Oregon Trail

On the road again.  We just can't wait to get on the road again.  Going places we ain't never been.  We just can't wait to get on the road again. TO OREGON!  Wait, weren't we just there not too long ago?  Ah, that's right - The twins were born the last time I (Chris) was in Oregon.  Cheryl made a trip out in February to spend some time with her sister.  After Andrew's graduation dinner in old town Sac, Cheryl and I hit the road and made it to Red Bluff that night.  After a quick stopover, we loaded up the car and started the beautiful portion of our road trip into Northern California/ Southern Oregon.  And guess who was anxiously waiting for us?

Reed and Davis!

They certainly do have a lot of mommy's features.

Although it was tons of fun hanging out with the Swain family, after a few days, we continued our road trip towards our destination, Crater Lake.

One of our favorite parts of the drive was the beautiful covered bridges we saw along the way.

Driving through one of the small mountain towns, I spotted a familiarly named store.
One of the faculty at USC, Dr. Mulvehill, would frequently give us examples
of patient management scenarios and ALWAYS named his characters Mr. and Mrs. McGillicuddy.
Hilarious!

Unfortunately, due to excessive snow pack STILL blocking 2 out of the 3 entrances to the park,
it took us a bit longer to get to the lake, but we finally arrived!

At nearly 1600 feet deep, Crater lake (once Mt. Mazama until it blew it's top off)
is the deepest lake in the entire US.  It was also absolutely beautiful.

Did I mention the EXCESSIVE snow packs up to 18 ft high is some parts.
That's why it's taking so long to melt.

Cheryl and I stayed in a nice little hotel in Klamath Falls.  Although the city wasn't much
to look at, it provided us with food and a place to stay the night.  Good enough for me.  

Cheryl and I had a great trip together (perhaps our last before the baby arrives)
and capped it off with an amazingly clear shot of Mt. Shasta.  Spectacular!

Although I had to run across the highway and lay down on a set of train tracks to get this shot,
I think it was well worth it.

On our way back home from Oregon, we were able to stop in Chico to celebrate Tayden's 5th birthday!

I'll let you take a guess at what Tayden wanted most for his birthday.
 Lilly seemed to nail it on the head.

Auntie Cheryl and Uncle Chris didn't do so bad either.  Once he turned 5,
Tayden was allowed to have gum. So we got him a gumball machine, naturally. 

Alise had no problem hanging out with the boys while enjoying her cupcake.

By the look on my face, you can determine that getting an Autobot
to convert back into a car was not the easiest thing in the world.  Look at those instructions!

Instead, I just drew a Transformer for Tayden.  

Happy Birthday Tayden, we love you and are very fortunate to be able to celebrate this day with you!