Trip to Oregon Part 5: Done Traveling

We tried a different route home, hoping for better luck than our first attempt. The plan was to drive 5 hours to Vancouver, stay overnight, and have Amora fly home with her grandma while I drive home.

The thing about plans is that they always have a way of changing. We made it 4 hours to Salem, stopped for dinner at my Dad's house, and began our last leg of the day. About 20 minutes out of Salem, the check engine light came on. I frantically called my step dad asking if I should pull over. He told me I could most likely keep going, so I didn't stop until I made it to Vancouver.

After telling my mother-in-law my concerns, we agreed that it would be best if I fly home with Amora and leave the car in the care of my father-in-law. We readily agreed and made it home, without the car.

Amora is done traveling...


And really cute about it.


And the car? We are still waiting on an estimate with a mechanic in Vancouver. Maybe I will have my freedom again. I'm not feeling very optimistic about it though. Cast your votes: how much will this repair cost me?

Trip to Oregon Part 4: Medford

After Salem, Amora and I traveled even further south to Medford. While there, we visited her Grammy Fullmer, Grandpa, and Uncle Jeremy.

Amora got to drive her uncle around (or just stay in park in the driveway, it's all the same to her). This is one of her sheer pleasures in life. Bliss.


We went bowling as a family, which Amora tolerated. Really, she just wanted to play in the arcade and darted over until I finally forfeited my position on the bowling roster and let her push all the buttons on every machine to her heart's content.

And of course every visit with my mom includes a photo shoot. Amora clung to me for dear life, so I am pictured in every one of the shots.


We took Jeremy's dog on a walk to the school park almost everyday. The school has two playgrounds. As soon as Amora realized this, she insisted that we hit each playground every time we went. Jeremy absolutely adored her and asked her over and over again if she wanted to sit on his lap down the slides.


Amora also got to enjoy being read to by someone other than me. She was reluctant at first, but agreed to it after weighing the pros and cons.


We packed up and hauled out after a busy two weeks only to be detoured. About 20 minutes out of Medford on our way home, the car overheated and the head gasket blew. I was quite calm about this revelation until the mechanic gave an estimate of $2100 to fix the engine. Luckily, my step dad came to save the day and lovingly labored over my car for 4 days. Here is a photo documenting his hard work. $500 later and almost a week after our scheduled departure time, the car started, passed the 45 minute test drive, and we were on our way home for the second time.

Trip to Oregon Part 3: Salem

After Portland, Amora and I traveled south to Salem. We had a chance to visit with her Papa, Grammy, Aunt Esther, Uncle John, and cousin Billy.

We went to a pumpkin patch for the first time. There was so much more to do than just look at pumpkins. The kids got to play on a playground, feed goats, climb on hay stacks, and run through a fort. It was a nice way to get them used to each other again.


The cousins also played together almost every night we were there because we all met together for dinners. Here they are playing in the couch pillows. Billy weighs more than 10 pounds more than Amora. I was afraid he would crush her at times! Fortunately, there were no major incidents.


They also got to play with their Papa. Any resemblance?


Amora had some fun cuddle mornings with Papa watching cartoons. It surprised all of us because she generally prefers females, but she took quite a liking to him.


And of course, we took many trips to the local parks. Here is Amora with her Grammy Cyndee.


What a nice trip to Salem we had. The weather was perfect and the company great!

Oregon Trip Part 2: Portland

After the wedding, Adam went home to go back to work, and Amora and I played in Portland for a few days.

We went to the Portland Zoo (it is so awesome) and got to feed the birds. If you have the nectar, they just fly directly on your arm. It surprised me so much, I spilled half of the nectar on Amora. She loved being so close to the birds.


Aunt Laurie, Cheri, and baby Braylen came with us to the zoo.


Before we left, Amora was able to hold baby Braylen, which she absolutely loved.


We also got to spend a day with Amora's girl cousins. We took the girls to the park and they played for hours. I'm so excited to watch them grow up together. In this photo, they were taking turns going down the slides.


Ella loves to be a mini mommy to little kids and adored that Amora held her hand and took her around the park. Too cute.

Oregon Trip Part 1: The Wedding

We went to Oregon a few weeks ago for my beautiful sister-in-law's wedding. She and her hubby are such an awesome match, and we couldn't be happier for them. The wedding was absolutely perfect, it didn't rain (a miracle for Portland), and they were both glowing. Here are a few pictures:

Here's the radiant couple exiting the temple. We're all pretty positive that they are going to make beautiful babies.


The siblings. Can you tell these boys love their baby sister? It's so sweet.


The bridesmaids. It was so fun getting to know Hannah's friends. They all traveled to support her. What great friends.


They both looked beautiful. I just love this picture.


And there's my handsome husband. See why I married him?


This is probably the only blog post that doesn't include a picture of Amora. Don't get used to it. Part 2 of our trip is coming up. :)

From the Mouth of Amora

We have so much fun listening to the complete sentences our daughter is able to conjure up. Here are a few:

• We're at church taking the Sacrament water. Amora says (not whispers), "Mmm, nummy water."
• At church Adam asked me about where a friend of ours is. I told him that he was probably out in the hall with his son Max because he's a boy and boys are harder to keep quiet. Amora announces, "Max is a boy!"
• When she wakes up in the morning or after her nap she says, "Done sleeping, Mommy."
• We were at a friends house where I was chatting with the mom and I hear Amora yell, "Mommy, Izzy hit me!" I'm pretty sure Izzy is not going to like that Amora can now tattle on her.
• Amora and I were in the car driving to go shopping. She says, "I love shopping Mommy."
• When Adam got home from work yesterday, she exclaimed, "Daddy home!"
• But probably the best thing I hear all day is when she says, "I love Mommy" or "I love you."

This makes up for her premature terrible two tantrums. I love her.