Nostalgia in Rhode Island

Hello, friends!  

Rhode Island may be small, my grandkids might be small, and the length of my trip may have been small, but the energy when I visited in October was anything but small!  We played hard while I was there and I left there much more physically tired than when I'd arrived, but  I hadn't gone there for rest.   My main goal for coming was to hang out with my girls and to spend as much time as possible with Lucie and Oliver, so that's what I did.  This blogpost is to show a glimpse of my time there.  

First off, I have a question to ask you.   Have you ever been to New England in the autumn time?     If your answer is, no, then I highly suggest adding it to your bucket list.    I was actually there just barely past the prime of fall colors, and even still it was glorious.    

Living in Utah has many perks, but every autumn I find myself pining for East Coast fall—the real deal, with dramatic leaf colors and enough humidity to make your hair feel feelings. In Utah, the trees try, bless them, but it’s just not the same and I intensely loved the opportunity to experience a taste of a Rhode Island fall.   One morning we three girls took a little jaunt along this trail and the nostalgia was strong!  

 (FUN FACT:  Did you know that in New England, people walk on the left side of trails and pass on the right?   Apparently, it's a regional quirk, which I found quite charming in its own  confusing way.)  

Another day, while the rest of the adults were at work, I kept the kids out of preschool and took them on a traipse through the woods, where I experienced more nostalgia as I reflected on the many woodland adventures I used to bring my kiddos on back in  the day.

We also spent a couple hours at the local library to play with toys and read books.  They had a great time and I was impressed at how toddler friendly a place it was.  We spent a lot of time in the library when our kids were young, but it wasn't quite so fun a place as this one was.  We could have spent all day there, except the kids eventually got hungry and tired.   

Another day, my girlies took the day off of work and we went to Newport together. We visited Beavertail Lighthouse, which was closed, but  we enjoyed walking around and enjoying the ocean views.  

Then we took the Cliff Walk and stopped at the Breakers Mansion for a tour. Lucie decided it was a castle and was trying to figure out where the princesses lived!   

Then it was time for some ice cream  {a family tradition}!  We found this cute spot in town and enjoyed it, despite the cold weather!  

I also very much enjoyed being  with them on Halloween.  Lucie's costume included an Elsa dress, a crown, wand, and butterfly wings, as per her request.  When asked what she was, she gave a different answer every time.  Sometimes she was a fairy ballerina princess.  Other times  a butterfly ballerina.  And still other times, a magic queen.   Whatever she was, she was charming and thoroughly enjoyed herself.   Oliver had no anticipatory excitement about Halloween, but as soon as he realized that people were handing him candy, he caught the excitement bug really quickly.  He was adorable waddling around in his little dino costume. 

Over the course of the few days I was there, we shared a lot of silly, loud, grumpy, and snuggly moments!   

And I loved seeing a glimpse of the life they're building together.  💗

Mostly I just really enjoyed being able to spend time with them without anywhere else I had to be. 

It was good rest for my soul, even if  I left there needing a nap.  

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.   

Spring Break: Visiting Sunny Florida!

After leaving Atlanta, we got on the road and headed to sunny Florida!    This was state #42 for Ellie and Adam,  and #44 for Emma!   Glen, Spence, and I had been there before, so it was not a new state for the three of us.  

As much as we would have loved to have driven into the heart of Florida and explored it more, we didn't have enough time on this trip.    Pensacola was where we stayed the night and Perdido Key State Park was the beach we decided to visit!   

It was a tad too chilly to swim for most of us, but Ellie and Emma stayed in the water for quite a while...

and it was absolutely beautiful weather for walking along the beach.  

The sand there was so soft that it squeaked underneath our feet.  

After the beach, we ate dinner at the seaside Harbour Grill.  

The food was delicious and even matched up to Emma's standards, which these days is saying something significant. 

We went to church there in Pensacola the next morning and afterward tried to go on a hike...


However, the trails were poorly marked and all seemed to dead-end quickly, so we ended up unsuccessful in that quest.    

It was lovely anyway though and before long we were off on the next part of our adventures! 

Chilly Day at the Beach

Can I just tell you how much I like being able to stay up a little later each night and not wake up until daylight hits?  

I am very much a natural night-owl forcing myself to live 14-straight-years as a morning person, while my kids go to early morning seminary! 

Although my body has fully adjusted to waking up and going to bed early, I still haven't figured out how to go to bed early and still get anything done.  I may still be awake about the same amount of time each day as I used to be, however I struggle with the fact that my energy and creative juices just flow freer in the evening time...time that now happens to hit right when I'm going to bed for the night. 

So I have to take advantage of weeks like we have during spring break and get as much blogging done as possible.  Come Monday I'll be back to sleepy old me, falling asleep at 9:30 again.  

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So we went to the beach at Kiptokeke State Park on Friday. 

It was way too cold and windy to think about getting in the water, 

but that minor detail didn't stop the kids from still enjoying themselves.

We pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves...

and despite the chilly temps. the kids still dared to dip their toes into the water...

and collect some very cool seashells...

Cami was posing left and right for a new profile pic...

We enjoyed watching the pelicans and got very excited when we saw some dolphins too (no pics though)...

Ellie proved that tights and sand go together quite well, while all the girls looked as cute as can be with the beachy backdrop...

Mostly we just enjoyed the unfettered time together enjoying knowing that we had nowhere specific to go and no specific time to be back to the hotel... 

The lack of crowds and not having to keep my eyes glued on the kids every second was actually quite relaxing as well and given the choice of a cold or hot day at the beach and I may very well choose the cold day. 

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