Lake of the Woods, Oregon 3

 Kevin built a fire challenge for Riley-- I should have timed it because his fire burnt that string so fast!!

 Jim ripped his knee apart on the first day. Seriously it looks so much better right here. Thank goodness the marina store had some hydrogen peroxide!! 

 Riley and Andrea on the tube! (our poor tube is dying.... so we didn't get to tube very much as we had to keep blowing it up!)

 Captain Jim

 what a good flagger

 Mark & Carla packing up!

 Pakistinian (?) Jacquie-- at least that's how they sit to eat!

The family (minus Marissa) all ready to drive 11 hours home. (ugh)  The time at the lake was definitely worth it!

Lake of the Woods, Oregon 2

Kevin and Riley doubling it up!

 almost 16.... doing a little driving practice!

 These two girls had quite the fun time... they laughed more than you can imagine!

Uncle Mark & Aunt Carla came too!  They took us on a new adventure rafting down the Rogue River! The water was freezing, but it was fun. Even Ella went down the river!!

Boys-- you really shouldn't hit each other!

Lake of the Woods, Oregon

 We just enjoyed a few days at my favorite place on earth.  Lake of the Woods is the best! It has the best pine fresh clean air you've ever smelled. The water is super clean! The camping is the best.  There is glass on the lake every morning. It just doesn't get better.  Jacquie loved the wake-boarding, knee-boarding, and tubing.

 Andrea and Kevin enjoyed the water too.

 Double knee-boarding!! Riley and Jacquie!

The first day brought some clouds--- this was the closest thing I've ever seen to a funnel cloud. (I really don't think it was....) Amazingly it didn't rain on us!

Oregon Vacation

We are almost home from a few wonderful days in Oregon! As you can see, Ella thoroughly enjoyed herself. We are pretty sure she will sleep for days! More posts coming soon!

Skydiver

Yes, this post is a little late.... but on July 28th, Jacquie and her cousin Paige, jumped out of a plane!! Crazy, I know! It definitely isn't on my 'Bucket List', but these girls thought it was awesome. Here are some pictures from Jacquie's experience....

Crazy, yes??

Pardon the flared nostrils. That's what happens when wind flies up your nose at 120mph.

The chute is open!! (This part made the girls a little sick.)

A nice sweet, soft landing.

Safe and sound. All the way from 10,000 feet up.

I'm so glad they lived.

You can read Jacquie's description at her blog That's What We Said

Crystal Cove State Beach

Sun, sand, and a good book. Life doesn't get much better than this!!

Marissa's Germany Adventures

Marissa has spent the last month in Germany!! She is 'studying abroad' with BYU. Very cool.

She has spent 4 weeks in Berlin and will now spend another 4 weeks in Tubingen. Above Marissa actually signed the Berlin Wall!!

She sent a letter stating:

Wartburg Castle is my favorite thing I've seen so far on this trip--it wasn't bombed, so nothing is reconstructed, which means it is LEGIT. It was built in the 1100's. Wolfram von Eschenbach, a German writer from the medieval era often played there at the court. I've read the english translation of Parsifal (a traditional knight's tale, Parsival finds the holy grail) written by him, so I thought that was super cool. ALSO! I saw the room Martin Luther translated the bible in. In the 1800s, both Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt held concerts there.

Here are some pictures:

This is the room where Martin Luther translated the Bible.

This picture is a little out of order-- but here Marissa is standing right where Hitler stood during the Nazi Rallies. Wow.

This is the Wartburg Castle. Crazy Cool.

Marissa has posted a lot more pictures on facebook. They are awesome. I so wish she could have packed me in her suitcase. It looks so beautiful. :) We definitely miss her but love that she is having this grand adventure.