also, they were both in our wedding, we were sad to miss theirs!

We went home for Cedar's nap & were able to get in a game of Settler's of Catan. Cedar woke up before we were done, but we managed to finish before he became too alert. :P

Tom, Lauren & Katrina


Lauren made yummy M&M cookies for dessert!

Their backyard is so neat! They have fruit trees, a pond & a garden. Their fence is also covered with passion flowers! So pretty!

Tom showed Finn how to give Neko treats.


The grill master & his sidekick. :)

Huge cookies!

Lucky kids!

We had a low key Independence Day celebration & didn't go out to see fireworks. The kids went to bed & the adults played more board games. It was perfect!

The next morning (Tuesday), we all woke up bright & early & I made everyone take a group photo. :P We hit the road before breakfast & made our way back to Eugene, OR. The drive went as well as could be expected, though Cedar lost his cool during the last hour. But we made it, safe & sound...if not a little less sane than we started. :P Thanks for the great visit, friends & family! We had a wonderful adventure!

california trip part 2 - the reunion

We made it to Camp Alta just after dinner, which Outi saved for us (thankfully). We participated in some getting-to-know-you games & then had some time to explore & unload the car. The boys were excited to be out in nature & found a lizard right away (with some help from the bigger kids)!

Exploring with Uncle Brian.

Finn wanted to sleep on the top bunk in his new sleeping bag! Cedar liked being up there too, but he slept in his portable crib.

After getting our room set up, we went down to the fire pit to roast marshmallows & sing songs by the camp fire.

Getting ready for bed.
We got a private room, since we have small children. It was REALLY nice! We even had our own bathroom & shower. Other people slept in private rooms or in big rooms with lots of bunk beds.

Saturday was Marylee's 75th birthday & her daughter, Sharon, presented her with a photo book (made by Outi) full of photos of her children, grandchildren & great grandchildren, as well as letters that they had written to her.

The dining hall.

Cedar & Papa, playing frisbee.

It was a hot day, so we went to the pool before lunch! Cedar loved checking out the caterpillars that we found & even let one crawl on him for a bit.

Finn's ready to swim!

Tristan & Finn
Finn really loved playing with his second cousin Tristan. He thinks everything Tristan is into is cool! :)

The pool was quite cold, but it felt good on this hot day.

After lunch, we gathered for a group photo.

I couldn't name everyone if I tried. :\ But our family is at the top near the center, Kevin & Outi are on the bottom right & Brian is in the second row from the bottom near the middle. :P



Kenton showed Tristan & Finn how to play one of his games & got Tristan hooked!

Cedar napped while Finn, Kenton & I swam (Outi stayed close to our room to listen for Cedar).

Then we all gathered to have cake!

People brought digital photo frames or computers to share family photos. Such a good idea!


Cedar leading Mummi around the camp.


Pretty tree

There were a few cool chairs carved out of stumps around the camp.


Horse shoes.


Photos with Nana Lee!

Busy boys.
I was really touched by all of the family gathering together to celebrate their mom/grandmother/great grandmother. To see Marylee surrounded by all of these wonderful people was really, very special for me. She has done such an amazing job of making each member of the family feel uniquely important to her & I really want to learn from her. There is so much love & respect amongst all of the family members & I feel very honored to be a part of the Henry family. The relationship my boys have with their great grandmother is so valuable & I am so thankful that they've had the opportunity to build that relationship. What a blessing!

Aunt Deanna, MacKenzie, Tristan, Finley, Sydney & Melanie.

Playing with sticks.

More games with Tristan.

Grown-up games after the kids went to bed.

On Sunday, MacKenzie & Cedar played together for a bit while we packed up. She is just about 3 months older than Cedar. :)

MacKenzie lives in Arkansas (too far!) with her mommy, Sabrina (Kenton's cousin), daddy, Tor & baby brother, Brock. We wish we could be closer to all of Kenton's family. We had so much fun catching up & playing together. It was very sad for us to say goodbye to them all. We look forward to the next opportunity to gather as a family!