Thanksgiving in Oregon

We flew out to Oregon on November 19th and we got to spend the entire thanksgiving break with the Herb Family.

After a horrendous plane ride and day spent traveling we finally arrived at Mimi and Grandpa's. We were all so relieved to finally be here and when we arrived everyone immediately went to bed because we were all so exhausted.

The next morning Tanner immediately went to work putting the train set together.

We spent many hours working on the train together.

The boys also spent lots of time outside. The weather was AMAZING. Seriously, I've never been to Oregon in November and had such amazing weather. It was so enjoyable. The kids loved riding around on the gator. Tucker loved getting rides from the older kids.

So much playing outside

This boy....he's so cute!

Tanner thoroughly enjoyed all the time with his cousins.

That night, Friday night, the boy cousins (minus Tucker) got to go on a scout camping trip. The scouts were camping on Mimi and Grandpa's land so they were close by the whole time.
Here are the boys so excited for their camping trip.

Tanner loved that he got to hang out with the older boys. He told me later that he can't wait to be a "scout". So cute!

We could see their campsite from Mimi's back porch.

Uncle Phillip had all three boy cousins in his tent. Conner woke up in the middle of the night and threw up. But then he immediately went back to sleep. So the camping trip went mostly great.

The boys had a great time!

The next day Tanner helped Grandpa out around the farm. Tanner fully embraced farm life and loved helping out wherever he could.

Saturday afternoon we did a quick photo session at a nearby Christmas tree farm.

I kind of love the one of the kids. So fun!

There was lots of snuggles with Grandpa too.

On Sunday, the other Herb cousins arrived from California. Grandpa took everyone on a hayride.
Tanner and Bailey were very excited to see Paul and Maureen, since we had just seen them in April.

 

Monday morning we took at the cousins to the bounce house place in Corvallis. The kids had so much fun playing together. Especially Maureen and Bailey.

What a wild bunch of kids.

Tuesday we spent the day at the Oregon coast.

It was such a gorgeous day. The sun was shinning and it wasn't too cold. The kids loved it.

We even got to see a real life shipwreck. Crazy.

Bailey loved collecting seashells.

 

And Tanner loved playing in the sand.

Tucker mostly loved running in the water. He kept trying to go swimming. Eventually we had to take off his pants and shoes because we didn't want him stuck in wet clothes all day. So he ran around the beach in just his shirt and his diaper.

And wherever Tucker was, Daddy wasn't far behind. He chased that boy all around.

Quick family shot at the beach. I love that Tucker is pants-less.

We grabbed lunch at our favorite seaside restaurant and then headed home. All three kids fell asleep on the way home- which is a miracle.

Wednesday we just hung out at Mimi's house. We explored outside and enjoyed the sunshine.

The kids loved Grandpa's homemade zip line.

Tucker loved Grandpa's little mini tractor.

That night Dad and Uncle Brad took all the cousins (minus Paige) on a 4-wheeler ride.
I can hardly believe all those kids fit on there. So funny!

Love all those cousins

And Bailey's face here cracks me up.

Thanksgiving day was crazy and hectic, but the kids enjoyed themselves quite a bit.

Here are my three little turkeys on Thanksgiving.

Dad helped the kids with the traditional Herb family shooting event.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving we had some friends over. The Mitchells lived in our Ward in Mtn. Home, but now they are in Lebanon near my inlaws. So they came over and played and enjoyed the farm feel.

We did the zip line and Chris took all the kids on Horse rides.

Tanner thought he was a natural. Love my little cowboy!

Bailey loved riding the horse, but she didn't like how tall the horse was. lol.

Friday afternoon we had family pictures taken.

Here's the whole Herb family crew.

Mimi and Grandpa with all the grandkids. They have 8 grandkids ages 6 and under. Crazy times!

Speaking of crazy!

Here are the girl cousins. Maureen and Bailey are both 4 and Paige is 16 months.

And here are the handsome boy cousins. Tanner, Chase and Paul are 6, Conner is 4 and Tucker is 18 months. So cute.

After pictures were over, Grandpa took the whole family on a hayride.

This was our reward for surviving family pictures. Wahoo! 

 

On Saturday we drove over to Silverton and went to their "Christmas in the Gardens" light display.
Since Thanksgiving was officially over, I felt we could start with the Christmas activities.

The light display was a bit of letdown after all the fun things we have to do in NWA, but the kids had fun. I just hate that we paid so much to get in and it was just a few lights here and there.

We did love the light tunnel.

And the snowflake lights were a favorite.

Sunday we all relaxed and hung out before going home the next day. The California cousins went home on Sunday so it was little more quiet, but not much.

Tucker and Grandpa bonded over some rifle education.

That night Grandpa was cracking the kids up with his jokes. We seriously laughed so hard watching the cousins laugh with Grandpa. So cute.

It was a nice way to spend our last day in Oregon.

Yesterday we flew home. The trip home was just as horrendous but not quite as long. We made it home around 11 pm and it felt so good to be home.

It was fun to see everyone and someday, when Tucker grows up more and isn't a terrible traveler, we will go back. Until then, thanks for the fun Oregon!