Sammy Visits

August 28 - September 1

Over Labor Day in September, Ben's brother Sammy came for a short visit. We were so glad he came because he got a chance to meet Teddy and enjoy Portland, all before his semester started at BYU. He was only here a few days but we packed in the fun. As always.

We started the fun with a little throw up. Seriously, we picked Sammy up from the airport on Thursday night and as we drove home Nayeli vomited all over herself and her car seat. It was really bad. We pulled off the freeway into a parking lot which, coincidentally, had a Babies "R" Us. I told Ben we should just go buy a new car seat. I was only half kidding, but he didn't go for it. Instead, we shoved it in a black garbage bag, threw it in the trunk, stripped Nayeli down to her diaper and continued on the drive home with her sitting in a seat belt next to me (desperate times called for desperate measures).

Sammy snapped this picture right after Nayeli threw up. And no, those faces are not staged.

Luckily her bout of vomiting didn't continue the rest of the weekend and we were able to continue with our plans as scheduled. Friday Ben and Sam got up early and went water skiing with a friend on the Willamette River near our house. The Petersen boys live to ski- on water or snow, so it was a great outing for them both. In fact, they were gone until lunchtime after which we went water skiing again with a nice couple from the ward. This time I accompanied them and got to watch. We then had Sammy make us his famous omelets for dinner. And then Ben and Sam collapsed into bed that night. Such is life of a Petersen boy.

Grandma Jane sent this adorable frog shirt for Nayeli

On the river

Teddy with Tio Sam

Friday we had plans to drive to the coast. We stopped at a logging museum/restaurant on the way called Camp 18. It's in a beautiful lodge and reminds me so much of Montana. Anyway, they are famous for their cinnamon rolls as big as your face. It was our first time there and we will definitely be going back. Everything was delicious.

This picture perfectly captures the face Ben makes when I am ridiculous. I love it.

Nayeli enjoying the carved statues outside.

The museum is essentially a bunch of old logging equipment outside. They also have a lot of old train cars.

Old logging machinery

We then continued on our drive to Cannon Beach. Of course we had to stop at the Ecola State Park lookout. By far one of the prettiest places on the coast.

The whole morning it had rained so I told Ben I wasn't even going to bring my swimsuit to the beach. Honestly, I have never been to the coast on a day it was pretty enough to swim. Anyway, I wore jeans and a t-shirt with a jacket, but as the day wore on the rain clouds cleared and the sun began to shine. By the time we got to Indian Beach it was a gorgeous day, basically southern Califonia beach weather. I felt so silly, dressed like a nun on a beach where everyone was wearing swimsuits. Luckily Ben had an extra pair of shorts so I was able to at least shed my jeans and give my legs some sun.

See what I mean? The most beautiful weather we've ever had on the coast.

Sammy laid down on the sand as we arrived and took a full blown nap. Isn't unreal how men can sleep anywhere, isn't it?

Teddy enjoying his first visit to the beach.

We played on the beach for hours and had so much fun. We then drove down to Arcadia beach because we had heard it was a beautiful spot. We hit it just at sunset. It was breathtaking.

 

A lady on the beach had caught a crab to show to her kids. Sam decided he could do the same. He walked right up to some crabs and picked one up. It was huge!

Sam the brave!

Showing Nayeli up close

Can you tell from this picture who was more afraid of the crab? I'll admit I was pretty relieved when it was placed safely back in the water.

The Oregon coast may not be warm, but it sure is beautiful.

We drove home with sun-kissed skin and two sleepy kids. What a fun day it was.

On Sunday we talked and relaxed in the morning, made a fun breakfast, then went to church in the afternoon. We then drove into Portland to show Sam the city and visit the Rose Gardens.

Rose Garden Selfie

Monday (Labor Day) was our last day with Sam. We got up early to hike to Punchbowl Falls, the same hike we did on Labor Day last year. All year Ben has been talking about going back up with Sam so they could jump into the waterfall together, so it was a priority on our "To Do" list.

