Girl's Trip to Sedona

 My mom has always wanted to go to Sedona, Arizona to check out the renowned art scene there.  A few weeks ago, my sisters contacted me and said we were going to make it happen. Natalie and Becca couldn't make it so that was a bummer, but we still had such a great time. I'm so grateful Richie pushed me to do it! I lean heavy into that practical side most times, and Richie convinced me that the money wasn't that big of a deal and we could make everything work just fine. 

It required me taking a flight from Boise to Las Vegas, then my dad picked me up in Vegas and drove me to St. George. I grabbed a quick sandwich then we got in the car for the 5ish hour trip to Sedona. But 5 hours felt like nothing-Mom, Adrienne, Jenn and I just talked and talked the entire way. No music necessary. Richie took care of the kids Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then his parents drove up all the way from SLC to watch the kids on Monday! When the trip was done, I carpooled back up to Nampa in the back of Dad's truck. Mom and Dad brought buckets and buckets of old corn and wheat from Grandma Crosby and wanted to come check out the place. Having this uninterrupted talk time first with my Dad, then with the girls, then with my parents was really one of the highlights of the trip. How often does that happen as an adult? 

Highlights of the quick weekend trip to Sedona (besides simply talking): 

*The Vermillion Cliffs and really just the scenery the entire way there and in Sedona itself. Really can't think of many more beautiful drives Ive ever taken. 

*Eating yummy food everywhere including a vegan eatery a friend recommended. The food really was yummy, but the atmosphere topped it all. It was straight out of a movie. Hippie to the max. We were all content just to sit and people watch.

*Loved checking out the art scene with Mom. A popular venue, Tlequepaque, was hard to find parking for. We circled spots for at least 30 minute before finding one, and when we did we celebrated and it was hilarious. 

*We watched the sunset over Sedona (gorgeous) up by their airport road, which is apparently the location of a healing vortex. I guess those are big in Sedona too, along with crystals and physic readings, aura pictures, and alien sitings. 

*We took a fun trolley tour of the area and did a little touristy shopping.

We all agreed we waited too long to do this, and committed to doing more girl's trips in the future. It's always hard to pull these things off, but it's always worth it! I sure love my Mom and Sisters something fierce!

Rockaway, Oregon 2021

 With some extra money coming in, Richie and I had many lengthy discussions on how best to spend it. At the top of my list was a family trip. We'd never taken one with just our little family. Our trips have always been to visit his side of the family, or my side, or to take part in their yearly family vacations. They've all been wonderful! But since Miles turned 12, I've just been feeling this pull to make some memories with just our family. The little ones won't remember this (hence the blogging), but hopefully the older 3 can tuck away a few happy memories. 

Our friends the Fogle's take this trip fairly often, we we basically copy and pasted their itinerary; making planning relatively easy. We booked an air-bnb place and drove the 8 hours it takes to get there. On the way, we stopped at Multnomah Falls. What a beautiful place! The whole ride really we couldn't get over how green everything is! We hiked a ways up the falls to get some wiggles out, but then it became clear quite fast not everyone was in favor of the unplanned hike. Back in the car we got. Everyone was happy once we reached our "hotel". Staying in a house versus an actual hotel room is

genius.
 

We heard from locals about the best beaches and also that it was fixing to rain that weekend. So we decided to pack in as many beaches as we could on Thursday. First up, a quick detour to see the lighthouse at Cape Meares and the Octopus Tree. Lighthouse was meh, Tree was pretty cool, the scenery was to die for. 

Then we made our way to Oceanside. Because we went in April, the beaches weren't super "beachy" and warm. So the kids chased the waves a bit, but Miles and Richie mostly stuck to clam digging, while the girls searched for sea shells and worked on sand castles. Davy hated everything about it. It was cold, wet, and there was sand on his hands and feet. (He's my little sensory OCD kid it seems). Just as he was warming up to everything, Benson decided to try out the clam guns. In his best imitation of Dad and Miles he drove the metal cylinder right onto his toe. Off to urgent care we go. After 2 hours and $100, they sent us home with a band aid. 

