Oregon ~ Part 1

It truly seems as though our trip to Oregon was two completely separate experiences, so I think I'll divide it into two separate posts.  :)

Many months ago we decided to combine my mom's 6oth birthday party in January with a trip for all of us to go see Mimi & Grandpa's new house in Oregon and go skiing. 

The boys were super excited. My parent's visit to see us last August was unexpectedly cut short, so they really hadn't spent much time with them since April. And they hadn't been to Oregon yet since my parents moved. Plus, snow and skiing were involved, so everyone was pretty excited.

A funny memory of the flight was figuring out who would sit where, since the seats were two and two together. Tate said, "Will & Daddy should sit by each other. I'll sit by Mommy, since she'll go to sleep and I can play with her phone."  Well played, kid. :) 

This was Will's first real flight, and we had no idea how he would do. We are very thankful for our friend Hal's invitation to Delta Airline's Airline Readiness Program last year. That proved to be a huge help to give him a frame of reference for what we would be doing. He did great! 

The most hilarious part of the the flight was Will sitting in between Wade & a man who slept practically the entire flight (I can relate!). Will periodically would get right up next to him to wake him up to excitedly remind him that "we're flying on an airplane!"  :)

A fun treat once we landed was getting to see some very sweet friends who had also recently moved from Keller to Oregon. Ryder was Will's "first real school friend," and it was so fun for them to have a little reunion. :) They let us invade their home, cooked a delicious lunch for us, and let all four boys destroy the playroom. Plus they introduced us to Salt and Straw ice cream...yum! We appreciate so much the Danes' friendship, the work they are doing in Oregon, and their generous hospitality!

Then we made the three-hour drive to Bend! It was fun getting to see the new house my parents built and had just moved into two days prior. Shannon & her family were a couple hours behind us, so before the night was over the house was full with all five grandkids...and loud! All 11 of us hadn't been together since the end of 2013.

Sunday was filled with a trip to the park with Grandpa and Rocky and then a house full of my aunts, uncles, and cousins coming into town in time for the big football game that got the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.

And anytime a large number of Higlins are gathered together, this will definitely happen.

And Will was officially inducted into the LRC Club. He played along as Aunt Terri & Aunt Patty's sidekick. It was hilarious. He was all into it.

And then it was time for the real reason we all came into town...Mom's 60th birthday party! It was a fun night with all kinds of family together celebrating Mom, Aunt Steph, Mimi, Sis, etc.

We even had some entertainment with a "Top 60 Things We love about Mom." Thankful for all of the family who came to celebrate the woman we all love!

Silly faces!

 One of Will's favorite parts of the trip..."2 Wills!" :)

And then Monday it was time for some skiing! Well for most everyone. Me, mom, and the two little guys stayed back home while everyone else headed to Mt. Bachelor.

This was Tate's 3rd time to ski, and he LOVED it. He did great!



While they were skiing, I got to enjoy the greatness of an indoor tennis court. And Will & Max got to enjoy the greatness of a REAL dumptruck dumping REAL dirt for the new landscaping at their house. A win for all!  :)

Because of everything that happened the next morning, the second day of skiing and our dogsledding adventure had to be cancelled. But super dads and uncles, Wade & Brad, took the kids up on the mountain for one more opportunity to play in the snow.  :)