A Visit to Adam's Mission in Portland, Oregon

When Adam got home from his mission back at the end of August 2024, less than two weeks before BYU started back up again,  we promised him a trip back to visit his mission the following summer.   

A couple months ago, we finally made good on that promise and I am just now finally blogging about it.    

We waited until the craziness of his full-time FSY office job wound down, then, in mid-August, Adam and I took off for a week and a day to spend in the beautiful Portland area!  

It's a pretty short flight from Utah to Portland, so we hit the ground running when we got there.   We started with a visit to The Grotto, which is a serene woodland sanctuary in the city--not far from the airport.   It's home to the outdoor National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, beautiful botanical gardens, meandering paths, peaceful forestland, and many statues and artworks of Jesus Christ .   It was a lovely place to begin our journey exploring the place Adam grew to love so much over the two years he spent there testifying of Christ! 

The Grotto 

After The Grotto, we headed out to one of the areas he spent the most time in--Damascus/Boring/Gresham, where we were spending the first few days.  Right next to one of the chapels he served in was the North American Bigfoot Center, which was about as weird as it sounds!   It was hard to tell if the creators of this quirky exhibit dedicated to proving the existence of Bigfoot were serious, but it was highly entertaining.   We enjoyed examining the supposed "buttprint" of Bigfoot and looking at all the "evidence" of why Bigfoot could be real, as well as all the reasons why we shouldn't dismiss his existence due to lack of hard evidence.   This museum postulates that Bigfoots are likely a yet undiscovered species of elusive mammals.    We laughed a lot and spent the rest of the trip looking for Bigfoot in the wilds of the lush Oregon forests.  😂

Bigfoot Museum

 We planned the trip to cover two Sundays,  and Adam picked areas where he'd served in multiple wards serving in the same building, so we could maximize the number of wards we visited.    Damascus and Powell Valley Wards were literally the first and last areas of his mission, so that's where we visited the first Sunday.   It had been almost three whole years since the few transfers he served in Damascus, but he was clearly remembered and very well loved there.  He got lots of hugs and even got invited to a BBQ later that day.   He only served one transfer in Powell Valley, so the reception there wasn't quite as grand, but those that did remember him were excited to see him.  The BBQ turned out to be a super fun, laid-back way to visit with lots of people.  I felt a little like a fish out of water there, but it was great to see Adam in his element reconnecting with the people he'd served and loved!  

Damascus and Powell Valley Wards

After Sunday, we spent a couple days exploring the beautiful Columbia River Gorge!    We spent a lot of time driving, hiking, and exploring!  It was unusually hot  for Oregon--about 100*--but we thoroughly enjoyed soaking in that rugged green beauty!  

Exploring the Columbia River Gorge

Next on our list was heading to the shore!   The Oregon Coast is a popular weekend destination for Oregonians, so he heard a lot about it on his mission, but never got the chance to go.  The weather was much cooler on the shore, but it was also pretty foggy. 

 Most of our hikes' destinations were to cool lookout points, which proved to be a little disappointing when shrouded in heavy fog...

 but dipping our feet in the {cold} Pacific Ocean was quite rejuvenating.  We loved our laid-back time here on the shore, although Adam was thwarted in his attempt to find an intact sand dollar.  

Oregon Coast

One of our can't miss places to visit while we were on the coast, was the Tillamook Creamery...

Tillamook Creamery

We enjoyed learning  all about how they make cheese...then got to sample a bunch tasty (and old) varieties!  

After Tillamook we headed  to Cape Meares Lighthouse, which was our last stop on the way back to the Portland area.  We were surprised, after a few days of fog and clouds all along the shore (even in Tillamook),  that the skies, just a few miles away, were clear as can be!  

Cape Meares Lighthouse

After we got back to Portland from the shore, we picked up Glen from the airport, so he could participate in the rest of our adventures!    

Some of those adventures included...

 Visiting the End of the Oregon Trail 

Trying the Famous Voodoo Doughnuts 
(alas, they did not offer any gluten free options, so I did not partake)

Attending the Portland Temple

Taking a Very Muddy Hike 
after which I threw my shoes away

Hiking To "Witches Castle" and Pittock Mansion
and visiting Cathedral Park/Saint John's Bridge

 Tonga Festival
after being invited by a local member

Trying Out Different Food Trucks
Portland is quite well-known for its active food truck culinary scene, so we tried out a few different food truck locations while we were there

Rose Gardens/Dahlia Festival
I did not know before our visit that Portland is famous for its many flowers and gardens.  In fact, it even has the nickname of "Rose City", though we enjoyed many more flowers than just roses

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm
It was long past tulip season, so we enjoyed the fields of sunflowers and other flowers, the fun colorful tractors, and the bucolic surroundings.

