We Made It!!!!

Everything went really well yesterday!! Our second flight was delayed 15 minutes, but it was a good thing because we had a little more time to get a snack:). Carter's car seat was lost somewhere in between flights, but we're getting it delivered sometime today. We arrived home at about 9:30, and we were all excited about sleeping in our own beds:).

Thank you all for your prayers! I really appreciate it! I've enjoyed sharing my vacation with all of you, and I hope you've enjoyed it as well.

Have a great rest of the summer!!

~Shelby

The last day of our vacation was spent in Seattle, WA. We started the day at the Space Needle. There wasn't much of a wait, which was nice. Then Jacob, my dad and I went to a museum called the Experience Music Project. Jacob has not been able to play guitar since we left, and he really enjoyed his time at the museum. They had a guitar gallery showing the evolution of the guitar from the 1800s to today. They also had a room where you could play different instruments. Another exhibit was dedicated to the career of Seattle native Jimi Hendrix. One of the greatest moments of the day was when Jacob opened an emergency exit door at the museum:). It was so funny!

Mom took the other kids to the Pacific Science Center.

We met up and went to Pike Place Market. It was very crowded and we all ended up feeling very claustrophobic. We enjoyed a wonderful seafood dinner at Lowells at Pike Place. We are back at the hotel, packing up and getting ready to return to Raleigh.

Overall it was a great trip. We did so many things, and even though we had to make a few changes it was fantastic. I have enjoyed sharing our memories with you, and I hope you've enjoyed the blog. Thank you for all our prayers during these few weeks!

Please pray that our flights go well with no delays.

Have a great night!

Jacob next to guitar sculpture at the Experience Music Project Museum

At the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market (crazy crowded)
At Seattle Center in front of the Space Needle
Original Starbucks

Space Needle
View from Space Needle

Today we went whale watching!!! We saw Orcas (killer whales), and had a blast! It was really cold out! I almost wore shorts, but I was VERY glad that I decided not to:). I was freezing even though I was wearing long sleeves:). After we went whale watching we drove a little bit and then took the ferry to Seattle. We didn't have any time do anything here in Seattle tonight. It's hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day!

Here are a few pictures from the whale watching trip.

Campbell and Sarah during the whale watching trip.
An Orca
An Orca

Sorry its taken a while to post. Yesterday we went to the Hoh Rainforest in Olympia National Park. We went to Rialto Beach and ate a picnic lunch and then went onto the beach, and it was really cold:) and windy. The beach was much different than the Oregon coast. Huge driftwood logs all along the beach.

After dinner we went up to Hurricane Ridge and went on a half mile hike. Before going back to the hotel, we stopped at Dairy Queen (yum).

Today we are driving to Seattle, but I'm not sure what we're going to do:). I'll post again soon.

Enjoy these pictures!

Rialto Beach (these logs were right on the beach)

A deer at Hurricane Ridge
Carter throwing rocks in the ocean:)

Mount St. Helens
Us in the Hoh rainforest
Rain Forest
Hurricane Ridge

The Last Few Days

The last few days have been wonderful. The Oregon coast is so beautiful, so different than North Carolina. There are cliffs that meet the ocean in a way that is hard to describe. We stopped at several different beaches, and put our toes in the water. The water is very cold, and the only people swimming are surfers in wet suits. We had fun with sand castle competitions, changing partners each time. My parents are wimps, and kept declaring each competetion a tie.

The tide pool area was really neat. We saw lots of sea life (sea stars, anemones, sea cucumbers - we even found a small dead octopus).

We ended the day with dinner in Astoria, Oregon - the northern most beach area. We spent the night in Kelso, WA. Today we will see Mt. St. Helens and Olympic National Park. There is a rainforest there called Hoh Rainforest that we plan to visit today. We will spend the next 2 nights in Port Angeles, WA. Then on to Seattle.... I'll try to update tomorrow.

We will be going back into the mountains today, so please pray Sarah does not get altitude sickness again.

Sea Lion Cave

Starfish in tide pool

Sea Anemone in tide pool

Tide pools

Campbell, Carter and Sarah on rocks at beach

Oregon Dunes

Walking UP is much harder than running DOWN

Sand castle competition

My finest creation

Crater Lake

We went to Crater Lake yesterday, and it was amazing!!! We all thought it was formed by a meteor, but actually it was formed by a volcano that erupted and collapsed. It is the deepest freshwater lake in the United States, 7th deepest in the world. It is 1,940 feet at its deepest point.

The only bad thing was Sarah got altitude sickness. She had a horrible headache (later she said she thought her head was going to explode) and threw up a few times. After about an hour (and some ibuprofen), she felt better. We were able to go on a few hikes.

Today we're driving up the coast of Oregon, and will be going to some sand dunes and a Sea Lion Cave. It should be lots of fun! I'll hopefully post pictures soon.

Enjoy these pictures from yesterday!

Crater Lake
Phantom Ship rock formation

Crater Lake

Pumice Castle rock formation

Crater Lake (view from a hike)

Carter climbing on a tree stump

Pictures!!

Sorry it's taken me a while to post. It's been a busy couple of days and I haven't really had time:). We went to the aquarium on Thursday which was a lot of fun. Yesterday we went to The Boardwalk which is sort of like the fair except it's all year long. Today we went to Carmel Mission, and then to the beach this afternoon.

Tomorrow we're driving up to Crater Lake which will take at least 7 hours. I think that's our longest drive of the trip though.

Also..... I like it when people leave comments so if you have time please leave a comment so I know who all is reading the blog. That way I will if enough people are reading to do one next year.

Enjoy these pictures of the last few day!

Carter enjoying the water:)
Campbell and James
Carter and Lauren at the beach
Carmel Mission
Carter at the Carmel Mission

Campbell punched Jacob in the stomach, and apparently it hurt

so bad he decided to lay on the sidewalk:).

Jellyfish

Sarah and Lauren at the aquarium