With a busy summer of work and curriculum development, I wanted to make sure that my limited time off would be both relaxing and productive. I will tackle the productive side of my summer in a later post. To address the relaxing part, I decided to visit some of my family. My first stop was a quick 36-hour visit to my niece’s house (Tacoma, Washington) for the 4th of July. We had fun spending the afternoon wandering around near the water, and later that night showing her little 22-month son the beauty of fireworks. (He thought they were a bit too frightening).
The following day, I took a quick flight to Redmond, Oregon to visit my brother Greg and his family. I had not seen them in 2 ½ years, and I couldn’t get over how much all my nieces and nephews have changed. I always love visiting Greg’s family because they enjoy having adventures. We spent the first evening taking family pictures, but the rest of the week we went spelunking, bowling and took a trip to Crater Lake National Park. Prior to this trip I had only ever driven through Oregon, so I loved that I got to see more of this beautiful state. Crater Lake National Park was stunning, and although I decided to be prudent and not dive into the ice-cold water—I promised myself if I ever visited again I would take the plunge. Before I knew it, my time in Oregon was up, and I returned to Washington.
Crater Lake from a variety of perspectives and elevations.
Taking the daring plunge into the icy waters!
For the duration of my vacation, I returned to my niece’s house where we spent our days singing along with the Phantom of the Opera, planning a short vacation (in August) to New York City and playing with her two adorable sons. In the evenings, we pulled out the board games, and the adults enjoyed some challenging trivia and strategy games. I had a hard time saying goodbye to her gorgeous little boys, but until next time there is always Facebook.
I love his dimples!
It should be a crime to have such lovely blue eyes!
What have you done this summer? Did you visit any family this summer?