Re-cap Part2: Camping and Oregon

We went to North Bend, Oregon to visit my mom's family in July:

Here we are at the beautiful Shore Acres botanical gardens.

Sunset Beach, OR

We went camping a few hours from home and ended up in an "environmental camp." It was a hike to get there, but we were camped right near a creek and it was awesome!

The kids had so much fun!

Coming Out of the Cave

Hello Dear Friends! It's been a while...a long while since I've been here. Many factors have played into my five month hiatus: The starting of school, the holidays, Sarah's winter dance performance, and my annual winter hibernation mode.

I recently discovered that I have SAD, or Seasonal Effective Disorder; what a strange sounding condition! Living as far north as I do I don't get enough sun in the winter, or in the summer even depending on the weather conditions for that matter. This summer we didn't really have a summer since we were either fogged in or clouded in most days. When winter hit I felt like a bear going into hibernation mode. I wanted to sleep and eat all day which isn't good for the mind or the waistline. Then every day felt like a monumental task, and everything seemed so over whelming. Right around that time I started taking Vitamin D3 supplements and noticed an improvement in my energy and mood immediately. This got me thinking about the sun, our lack of it, and what I could do to remedy the situation. Then I remembered that my aunt who lives in Oregon uses a little light every day in the winter to boost mood. So I got one, it's called a "Sun Box" and you can order one off of Amazon.com for around $80-$200. It produces special rays that mimic sunlight. You sit in front of it for 15-30 minutes per day and it tricks your brain into thinking it's summer. I just started using it and am noticing a big difference already. I also joined a gym and am starting to work off the hibernation padding. :) Hopefully this year I will become my old productive blogging self!

I also got a new camera finally! My old one broke in the summer and I realized that I am very dependent on pictures for blogging. Really, how can you blog without pictures, right?! So I'm going to attempt to do a speedy wrap up of the past 6 months.

This summer we went camping, visited family in Oregon and had an amazing vacation in Lake Tahoe with my parents and brother. My dad rented a vacation home right near the lake and for a week I soaked up the sun and felt like a queen. We used to vacation there when I was a kid so it brought back great memories too. Right at the end of summer we took a trip out to Boise, Idaho for Ron's Grandma Delphia's funeral. She was an amazing lady who lived to be 96 years old!

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Boise, Idaho

Lake Tahoe

Trip to North Bend, OR

Trip to North Bend, OR

The kids and I headed up north for a week vacation on the Oregon Coast. We had a great time visiting family, (we stayed with my Aunt Mimi, thanks Mimi!) going to the beach, and hanging out on the family farm. Here are a few pics from our trip:

The beautiful Shore Acres Botanical Gardens

Sarah taking pics with her great kid camera

Justin braving the wind, brrr, it was cold! We went hunting for agates, but only found a few that day. It was fun none the less...

Justin had his first official hair cut done by my aunt Becky. Here is the before...
...and after! Thanks auntie, I can see again!

We took a visit out to see my aunt Julie and her lovely garden at the farm. There is a beautiful old walnut tree there which has been there forever. My family decided it would be the final resting place for my grandparents, so we go there to visit them.

A friend made the wooden plaque which reads: Papa's Tree, Psalm 1.
It's a perfect tree for climbing, so the kids had to climb on up there. I know Papa and De Dee were smiling!

Alexander Family Vacation - Coffee & More: Part Two

When we were in Seattle we had to see the original first Starbuck's at Pikes Place of course! We aren't called the quad shot for nothing. ;)






While we were in Vancouver we went to the old town area, also called Gas Town. We found a great coffee shop where Justin had his first iced latte - decaf of course. He LOVED it, no shock there!

This is the best shot from the trip by far! I love the indignant look on Justin's face - "What you lookin' at?" Sarah and I were laughing so hard we could hardly breathe. Definitely a Kodak moment!

Alexander Family Vacation! Part One

We just returned from our travels to the far north: Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver B.C.! We had a relaxing fun filled adventure.

Our first stop was Ashland where we hung out at a fun park. Sarah scaled a super tall climber - what fun!

The next day we went to an amazing drive through safari in Oregon. A sign read, "Please keep all windows and doors closed at all times." - yikes! We steered clear of the rhinos!

We headed up to Seattle Washington where we went to the famous Space Needle, Seattle Art Museum, Pike's Place Market, Seattle Bay, and the locks.



Next we went to Vancouver, B.C.; It was our first visit to Canada and we loved it! Our first stop was China Town where we visited the beautiful botanical gardens and did some shopping and sight seeing. We found a great Chinese noodle restaurant. Justin liked "eating" with the chopsticks.

Old town Vancouver was by far our favorite part of the trip. It's called "Gas Town" and has lots of quaint European type shops and boutiques. There were loads of out door cafes and coffee shops. There were even a few pubs! I felt like I was back in England almost. After our visit in Canada we went back to Seattle for a few days then headed back down to Oregon where we hung out with April's family for the weekend and then headed home.