Teddy ready to hike

I think their faces are a pretty accurate reflection of their excitement about our trip.

Family hiking is the best.

Nayeli certainly thinks so

The two handsome men of my life.

Perfectly captured smothering. He didn't know what hit him.

My treasures

#adventurehat. Don't leave home without yours.

After the photo shoot Sam and Ben dove into the freezing cold water. They swam over and underneath the waterfall.

See their heads?

Tough men

They then went and jumped off the lower falls. Ben got this picture of Sam diving in. Of course, he was shaking like mad by this point so it's a little blurry, but doesn't it capture the glory?

The hike home. Sam was nice enough to carry an exhausted Teddy.

We drove from the falls to the Bonneville Dam to show Sam the giant Sturgeon. We ate a packed lunch on the lawn there, then headed straight to the airport. It was a whirlwind trip, but so much fun. Sammy, thanks for coming to visit. You are welcome back any time.

Ben conquers Mount Adams... twice

Since we moved here Ben has really wanted to climb Mt. Hood. It's a beautiful mountain near our home and can be seen on the hills around us on a clear day. He was scheduled to hike it in June, but the plans fell through and he and my brother in law Darren were left wondering what to do instead. Fortunately Ben had heard of Mt. Adams, another mountain in Washington that was a great climb.

So on Saturday June 14th Ben and Darren hiked Mt. Adams. It was about 6,000 vertical feet up in 6 miles- a pretty steep climb. Since there was still snow they took their skis and snowboard and after summiting rode the snow down.

Getting ready. Since he had to carry his ski boots and pulls, plus gear, his pack weighed about 45-50 pounds. It was really heavy.

On the way up

The Summit!

Mt. Rainier in the background

 I think Ben is such a stud and this picture just proves it (and Darren is pretty cool too I guess :) )

Just a funny juxtaposition: the morning Ben hiked this I took the kids yard sale-ing and then we went to get ice cream. Ben and I are complete opposites but I think that's why we're so interesting to each other. He summits mountains and I shop.

Anyway, Ben had another opportunity in August to hike Mt. Adams. Since he can't say no to adventurous fun, there he was summiting again with two friends from our ward, Jason Gough and Tom Clark. This time he didn't take his skis and he said it was "easy" compared to last time. In his words, he got "worked" when he carried up his skis but "it was worth it because the powder was so beautiful". Oh how I love Ben.  To see another image from this trip, click here.

With Tom

With Jason

Summiting again!

After the descent.

One Year in Oregon

On July 28th we hit our one year mark in Oregon. It's unbelievable to think we've already been here for one year. Just for fun, here's a comparison of then and now.

The last day in our apartment in Provo, July 2013:

And here we are in June 2014 before Teddy's blessing. 

What a difference a year makes! It's amazing to see how big Nayeli has gotten, and how her hair has grown. Oh how I love the little curls that bob on her head!

But I digress. When we decided to move to Oregon we were both looking for an adventure. Ben was offered a good job and we jumped at the opportunity to get away and see the world (or something like that). What we got was an adventure and more. Keep in mind that I had been to Portland once in 2007 but only for a few days and Ben had never even been to Oregon. Neither of us had ever heard of Wilsonville. In fact, we signed our contract for our apartment sight-unseen. The first sight we had of our neighborhood was the day we drove in with the moving truck.

Would we do it again? In a heartbeat. We have been SO happy with our decision to move here. At first it was hard to be away from family, but we have such a great support system. We are in the greatest ward and have made so many good friends. Our apartment is small (881 square feet- for the record) but the rent is affordable and by incorporating amazing organizing skills it fits all our stuff.

As for staying, for sure we would like to stay at least another year. Then what? We don't really know. We'd love to put down roots here but we're still young and ambitious. As for now though we're going to take our time and enjoy Oregon. Because oh my goodness, is it ever a great place to enjoy :)