Lan Su Chinese Gardens 
This was a peaceful little haven right in the city

We definitely enjoyed much of Oregon's natural beauty while we were there, but one of our very favorite parts about our visit was getting to meet the people--some  people that he taught, as well as many members that he interacted with during his time there.    It's hard sending a kid off into the world to serve a mission without seeing them for 18-24 months and it was very meaningful to us hearing about how Adam had impacted their journeys for good.

The People

 Over the last few days there, we also visited the mission office, drove by several of his apartments, and got to meet his beloved mission leaders--the Botchways!     
 

Mission Leaders, Mission Office, and his Mission Apartments

The Botchways are faith filled people sacrificing much to serve the missionaries  in the Portland mission.

On the second Sunday, we visited the two wards he served in in Tualatin.  Once again, people were quite excited to see him, though I didn't take any pics there! 

All in all, it was a good trip...

and I think we did a good job keeping Portland plenty weird.   

For the Fourth Time

 I have approximately 40 gazillion things I could/should be doing instead.  And another 40 gazillion  things I should blog about before this, but, to be totally honest, I'm deeply tired.    And today is not going to be one that gets noted in the annals of exceptional productivity.  

So, I'm just going to post this collage  of me visiting the same statue in Brienz, Switzerland for the fourth time in my life.

1975:  my Dad was stationed in the Army in Germany and this was taken on a little  roadtrip my parents went on
1987:  I was 14 and this was the first trip overseas (besides when we'd lived there).  We camped and drove through Europe
2016:   the first time we brought our family to Europe
2025:  a C family reunion in the Alps

   
Never mind the cutoff numbers on a couple of the years in the collage.  I'm too tired to care, and if you think  I've been alive since 987, then YAY to me for figuring out this whole long-livedness thing.   I look pretty average for a 50-something year old, but I look dang amazing for someone who's over 1000 years old!  

I note with a touch of sadness, that my Dad would have been the biggest fan of this collage!   I did not grow up in a wealthy home, but my Dad knocked his socks off to make sure us kids were exposed to other cultures.   That meant that he saved his frequent flyer miles from his business trips for many years to save up enough points to take us overseas when I was 14, where we camped the whole way through Europe.  He was so excited to recreate that photo in 1987 and he still remembered exactly where the statue was.   When we took our family for our first overseas trip in 2016 (besides Spence's Make-a-Wish trip the year before), he very excitedly explained to us exactly where to find the statue again.   It was one of my brothers who noticed we would be close to Brienz on our most recent trip....thereby making this a perfectly squared collage.  

See here for my 2016 blogpost about it and stay tuned for the other 40 gazillion things I need to blog about...

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Just a little crazy

 After a summer of hiking local mountain peaks every weekend...

This crazy kid decided he was up for a new challenge....

A full on marathon...

That he decided to run a few days before the event without any training...

Many years ago, Glen followed a training program called "Four months to a four hour marathon."   He followed it religiously and finished in just under four hours, which is just about the same time Adam got.  We are now teasing Adam that he needs to write "Four days to a four hour marathon."   

I'm sure everyone will be signing up...

PS  Blogging will be a little sparse around here for the next little bit.  Life is good...just a little insane.  

A Quick Bit of Summer Catch-up

Hello, friends!   Here's the quickest catch-up post ever from the last few weeks of summer, so I don't forget to get it down and, also, so that I can move onto other things to blog about.    

My college friend, Brenda, recently came to town.  It had been many years since I'd seen her and it was great to catch up!   She played a role in Glen and I getting together, so she holds a special place in our hearts.  

Here is Emma with the stake RS presidency she served with before she moved away.  They really miss her, as do I.     

Here is Glen with the EQ presidency from our old ward (minus the secretary)...

Before we were officially sustained in our new ward, I had my "old ward" RS presidency over one last time.   

We made food as a service for someone with health issues in the ward and just had fun eating, playing games, and hanging out together.  This is where I told them that we would be leaving them the following week.   

 Leaving them so soon after starting is honestly one of the hardest parts about getting this new calling.  I felt like we had just learned everyone's names and were just starting to develop some good relationships.   That's okay though...we are already feeling the Lord's hand working to help us in our new ward and now we'll have double the YSA friends!  

The last week in August Emma came back from Rhode Island to be in a friend's wedding.   

We loved, loved, loved having her around again...

