Kylee's Family Reunion, day 3

On the third day, we woke up and then went for a walk around the neighborhood. We loved the beautiful plants, the fun company and the great berries we ate (salmon berries and huckleberries).Caden's cousins were picking flowers and instead of just picking the flower, he picked the whole plant! It was so funny!
Then, after all the kids insisting on going to Bruce's, we went to downtown Cannon Beach (a small main street with a variety of small shops). The fun thing is that most of the shops haven't changed much since we first went there almost 20 years ago. Our favorite shops were the Mariner's Market (we would stop there first to buy a Clearly Canadian soda), the shell shop, the kite stores, the infamous Pizza 'A Fetta (best pizza ever!!), and the much anticipated Bruce's Candy Kitchen. That is where we spent most of our money! :)

At Bruce's Candy Kitchen, you can watch them make salt water taffy. It is always a highlight of going there, and of course you have to buy some taffy to take home!
Then, we stopped at the infamous shell shop. I taught Caden and his class in preschool about how you can hear the ocean in some shells, so now he tries to hear the ocean in every shell he sees.
We stopped by the fun toy shop. Caden started making his Christmas wish list.
Caden had been asking all his cousins, ever since we got there, if they wanted to play Red Rover. We finally got a group together. After a few mistaken clothes-lining incidents, we all played a lot softer. Oops!
That afternoon, we made the normal trip to Tillamook Cheese Factory. You can watch them make cheese in the factory, sample all sorts of cheeses (especially squeaky cheese/cheese curd) and then enjoy some delicious ice cream!
On the drive back to Cannon Beach, there is a beautiful overlook. We got a picture there 3 years ago when we came and had to take another one this time!

Our Trip to Utah

We had a great time in Utah. There is always so much to do there in such a short amount of time! We squeezed in as much as we could! We got there Friday night and left Monday at 5 PM. Here is what we did each day:

Saturday

Russ was able to help his company do some recruiting and interviews. He went in the morning to Aspen Grove to do some activities with the students. Then, they had all the spouses (including me) come up for a delicious lunch. It was fun to talk to all the students and remember what it was like when we were trying to decide where to work/live/etc. We were able to see a little snow up there too! My parents (that just moved to UT) were able to have quality time with Caden while Russ and I were at Aspen Grove. He was SO excited for it!That night, we were able to watch the BYU basketball game with my parents. It was such a great game! Go Cougs! The BYU flag was proudly waving up at Aspen Grove.

Sunday

We went to Stake Conference with my parents. Caden especially enjoyed eating the gummy bears that Grandma brought with her. We had a family dinner with two of my sisters and their families that live there. It was so good to see them again! We also had my aunt and my grandma and her husband (she remarried after my grandpa passed away) over. It had been awhile since I had seen them and it was so fun. My grandma is truly a role model in my life! Caden had a great time with his 4 girl cousins that were there.

Sunday night, we went to see Russ' brother and his family that live out there. It was so fun to see them and Caden had a blast playing with his two cousins (and their toys).

Monday

Russ went to do interviews all day at BYU, so I seized the opportunity to go to Tai Pan (a home decor store) with my sisters and my mom. We had a great time and I got these adorable picture frames for our half bathroom (beach theme). Caden stayed with Grandpa to play Kinect Sports. We came back home and had lunch. We then packed up the car and said goodbye. I was able to meet up with Russ' sister that flew into town to help our sister-in-law. She is finishing up school with a baby, and her husband (who served his mission in Sendai) was in Japan helping the people there. It was awesome to see not only Russ' sister, but also three of her four girls and my sister-in-law's baby. I also had a brief 10 minutes to walk through the Carl Bloch exhibit on the BYU campus. I really wish I would have had more time to study each painting, but at least we went. It was awesome to feel the peace and serenity that was there. Caden said "Mom, that was the best part of the day".

Then, we met up with Russ and drove back home. It was great to reminisce on all the fun memories from when we went to school there and to see so much family.

A dream is a wish your heart makes...

and your husband's parents make it come true! :)

Russ's Mom is all about the details, and that is very true especially with fun surprises. Here are a few of the details we saw on Christmas morning. Each grand kid had their own character for all of their things. Caden's character is Pooh.

Notice all the red and black polka dotted wrapping paper, and the Cars bag.Then all the grand kids had to go look all over the house to find these letters (with the cans covered in polka dots...of course)

Then we had to arrange all the letters to spell the surprise...We all got matching shirts that say "Mousin' around"Polka dotted napkins

Here are some details that I didn't get a picture of:
-Mickey soap holder
-Mickey waffles
-Disney survival tin that Mom made full of sunscreen, bandaids, aloe, etc
-Disney scrapbook that Mom did for each family (and is ADORABLE)
-Dancing Mickey Mouse that each family got for Christmas
-Tons of presents from the Disney Store for the grandkids
-Red and Black polka dotted cooler bags to carry drinks and food in the park
-Probably some more that I can't think of now

Here is the big picture!!!

We are SO excited to go on all the rides!! Caden LOVED going to Elitch Garden last Summer and we are trying to prepare him for the plethora of rides that are to come! Thank you SO much Mom and Dad for this dream that is going to come true!

This is a tradition in Russ's family for his parents to surprise the kids with a vacation. It has been happening ever since Russ was younger and it is something that we want to continue in our family.