Family Reunion Trip to Medford, Oregon

Last Wednesday we embarked on an adventure that would eventually land us in Medford, Oregon for a family reunion on my Dad's side of the family. It was the 25th anniversary of the first one and we have not had a reunion in 13 years, so it was time! Grab a drink, this is a long post!

Our first lunch stop. Sonic. We LOVE Sonic and the closest one is 3 hours away. It's a happy day when we can have Sonic. YUM! Ok, enough about that...

The boys first car nap after lunch. This is a beautiful thing when riding in the car...both asleep at once is practically a miracle!

Our original plan was to go to Enchanted Forest just south of Salem on Wednesday with the boys. However, when we got there it was pouring buckets. So, that was out since pretty much everything is outside. So, as we sat in the parking lot trying to decide what to do, Gregg decided to see what was in the AAA book. He found a Children's Museum in Salem, so we headed back north into Salem to check it out. It was GREAT. A true find. I can't find it online to link you all, but trust me, it's great! It is WAY better than the ones we have here. We will be going there again sometime.

Grady LOVED looking at the turtle in this aquarium.

Well, that apple didn't fall far. (For those "not in the know", Gregg collects flattened pennies)

This was the coolest grocery area. The room was kinda small, but it had a lot of stuff and it even had a checkout area with a moving belt!

Each room is a theme. This one was all about water and boats.

BUBBLES!!!



This room was about the body. It even had a "stomach" that the kids could crawl through after you crawled through the mouth. It was neat.

The toddler room was for 2 and under. Grady and I hung out in there while Gibson and Gregg checked out the rest of the place.








This was a FUN slide. It was about 2 stories high.

The only downfall to going down it was that I got my pants all wet from all the kids tracking the rain up there on their shoes.

Gibson got all wet too!

I tried to get Gibson to sit in this big chair with Grady, but it was a no go...

He liked the little chair better

After the Children's Museum we headed to our hotel room that we had booked in Albany. We had originally planned that because we figured after several hours at Enchanted Forest we would just stay close by. Had we known the weather was going to be so bad, we would have done things differently, but it was ok, it all worked out. We found a Red Robin and ate there for dinner and then came back to our hotel and Gregg and Gibson went swimming while Grady and I hung out and walked around the fencing of the pool area.





Our second major stop! Crater Lake.
This is the Pumice Desert.

Gregg and Gibson checking out the lake. It is so beautiful. This is one of those places that you just have to see once in your lifetime. Pictures don't do it justice...especially our pictures. It was cold and cloudy out that day so we were wimpy and didn't get out and take many pictures.

Ah....we have arrived in Meford at last! We met my parents there Thursday night and went to dinner with them at a local pizza place and then we came home after a quick drive around the area and hit the swimming pool at the hotel...they had an 80 foot slide while is one of the reasons we picked that hotel. Those pictures are on my Mom's camera and when she sends them to me, I will get them posted.


THEN, on Friday we headed to Grants Pass and went on a jetboat excursion through Hellgate Canyon. For this water lovin' gal (HA! not.), it was a bit nerve wracking leading up to actually getting on the boat but I was really glad I went. It was a lot of fun and a great outing with Gregg, Gibson & my Dad.

They don't have life jackets for kids on the boat so the only way I would let Gibson go is if we got him a life jacket and he wore it the whole time (my fear of water playing into that, but I would rather be safe than sorry!) Doesn't he look like a stud?

Waiting in line to get on the boat.

The jetboat!

This is the new lodge that Hellgate Excursion is building. Guess they are really raking it in with those fees.

Off we go...


Gibson had perma-grin the whole time. He LOVED it.





This was a wet and windy ride. Thank goodness I found a clip in my purse, my hair was in such terrible knots that it took me like 15 minutes to get them out and I had a headache when I was done. It was bad! I wish I would have known my clip was in there prior to the boat leaving.

Notice the Osprey nest?

This is their dinner lodge. 400 people a night have dinner there. They have a 4 & 5 hour cruise that includes dinner.

This is "Hellgate". I forget why it was named that, but it is alot narrower than it looks.

Going through Hellgate.

We have reached Hellgate Canyon

Looking out the other end of the canyon. If you take the longer cruises you head further down the river this way where you encounter white water.

Notice everyone hanging on. This was in the middle of a 360 spin. We did several of those, I was worried about those, but they were not bad at all and that was probably the one maneuver that actually didn't get us wet.

I took my chances trying to get this picture. I wanted to get a picture of the spray coming over the boat but I didn't want to get my camera wet (read soaked so that it no longer worked), so I took it and then quickly put my camera in a dry area...

Friday night we had a pre-reunion dinner with about 25 people or so.

Gregg trying to entertain a very tired, very whiny little boy

Gibson loved ringing the dinner bell.

This is my cousin, Kim's, new babe. She is a doll. Her name is Abigail and she is 3 months old. I just loved holding her. If Grady wouldn't have been so jealous everytime I picked her up she would have probably come home with me. (I'm kidding, Kim. Sort of.)

See? Grady was not amused that Grandmare had him and I had Abby.

Brother hugs.

The reunion was at my Aunt & Uncle's ranch and my cousin runs a horse barn there and so the kids all loved the horses and had to check them out!