It made the week extra busy, but it also made the week extra good!  

#bonustimewithemma

 Adam was around for part of the same week Emma was here until he could move into his new apartment.  We did A LOT of yardwork together while he was here and I think we wore him out pretty good by the time he moved into his new apartment.  

I'll be honest...we were pretty darn exhausted by the time church rolled around on Sunday for our first official week in the new ward.  There are A LOT Of moving pieces getting a ward up and running at the beginning of a new school year and being brand new makes it all the more intimidating / hard. This picture shows us in front of our new church building.   

It's a cool old building on BYU Campus, but doesn't have good classrooms, so we move over to  another building for 2nd hour.      

Adam just started at his new ward this past week as well and his Bishop gave everyone in the ward a sand dollar from the Oregon coast as a welcome gift.  

I haven't blogged about it yet, but will soon...but we were just in Oregon visiting Adam's mission.   While we were there, we spent some time at the coast and Adam searched high and low for sand dollars, but never found an intact one.  

The gift seemed like a little tender mercy / confirmation that he's right where he's supposed to be for this school year.  

  And that, folks, is all I've got for today.  Hopefully I'll blog about our trip to visit Adam's mission soon and wrap up maybe one more summer post, before moving on to a very busy fall!  Thanks for tuning in today!  💗

The Blogpost Wherein Lara Seals Herself into Nerdiness Lore

Q.  Nerdiness lore?  What's that?  

It's that blogpost wherein Lara inexplicably refers to herself in third person and does a FAQ where she both asks  and answers her own questions, which means if you all thought she was nerdy before, now you have it confirmed.  This post will probably get referenced in future editions of the Webster online dictionary when you search the word, "nerdiness".    

Q.  Why would she do such a thing?  

Because she's been up since 5:00am (for an airport run), has barely stopped moving for an entire month, and would rather blog than be productive.  

Q.  So, what's going on to make life busy enough that would make her want to  write such an incriminating blogpost?  

As mentioned in the most recent blogpost here on this very illustrious blog, she's hosted a whole lot of guests, had 40 gazillion things on her to-do list, gone out of town for 10 days (blogpost to come), and is in the throes of preparing her third talk in five months to be delivered tomorrow.   Also, Glen got called to be Bishop of a BYU YSA ward last week, so there's that too.     

Q.  That is a lot.  How does she feel about it all?   
   
Happy to have made a lot of happy memories this summer.

Lukewarm on giving yet another talk in church. 

Terrified about the time this new calling will entail, as well as the physical and mental energy that will be required.    

Super excited to get to know and love another whole  ward  (yes, a different ward than they'd been serving in the last few months).   

And super intimidated about learning 180 new names and trying to love them all unconditionally.

Q. How do they feel about hanging out in Provo so much?  

Mostly great.  It is more late nights and driving back and forth than they're used to, but they're really hoping that their service will continue to be meaningful to both them and the people they'll be serving.  

Q.  What scripture keeps coming to their minds during all this?  

The parable of the loaves and the fishes.   In many ways, this is a calling that require more of them than they have to give, so they are taking heart in knowing that the Lord can multiply their efforts, however paltry they may be, and make it enough.     



And here's the big question I know that's really burning on all your minds...

Q.  Will she have time to continue updating this blog regularly?  

Heck, yes!   She will make the time...

This picture, taken in Oregon, was to commemorate their last Sunday of sitting together in church for a while

A Happy Swirl of Chaos

I've mentioned here on the blog a few times recently, that life has been in a bit of chaos mode the last few months.   It's not that anything is wrong, it's just that we are long on things to do on our calendar and short on routine and spare time.  As part of that happy swirl of chaos,  in the last month we've had the following houseguests stay with us:  

💗Cami and her family 

💗My cousin, Aaron,  and 2 of his kiddos

💗Cami's sister-in-law, Marissa, and her 2 kiddos

💗My sister-in-law, Mika, and my niece, McKenzie, who was just heading into the Provo MTC

💗Adam, who is in between 2 apartment contracts (#byuhomelessweek)


Honestly, we love hosting people and being able to host is one of my favorite parts about living in Utah.   In addition to the bonus it is to live in a crossroads area, where so many people come and go, we also enjoy having a house with enough beds that we can even host more than one group of people at once, which happened a couple times this summer.  

I didn't take any pics of Aaron or Marissa while they were here, but below you will find pictures galore that show a glimpse of the fun we've had over the last few weeks!  