We grabbed some lunch and tried to check out some recommended tide pools in Ecola State Park. But after the drive to get there we found the road to Indian Beach was closed. We asked some park rangers, and they recommended close by Hug Point.  I think this was the kid's favorite. The tide pools weren't as epic as hoped for, but we did see a starfish and plenty of sea anemones. The tide was out, so we got to explore little caves and outcroppings before the water rolled back in. Davy had warmed up to the scene by then and was loving it all.

The next day the first thing we hit was crabbing at Kelly's Marina. For a modest fee, Richie and the 4 oldest kids boarded a small boat and caught crabs for 2 hours. The boat was too small for us all, so I stayed back at the Marina with Davy. I didn't mind for the first hour and a half. Then the cold and boredom sunk in. You can only throw rocks off the dock for so long apparently. When Richie came back with the kids, they had only caught 1 crab big enough to keep. So we ordered some other sea delicacies to try- clams and oysters, and one more crab. They cook them up for you right there. I took a fed up Davy to the car to chill and he fell asleep instantly. Figures. Everyone tried all of the different foods, and we all agreed that we were glad we tried it, but have no interest in eating those things ever again. 

After lunch we headed to Oswald state Park. To get to the beach, you have to go under a tunnel and walk a ways through what feels like Redwood forest. There are huge trees and bananas slugs and a river running through it all that empties out tight into the river. We splurged on some kites that were semi successful, but mostly the little boys just wanted to throw rocks into the mini river heading to the ocean.  

Before we packed up the next day, we drug out the kayak and paddle boat our place furnished and tried them out on the lake right there. It was raining, and we probably shouldn't have even bothered, but the kids were bummed we weren't even going to get to try it. So we powered through for about 20 minutes, and then forced them in the car with the promise of ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese factory. It was a pretty cool place with a self-guided tour and delicious dairy products everywhere. A fantastic ending to our trip. 

It cost money, time, effort planning etc. But it was 1,000% worth it. When I'm at home, I can only think of what needs to be done at home. When I'm someplace else, it's easier for me to be present and for me to let my hair down-so to speak. We stayed up late and watched movies every night, laughed a lot and everyone was more carefree. Whenever our time and money permit, I'm looking forward to the next Garner Family Vacation!

 

Gwen turns 10!

Gwen turned Ten! Wahoo!! She had planned for us to go roller skating with the Fogle's as her special birthday outing, but they caught a case of covid and had to quarantine. So, birthday shenanigans are still pending, but we tried to make the day special nonetheless. She had her #10 pancake, and then  since it was a school day, we skipped core school and instead opted to go on a hunt to see how many Free Little Libraries we could find. We drove to 6 addresses, and found 4. Some had a good selection, others were so-so, but it was a fun way to spend a morning. We listened to "Where the Red Fern Grows" and snagged some pizza on the way home. That night she requested cauliflower Alfredo for dinner, and then she wanted this ice cream Sunday cake we saw online-with orange sherbet ice cream. We opened presents and her big gift was a balance beam, so she can practice her Acro moves more. That night she and I stayed up late to watch a movie of her choosing: "High School Musical". It's hard for me to slow down enough to just sit and watch a show with my kids. But it's so wonderful to just snuggle with them and give them my full attention. 

Gwen is awesome. She is brave, she is a leader, she is confident, she is sweet, she is capable, she is smart, she is sassy and exercising some pre-teen attitude-including shortening her words (as in: "obvi" for obviously, and "T-Y" for thank you). So far everyone is pretty annoyed with it. :) She's a natural at so many things. Math is giving her a run for her money these days, but she is really learning how to deal with the struggle- and that's good for her. She usually presents herself so strongly (which is great), but I also love when she lets her guard down a bit and is extra tender and lovey. We love our Gwenny so, so much.