This is Emma, she is my cousin, William's daugther. She is 8 days older than Grady. She is a sweetie. I was glad to get to meet her too. This was the first time I had seen her.

Grady and Emma got along great.

After Friday night...both boys were wiped out. Grady fell asleep in the car and so he got to sleep in his clothes that night and didn't even move when I got him from his carseat and carried him up to our room, and Gibson was not long behind him, we let him relax in front of a dvd for a few minutes and looked over at him and he was OUT!


Saturday - Reunion day!

Aunt Carol had cowboy hats for all the kids. They were GREAT!

The party was catered. We had ribs, chicken, sausage and tri-tip with beans, macaroni salad and bread on the side. It was good food. Aunt Carol made some cobblers for dessert and we had a chocolate cake from Costco, it was also very good.

No day is complete without your Sonic drink...good thing there was a Sonic right next to our hotel! I think that was Gregg's favorite part of the trip.

Checking out the horses...again.

Gregg took Gibson to the barn so he could ride one of the horses and when he got out there all he wanted to do was take it for a walk. So here he is talking Misty for a walk.

And then he got to help groom Misty.


My dad with his plate of food!

Aunt Wanda & Uncle Steve got a pinata for the kids. It was a huge success. The kids each got a whack at the thing, with the last kid busting it open! Uncle Steve had to show them all how to swing the stick.

Gibson was so excited about having a lollypop...it was his first one ever. It was really funny to watch him eat it. He would just put it in his mouth and then take it out. I tried to explain to him how to suck on it, but the idea was lost on him. He did pretty good despite it taking him like an hour to eat the thing.


Gibson finally decided to give the horse riding a try once he saw the other kids up on the horses. He had a great time.

My handsome dude!

And then, my Dad had to go for a ride. He was cracking everyone up. He looked like the sherriff up there with his vest and hat. One of the cousins said "That sure is alot to ask of that horse" We all thought that was funny.

Kassidy and Grady (2nd cousins)

After we left on Saturday, both boys were OUT. Grady was out before we even got out onto the main road...he was exhausted.

After we stopped and had dinner (where, you ask? Why Sonic, of course!) we arrived back at our hotel and the boys woke up and we decided to go swimming since everyone was awake.

Tonight, Gregg decided it was MY night to get in. Oy. I hate the water. HATE.IT. But I did it. I even went down the slide with Gibson. It was fine, although, the water was COLD. I mean, they didn't heat this pool at all. And it was an indoor pool so there was no sun to heat the water.

On our way up the water slide.

My mother's shorts kept filling with air. I told her she looked like she was wearing a tu-tu, so she busted out a ballerina move for us.


Sunday morning, we got up and had breakfast with my parents and then headed out on our trek home.

We made a stop at McDonalds in Eugene for lunch around noon and there happen to be a train going past, so we had to wait and watch the train.

I have a 2nd cousin (I think? maybe 1st cousin once removed, I'm not sure) that I have never met that just moved to Portland, so we stopped and visited with her on the way. It was a great stopping point for us and we really enjoyed meeting Amy and chatting for a bit. We home to see Amy again soon!

(Amy, I can't find the paper with your email, it's probably lost in the pile of stuff still needing to be put away, so email me so I can send you a copy of this pic!)

This was Gibson's second seat on the ride home. Often, we would be sitting in the middle of traffic or going down the road and we would hear "I have to go potty, NOW!" which meant we had to pull over immediately and either find a bathroom or let him go in the travel potty seat I got for him. Of course, it was pouring buckets outside, so we had to find a level spot in the van that didn't have a bunch of stuff ther and was big enough for him to be able to sit on the potty. Diapers and travel are MUCH easier.

This was about hour 10. The boys were not happy about STILL being stuck in the car and quite honestly, neither were Gregg or I. It was meltdown central, for real.


This is why we were STILL in the car....Traffic was terrible!
Then, happier times once we got our emotions out. Grady fell asleep and Gibson got set up watching some Thomas the Train and he did better.

This wasn't part of our trip, but I am posting the pictures anyway. My parents stopped in Hilt, CA to check the place out. My Mother's Mother (My Grandma Ruby) was born there. It was a booming town when she was there, now only about 25 people or so are left.

These are some shots taken by a cousin in the family. He has a photography business and is quite talented. He took over 300 shots, and so I picked a few to post here for you all to see.

My Aunt Carol and my Dad

My cousins, Kevin & Jody's exchange student, Didi. She was here for 7 weeks and so she got the pleasure of meeting the extended family.

The whole group!

My Dad and his siblings. L to R - Uncle Paul, Aunt Wanda, Dad (Philip) and Aunt Carol

My cousin Kim and I showing off our babywearing.

This is me hanging out on the arena fence watching my dad and Gibson ride the horses.

Another shot of me - I am most of the time behind the camera, it's nice to get a decent picture of me and just me!

Oh, Gibson. He was having a SERIOUS meltdown. I didn't even know Lloyd took these pics.

Audrey Hepburn, I mean, Aunt Wanda ready for her ride in the Corvette

With the exception of the ride home, we had a great time. It was fun to get away and to see everyone and to meet relatives I have never met before.