🐔  One of Lucie's dreams before arriving to Utah was to hold one of our chickens.   We aren't quite sure how that particular activity made it onto her bucket list, but she talked about it incessantly after arriving and we decided that was a dream that was easy to help come true, so we brought her out to the chicken coop bright and early the morning after they arrived.   When it came down to it, she was a little too nervous about actually holding one, but I think sitting close to a chicken and being able to touch it more than satisfied her chicken holding dreams.    Finding the eggs in the nesting box sealed the deal and she was happy as a clam about it all!   

🐴  Lucie's other big Utah dream was to ride a pony.  I had taken her to the farm at Thanksgiving Point a year or two ago, and apparently it was a core memory for her, because she still remembers many of the details of it.   She happily got on the pony and was feeling pretty confident about the whole experience, but about 30 seconds into the ride, we had a little hiccup when one of the ponies got spooked and they all stopped suddenly...  

🐴They took everyone off the ponies and let them chill for a bit without any riders, then allowed them everyone back on again...only this time she was very nervous.   We eventually convinced her to get back on (a different pony) and with her Mom at her side, she was able to overcome her fear and try again.  

🏡We also enjoyed frequent visits from Adam, Emma, Heather, and Rosy-Nanna while Cam was here.   I loved loved loved having the sights and sounds of having a houseful again!   

😣I am so kicking myself that Glen and I didn't hop into these photos my sister, Heather, took while she was visiting one day.   We are still missing Ellie on her mission and Garrett, who hadn't arrived yet, but it was an almost full crew otherwise.  I think it had a good chance of becoming our Christmas card photo this year, but now we will have to see.   I'm thinking a collage...

🍛The night after my cousin, Aaron, and his two boys stayed here, we hosted a YSA dinner at our home.  We loved having the extra sets of hands, with Cam here, to help with the cleaning and prep.    Glen smoked a brisket and we served brisket tacos, roasted corn salad, watermelon, and lemon strawberry shortcake.  The food was VERY well-received and we loved having the YSAs in our home for an evening! 

👶Oliver is at a delightful stage of life (around 18-months-old) and I very much enjoyed watching him learn and grow right before our eyes. He's only been walking for a month or two, but he's quite the adventurer now and I loved hearing him try to say new words.  He was obsessed with our toy cars and he ended up adopting one of the few teddy bears we still had left in the house, after hew grew pretty attached to it during his time here.  He is a sweetie pie!   

👸I also really enjoyed my interactions with Little Miss Sassy Lucie!   She'll be four in a couple months and she is a girl who knows what she wants in life...which is made-up stories, dress-up clothes, all the good food, and no naps!   When she's slept well, she's fun, talkative, and silly.  When she's fighting bedtime or skipping her naps, she can be quite the grump, but she's still pretty darn sweet even when she's grumpy! 

👪Some adventures we went on together included, early morning walks to my Dad's grave and the neighborhood farm where we saw peacocks, camels, horses, cows, etc , Thanksgiving Point to see the butterflies and ride the ponies, meals out on the deck, holding the chickens, a visit to our YSA ward... 

🚗And a  visit to Midway to hang out with Cami's sisters-in-law and Lucie and Oliver's cousins.  We visited the Ballerina Farm Store, where we got some good food.  Then we mostly just window shopped at several cute boutiques.     Marissa, Annie Grace, and Jack stayed with us one of those nights too.  

🌄Cami and Adam hiked Kyhv Peak together.  Spence started out with them, but ended up turning back before they reached the top.  I think they both really enjoyed the sunset hike together.  

😐After a few days, Cami and her family took off for a B family reunion at Sundance.  It was sad knowing they were so close, yet mostly out of reach, but we tried to embrace sharing them like the mature adults we are (most of the time).  We did join them for a dinner one night in the canyon, which was fun, because we love Garrett's family and it was fun to be able to spend a little bonus time with them!   (a couple of these photos are from the evening in the canyon, but, sadly, I did not take many).  

💕Then Mika and McKenzie came to stay with us for a few days!   McKenzie had just finished Home MTC and was heading to Provo MTC before her mission to Gilbert, AZ.  It was delightful to have a missionary in our home again for a bit and I very much enjoyed the time to catch up with my sister-in-law, Mika!   We miss living close to them!   Sadly, they just missed seeing Cami and kids, as McKenzie's drop-off time was at the exact time Cami had a couple hours back here at home before we  drove them to the airport.   

👴👵As per usual, we loved the opportunity to be Gigi and Papa in real life.   It's fun to send postcards and do Facetimes with them  when they are far away, but there's nothing quite like the snuggles, giggles, and  general silliness that come with spending time together in the same house

💗💗💗