Oregon: Part Three - Staying Active

 

Oregon was an action packed trip and things did not let up after Grandma & Grandpa went back home. Remember those bikes I mentioned earlier? Well, Daddy and Grandpa found some killer bikes at the Redmond thrift store for $18 total. The boys weren't too keen at first sight, to many, these bikes looked a little girly. However, it didn't take long to transform them into some awesome boy bikes!! The pink, purple and glitter decals were embraced or at least ignored. We practiced round the neighbor by the condo and a few times ventured to a close by trail. It wasn't until this day when these bikes and boys proved themselves!

 

 

The WHOOPS trail just outside Bend, OR was perfect!!! We still have a little practice to do until we can do the entire trail. However, everyone had a blast at the BMX course! 

Axel had no fear whatsoever...only Mommy had the fear which quickly dissolved watching him take the hills like a pro.

He loved it and giggled, hooted and hollered the entire time.



Lucas was a little more cautious but quickly realized how the bikes momentum worked. After letting down his guard he realized just how fun they were.

You can see, there was no shortage of hills. Here Lucas takes a breather while getting ready for another round.



It didn't take long for Axel to ask about the big hills. I thought he was nuts! Daddy supported his idea!

As you can see, we got lots of exercise chasing these boys for 2 hours.

Lucas going free-style with no bike!

Here's my bikin' boys! Check out those killer bikes and one proud Daddy!

Do you see how dirty everyone is? Totally worth it.

Axel had to make a few more runs before calling it a day!

The last few days of our trip turned out to be rainy ones. That didn't stop this crew from getting out but it limited us to more mellow activities.

 

Like hanging out in Fred Meyers to avoid torrential rains and eating some tasty plums.



 

 

We also drove out to see this cool rock tower...impressive for sure.

It didn't rain the whole time which was great for camping. We had checked out of the hotel and headed to Smith Rock to set up camp. This is in the camp ground and a favorite of both boys.

Axel in the gray shirt chillin' with the big kids!

Lucas working on his climbing skills with Daddy.

This was a familiar sight on camping nights...some mean games of UNO! :)

Silly faces never get old!

Our last day at Smith was rainy but we found a dry overhanging area to spend some time in.

 

Lucas slab climbing

It was short but perfectly protected from the rain.

Another view of the crew.

 

Axel waiting for his turn.

Lucas ready to be done.

Axel slab climbing.

I was so happy they got one last climb in.

So were they!

After enough rain, we headed back to camp to pack up and make the trek to Portland. Here is our campsite and that's where the bikes found a new home. We hope they can be used by other camping kids!

 

The last few days were spent in Portland. The only trouble with that, was Axel got a stomach bug on the way to Portland from Redmond. We thought it would pass quickly but that boy go super sick. He was out of it for two days. We carried him around to various locations while he slept almost the entire time. It was a little scary but the doctor confirmed that it would work it's way out and it did.

With our sad little guy in tow, we met up with Karissa & Jason for some of the best pizza on the planet. If you go to Portland YOU MUST GO to APIZZA SCHOLL'S!! It really can't even be called pizza because it is like no other. AMAZING! Another MUST GO is POK POK...the thai chicken wings at this place will make you SOOOO happy you are not a vegetarian. You can check both places out online (Apizza Scholls featured on PIZZA CUZ and POK POK on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives). Some of the best food EVER!!

Before heading to the airport, we checked out a random garden that turned out to be really beautiful.


It was a little rainy but we all enjoyed it.

Here Daddy is carrying Axel around. He did manage to open his eyes to see a blue jay and some blue flowers before going back to sleep.

Lucas had about 20 ducks try to follow him to the car. I think they were disappointed that we didn't feed them.



Here was our sad boy. He got cold on the airplane so we used his sweat shirt as pants. :) After arriving to Denver, we had one rough night being sick. After that, he perked up the next day and we quickly back to himself.