Green and Trees (both Family and Naturally Occuring)...

I have mixed feelings about being home from this big trip. Notice I don't say "vacation". This was a trip where we saw family and participated in different things. 

By definition, vacation means "an extended period of recreation and relaxation...especially one spent away from home or in traveling." Sure, there was some extended periods of recreation and we spent time away from home and traveled. 

But relaxation? Um...hard to really find it in there with three kids in tow. 

In fact, here is something that foreshadowed how the term "vacation" wasn't exactly going to be part of the process: 

The day before we left on this journey, I was chatting online with a client and this is what Mikelle comes in the room to tell me:

"Mom, Christian put Alexander in a suitcase and now the zipper is stuck..."
 
Sadly, the thought that went through my mind is "do I need to go in there?" 

But no, I didn't. The situation ratified itself in about two minutes. Turns out, one of the zippers on the two zipper suitcase got destroyed in the process to free the precious cargo. No crying, panicking or lack of oxygen occurred. Chris later wasn't pleased with the zipper's conclusion, but I told him it was better for that to be the solution to the problem instead of me having to go there and deal with it. 

Don't get me wrong. There was fun and some nice relaxing moments on this trip, such as when Chris and I took Alexander back to the beach house after everyone else was seeing "Inside Out" in Newport (Alexander in a movie theater? Yeah, we've covered that already...) and Alexander fell asleep on the way back to the beach house so the three of us crashed for a nice naptime. So yes, that was one of those "relaxing" moments.

Then there was the following day when everyone went back to Newport to check out the tide pools at Yaquina Head (I LOVE that place...as detailed from this blog entry when Alexander and I traveled up there alone August 2011...) but this time, I had to stay behind to work on client artwork. Sure, I was working, but it still had that relaxation and vacation feel. 

This was my view from the balcony. Because of the breeze in the air, a light hoodie sweatshirt was required due to that little windchill. Perfection.

But  let's back up to when we finally arrived in Waldport on Fathers Day afternoon. Chris received a lovely traffic ticket a few hours earlier in the seaside community of Bandon (yeah, Happy Fathers Day to you too, officer!) and we stopped in Yachats (just south of Waldport) for a late lunch at the Blue Whale Diner. 

Because it was Fathers Day, Chris presented his Dad with this Family Tree artwork that I was officially commissioned by Chris to create. It had been done for about a month now, but I did have to keep it out of public view until the recipient was finally gifted the artwork.  However, once everyone saw it, I was able to officially post it.

Chris arranged anyone who wanted a print of the artwork to receive one during that very trip, as per a nice small and accommodating print shop in Newport. Chris's dad was to be given the original, but he doesn't really have the wall space for it. So instead, we got him a 16x20 print, and in the meantime, we'll frame the original and keep it for now.  

Anyway, here are the family pictures taken at the beach house in Waldport. Alexander was a tough sell with the pictures. When the timer light indicated that it was about to take the shot, he would look away because he's a turd.

Therefore, the strange face I am making in this second picture was to keep him interested in a boat on top of the TV so he'd look forward for the picture. So I took one for the team in an effort for him to keep looking forward. I think we also talked about a banana on the boat and a shark attacking the boat in the hopes to keep him looking that direction.

Thankfully for the goofy third picture, Megan was on the case to tickle him and make sure he was still present for the picture. Good job, Megan! In the third goofy picture, Christian's face seems to have vanished completely. But his legs are flaying about! Luckily Hana's head on a steeeek blocked a crotch shot.

I have a lot of pictures on my fancy Canon, but until I get those downloaded, here are a few more from the good ol' iPad (or Chris's iPhone or pictures taken by other family members):

6/22/15...Boys at Mo's in Newport. Alexander being aloof with pictures...again!

Breakfast! 6/23/15

More Breakfast! 6/22/15 AND 6/23/15

So cute with the three of them looking innocent and at peace.... Evening of 6/21/15...The evening we arrived.

6/21/15...I hugged the sign. Yes I did. I was honked at by some guy driving into California.

San Francisco Thursday 6/19/15

This picture below is the quintessential road trip picture. Look at Christian's face! He was much happier the following day when we went to the Tech Museum in San Jose! Yes, it would be a bit of a back track in our progression to Oregon, but we had to change our Bay Area schedule around a bit to accommodate sleep and sanity. Christian was thrilled to finally make it to the Tech Museum. It was just a day later than we originally planed, so he wasn't too thrilled that he had to wait that extra day. 

By the way, air temperature in San Francisco? 65 Degrees.

6/19/15

Dashboard temperature of 57 heading across the Golden Gate Bridge for a second time on 6/20/15:

Again, heartbreaking to leave. Like the Oregon Coast, San Francisco and I belong together. But sadly, life is cruel.

Anyway, this isn't the end of the vacation (I mean trip) pictures or tales of beauty and stops along the way. Like I said, I have many of pictures on the Canon to download. However, this is pretty much it for this blog entry.

We rolled back into AZ late Saturday night. On one hand, it's good to have it behind us so we can concentrate on moving to the new house and all the other things that need to be accomplished. On the other hand, there are so many more beautiful and cooler places out there that people live (as referenced from the pictures above), and yet, we're stuck where two digit temperatures in the summer are rare. The Oregon Coast rarely makes it into the 70s in the summer. Inland it can warm up, and heat waves can be frustrating, but those heatwaves don't last all summer.

However, I will say that for living in the heat, we do live in a beautiful desert. I have made that known before. Driving through the Mohave Desert to get home and passing through some communities showed me that it could be so much worse. Some of those desert areas have no beauty at all. It's like the surface of the moon. Thankfully, the Sonoran Desert offsets the heat with the beauty. However, I have said many times that I appreciate that beauty a lot more in the winter. 

As for the new house, we stopped there late Saturday night when we arrived in town. It was so exciting! Roof tiles done. Exterior paint and trim done. Concrete for garage driveway and front door is completed. Inside, the air conditioning is on, all fans and light fixtures are up. Yes, even the awesome laundry room chandelier! Woo Hoo! Kitchen and bathroom cabinets are in. No appliances, flooring or toilets (plumbing) yet, but we are so close. I wish I could just put superfluous clothing in all the closets now as it won't affect the flooring, but since there isn't a certificate of occupancy yet, they may get cranky about that. But oh, it would be so nice to get those little tasks done! 

More pictures from the trip AND the new house to come...