Family time!

Wow---What an amazing summer we have had so far!

When I returned from my trip to Texas with Erinn, I had about 4 days home them we headed to Salem for David to work a couple of days.

We snuck in a visit with his family for an evening BBQ.

We headed up to Portland to visit our good friends, the Phelps, who also happen to be one of our pastors, he married Erinn and Michael last July. Their sweet daughter, Devynne, who was one of Erinn's bridesmaids, had open heart surgery. She has a congenital defect with needed another repair. The surgery turned into 3 and some very touch and go moments. At this moment we are pleased to hear that her heart is doing well!!! Pray that her kidneys will soon start doing their job properly. It was such a joy to see them all.

We also snuck in a quick morning visit with our long time friends, Ruth and Jerry Hoffman. We remember fondly the years of clamming together all the way back to when Drew was still in a backpack on David's back. What a great time of catching up and encouragement. Their son and daughter-in-law recently returned from Ethiopia with their newest daughter!

Then we headed to Lincoln City on the Northern Oregon Coast for a three day getaway.

This was the view from our back door.

Me and my beautiful daughter taking in the evening beauty.

Our God sure in amazing!

David and Caleb working on a project.

A walking testimony at the Hatfield Marine Science Museum.

Digging for clams.

While at this museum we had a couple ask where the kids were from. They had been to Liberia and they a man who had started an orphanage in Liberia---Just happened to be the orphanage our kiddos were in! Seriously!

Then another couple came and asked the same thing, and they said they had guess the kids were from Liberia. I asked if they were familiar with Liberia. They told us they had 4 kids from there!! No way!! Yea, we got to meet three of them.

Who would have ever thought.

I expected things like this octopus, but never a Liberian connection at the coast!

Our first family vacation as a family of four.
I don't know what we were thinking taking this trail---Yea it was that steep!

I sure love this man!

We are loving getting to know each other again after our long 2 years of back to school.

He wears me out most of the time with his go-go-go attitude.

But hey--we can definitely say life is never boring around here.

Sweet Hannah thought the water was too cold and was happy running from the waves for hours.

Caleb is game for just about anything Dad can throw out!

Me and the kids at Cape Foulweather, found and named by Captain Cook on a day of very bad weather!

The view.

Not often you see water this color on the Oregon coast.

And the beauty goes on and on.

The last day on our way home we stopped at Seal Rock, there is no rock that looks like a seal by the way, and there was a large group of artists trying to capture the beauty on canvas.

This area is a bird refuge. All the tall cliffs were full of nesting shore birds and their young. It was a sight to behold.

Below the cliffs you kept a good lookout for what was above you. We made it out with no bird droppings:)

Too bad it was not low tide, this would have been a wonderful place for tide pools. Caleb found lots of muscles.

David had lots of fun with the camera.

I love this one.

David catching us unawares.

Some of our bird friends.

Standing in awe and the amazing number of types of seaweed we were finding.

And David was pretty excited to find these elk on the way home.

They are all branch bulls in full velvet.

They were on a refuge--I think they know it--what do you think?

David was wondering where all the girls were, and Hannah informed him they were somewhere else having a girls day---we do that a lot around here-LOL

Well we went about a mile down the road and guess what?

She was right! We found dozens of cows and calves in their own little heard--having a girls day!