Waterfalls Falls, Hayward Field, Sutherlin, and Salem (Oregon)

The last stops on our Oregon adventure were to Multnoma Falls, Eugene, Sutherlin, and Salem. The computer uploaded the pictures in an odd order for some reason, and it's too many to change around, so this post will be out of order, but the order above is correct :).

After visiting Eugene for the night, we drove about another hour south to Sutherlin, Oregon, to visit Don and Suzanne. It had been many years since Nathan and Suzanne saw each other, and my and the boys first time meeting them. We were greeted with big hugs and hellos and sat out back for a while talking, catching up, and enjoying this gorgeous view. They were well prepared with bubble guns, balloons, color books, a frisbee, and balls for the boys. Benjamin learned how to throw a frisbee that afternoon...

And he did pretty well!

I love this picture of them.

After a while, Caleb wanted to watch TV with Don, and he sat on the chair with him and probably talked his ear off for an hour, haha! Meanwhile, we stayed outside and...

Hit a bunch of golf balls that had landed in their yard over time, back into the green...well Suzanne and Nathan did, and I gave it my best effort :).

The next morning, Nathan went to the bagel shop with them and got the full tour of how bagels are made. They sold the shop earlier this year, but the owners were kind to let them show Nathan around. We enjoyed some delicious bagels that morning, and then had to say, until next time. We had such a nice visit with them, and are thankful for the love that they have for our family. Thank you!

On the drive back from Sutherlin, we passed through Salem, IL. Mid-way through our trip, I remembered that a friend of mine from church in VA that I met in a ladies bible study when I was staying home for a few months with Caleb, lived in Salem. Thankful for Facebook getting me through to her, we had a really nice quick visit with Erica and her three kiddos at the park. When we said our goodbyes several years ago, she had one child, so it was wonderful to meet the rest of her clan!

The kids all played well together in the park.

Evan and Mason.

Little sissy, Stella.

Three musketeers.

And then the kiddos enjoyed a ride on the carousel!

It was a fun mini and quick reunion with a sweet friend :).

The first stop on this leg of the journey was to Multnomah Falls. We wanted to see some nature, and Nathan said this was the place to be. And we picked the right place to park because we got to take a little hike and see Wakeena falls along the way!

Multnomah Falls.

We hiked up to the small bridge for a better view of the falls. It was so green, lush, and gorgeous scenery!

We hiked back to the car, stopped at another lookout, then made our way to Eugene for the night.

We got to Eugene mid-day, with plenty of time to explore the University of Oregon. First top of the tour was to famous Hayward Field, where the track legend Steve Prefontaine once ran.

We happened to be at the field at the perfect time, the gates were getting ready to close in minutes.

Nathan teaching our future runners about the field's history.

Pretty cute, isn't he!

We walked all around the campus. It was old and traditional with brick buildings and really pretty.

The boys enjoyed climbing on the structures that were all around campus.

The next day on our way out of town, we visited Pre's rock,  the the place of his fatal car accident in May of 1975. Prefontaine left a great legacy behind in the town of Eugene, and he is an inspiration to runners around the world.  After reading a book and seeing a movie about his life, it was neat to see this in person.

We tremendously enjoyed our visit to Oregon, the special people we spent time with, and soaking in the beauty of this very green state. And now for the last stop on our trip...Southern Illinois!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Nathan! We are so blessed everyday by you and thankful for all that you do for  our family. You are one amazing dad, with three #1 fans! And a very special Father's Day to our dads Art and Mark. We are so thankful for the love and examples you have been in our lives, and for being incredible fathers to us. 

F: You are faithful. You love God, you love others, and you lead our family well. 

A: You are a man of action! You rarely sit still, always jump in to do whatever needs done.

T: You are a great teacher, and are always so patient as we learn how to do new things with you.

H: You give our family hope. You are a great encourager, teach us to do our best always, and help us succeed in everything we do.

E: You are a godly example to our family and role model to our boys.

R: You are reliable and a man of great integrity. 

Nathan, thank you for being you, we love you to the moon and back!

Last day of school and Benjamin's pre-School graduation

Today was the last day of school for both boys and Benjamin's pre-school graduation! It has been a great year for both boys and we are so proud of how much they have grown and developed this year. Caleb had a great year in KG1 and is moving onto KG2. The biggest growth for Caleb this year was the Arabic learning and writing, and introduction to French. His teachers said he has improved a lot during the year, and he knows more than he leads us on to. He still prefers English most of the time (sometimes he asks for Arabic cartoons at home), but overall, he has been a really good sport about learning. Next year he will have Arabic reading and writing homework in KG2, that he says he is excited about it. He made some nice friends, and they will move up together as a class next year.  A couple of his friends are moving away, but that just means room for more new kids to play with. The last week of school was full of parties and fun activities. Caleb's favorite day was water gun day. 

His friend Masa gave everyone a gift on the last day.

Benjamin is graduating pre-school and moving up to KG1 next year. He is also very excited to be moving up with his friends in the same class. Benjamin really blossomed in Arabic this year and is embracing the French. His teachers said he understands the Arabic instructions they give him, and he loves singing Arabic songs around the house. It's fun to watch him grow in this area. I was sad to miss Benjamin's graduation this morning because I am back in the US for work for a couple of weeks. He has been practicing his graduations songs and sending me videos of him signing.  Nathan and Tes were there for his special day and cheered him on. Between Nathan and all the videos from other parents, I got to see plenty of pictures and videos. Congratulations Popcorn class, goodbye pre-school, hello KG1! 

Introducing, the sweet graduate!

There was lots of singing in all languages. First is french...seems like he got bored towards the end and wanted to unzip his gown, haha!

Then Arabic....

And English!

 They also had a tree-planting ceremony as a reminder of their class in the years to come.

We are so proud of  how both boys blossomed this year, and thankful for the fun year they had at school!

Roadtrip to Portland

We said our see you soons to the Bobrowski's, and the next part of our adventure was road tripping to Portland with Aaron and Sunnie. It was a really pretty 6 hour drive through Washington and Oregon. We arrived mid-afternoon, and found out there was a Saturday market along the riverside, so we had a nice long stroll along the river, the boys enjoyed running through lots of grassy areas, and we walked around the city.

Pretty flowers in bloom from the farmer's market.

This man stood out with his big smile and nice music he was playing.

The boys enjoyed seeing the street cars, though we did not ride one.

Aaron was so excited to go to voodoo donuts, a famous donut shop. But I'm not kidding when I saw the line was probably 3 hours long...so no donuts :(.

Benjamin enjoying some swing time with Uncle Aaron and Sunnie.We found a delicious thai restaurant, which is always a winner in our books!

Love our sweet boys! We had a mini photo shoot on the stairs by the waterfront.

And more pictures of the adults :)

They are a cute couple!

We walked back along the river in search of ice cream.

And we all enjoyed it ;)

It was such a nice visit with Aaron and Sunnie. We are so grateful that they flew to Washington to spend time with us, and we look forward to the next visit. We love you a lot, thank you for a fun mini weekend together!