Poor Tori!

After swim lessons on Saturday, Tori fell in the pool locker room and injured her arm. We spent several hours in the ER. She's got a splint and sling, and we're just waiting to see the orthopedic doctor to see what needs to be done next.

This is Tori in the ER room. The entire staff who worked with us were great. But, they kept poking, pulling, prodding, and Tori got to the point of screaming every time someone entered because she knew it would mean more pain. The worst was the second round of x-rays when they made Tim and me leave the room. I probably cried as much as she did, because I could still hear the screams and calls for Mommy.

We didn't think she'd do so well the next day, but she was in pretty good spirits. At church, she told anyone who asked about her arm that "I fell backwards at the pool and I hurt my arm." This is a bunny one of the staff gave Tori in the ER. It even has a wristband around it's neck like Tori had on her arm. Tori named the bunny "Stella".

I am amazed how great Tori is doing with a sling on her arm. She is not using it as an excuse, but rather finding ways around it. Her problem-solving skills are getting a good workout thanks to this sling! She even decided to paint mommy's nails after church!

Swim Lessons

Tori has enjoyed 2 weeks of swim lessons. She is in a parent/child class together with Daddy, and it's been lots of fun for both of them!

Vacation: Part 6 _ The End

We were pleasantly surprised on our second-to-last night to find out we had unknowingly reserved this awesome beach house to stay in overnight! It was less than 300 feet from the ocean. It had a loft where Tori slept and played. She loved the house and the proximity to the ocean so much that she decided she wanted to live there. We had a fun, relaxing time here!





After leaving Gold Beach, we headed towards home, via Napa Valley. I didn't get any pictures of that beautiful area. However, since it's so close to our home, we'll go back in the fall, when, according to the natives, it is most beautiful.

And, that completes our trip. We really had a great family vacation, and we feel so blessed that we were able to do that this year

Here's one final photo of our trip, taken at the Tillamook cheese factory:

Vacation: Part 5

Along the coast, we came across this dinosaur park, with life-sized dinosaurs! It was awesome. I'm not sure if Tim or Tori enjoyed it more. Here's what we saw...

Vacation: Part 4

We couldn't get enough of the coastline views and lighthouses. Pictures will never do justice to the majestic Oregon Coast, but here are some, anyway. Enjoy!

Vacation: Part 3

The next part of our vacation started near Astoria for a 4 day drive down the Oregon Coast. It was beautiful! We took things slow. We had a list of places we could see each day, and picked from that list depending on what worked for us. We saw lots of fun things, and incredible views! I recommend the Oregon Coast to anyone!

Our first stop on the coast was to Fort Clatsop, where Lewis and Clark wintered in 1805. We had a great time reading some history, learning how life was for them, and walking through beautiful landscapes as we discovered different parts of the Fort. We all learned something, and had a great time!

Each day before leaving on our trip, we found a store to stock up on supplies. Tori was especially excited about this Trader Joe's that offered shopping carts in her size. She insisted that she do the shopping on that day.


Tori liked this fallen tree.

Tim and Tori outside the Fort.

We were so proud that Tori was so interested in learning about the things she saw. She especially liked learning about Sacagawea and her baby, who would have ridden around in this on his mommy's back.

Just a cool bridge!

I can't get over the moss that drips from trees in this part of the world!

We watched a demonstration of the kind of weapons Lewis and Clark had available to them. The demonstration was complete with compelling stories from the Lewis and Clark journals.


We saw what a canoe would have looked like from the Lewis and Clark expedition.


We enjoyed beautiful scenery!

Tori enjoyed learning about the Redwood trees from Daddy.

They noticed how "light" the bark felt compared to other kinds of tree bark.

Still to come: Part 4: Lighthouses and coastline!

Vacation: Part 2

After driving up Highway 1, then cutting inland, we arrived in Woodburn, OR to spend time with our friends, the Grimmett's, for the weekend. We were so happy to see them again! It's been 2 years, and our girls were 1 the last time we got together. The Grimmett's were nice enough to spend the entire weekend with us. It was fun to watch Tori and Maisey pick up where they left off 2 years ago, and it was great to get to know baby Gage. Of course, it was fantastic catching up, and reminiscing, too. Thank you, Shaun and Emily, for taking the time to spend with us!!

We were also able to spend a few hours with the Alcorns. It was so great for me to see all of them again. I was shocked to realize 9 years have passed since the last time we saw each other (except for Tif who came to visit us in Germany). However, sitting and talking with them reminded me so much of the times we spent together earlier, it felt like no time had passed at all (except that husbands and kids were there, too!). Thank you, Alcorn's, for letting us stop by. I'm so grateful for eternal friendships!

Here are some pictures of our weekend. Apparently, I was so occupied with catching up, I didn't get as many pictures as I should have. Mostly just of the girls.

Tori and Maisey. They were instant friends once again!

The Grimmett's took us to OMSI Museum in Portland. We were there for hours, but we only saw a fraction of what there was to see. Emily and I took the kids to the kid part, and Tim and Shaun went to look at a submarine. The kids had lots of fun.
This is Tori playing in the water area.

Playing with Flubber.

Emily and Maisey!

Tori and Maisey playing "store".

After Tim got back from the submarine, I found him discovering lots of fun things to play with in the children's area, too. :)

Stay tuned for part 3 of our vacation: the Oregon coast!