Condon Trip-- June 2013

Family Vacation #2 was supposed to be much grander than it actually was-- we were supposed to make a Tour de Oregon trip, stopping in La Grande, Boardman, Condon, Vancouver, Lincoln City, and Bend before coming back to Vale.

That didn't happen. That's way too much of a trip for the kids-- and for us-- right now.

Instead, we made the first leg of the trip-- stopping in LG, Boardman, and Condon before coming back home. It might have been a much shorter trip than we initially anticipated, but it was a great little getaway and we got to visit with some people we adore.

On our way to Boardman, we stopped at Riverside Park (have I mentioned how much I absolutely LOVE this park?!?!) to meet up with Katie, Madi, and Braiden. The kids played, the adults chased them and talked occasionally, and we all feasted on some gourmet McD's. I was happily surprised to run into an old college classmate and dance team member and her kids. We then hit the road to get to Boardman to visit the Lantis family.

The visit with Zack, Emerald, Makaila, Riley, and Chase was great! The kids played, the adults caught up, and ate some yummy Traeger BBQ'd chicken and steak. Zack took the boys to the fire department-- Rocco was so excited to put on real firefighter gear! Emerald later took me for a quick tour of the town. We stayed one night in Boardman before heading to Condon.

Our visit to Condon was very nice. It is always good to see Steve and Rhonda (Todd's parents). We also saw some other good friends, whom we miss a lot-- The Barnett Family, The Farrars, Uncle Stan and Aunt Terri, and Grandma Dorothy. We also had a visit from K'Lynn and her little beautiful girl, Kennedy, as well as Aunt Betty Lou and cousin Zoey. We mostly stuck around the house-- Rocco played naked outside the majority of the weekend-- but we did make a trip into town for the Elk's breakfast and to take Rocco to the elementary school to play. The kids were super well-behaved and traveled excellently. We couldn't have asked for much more than that!

Our next trip is supposed to be a visit to San Diego to see Todd's sister, brother-in-law, and their new baby. But there are some scheduling conflicts that might delay the trip until a later date. If that's the case, we might take our own family vacation elsewhere (lesson learned: always buy the refundable plane tickets!) like San Francisco, Vancouver to see the Dearborn clan, or Seattle to visit Uncle Gil. Heck, we might get a wild hair and go somewhere totally unexpected! Who knows?!

All I know is that so far this has been a great summer-- and will continue to be a great summer. Whenever I am with my family, I am happy! It's icing on the cake when I get to visit people who love us in return and are grateful for our company!

Here are some of the best photos from our trip: