Our last days in Oregon...

Well, we move this week. I feel much more relaxed this time around, since I know what to expect as far as logistics go, but I'm still very sad to be leaving this wonderful place. We have come to know and love so many wonderful people here, and it's really been a piece of heaven. Our ward is full of incredible people I admire and look up to, and I wish I could have gotten to know all of them much more! I feel like I learned so much from the women here and hope I can take a part of that with me. There were definitely some tears at church today!

We've been able to do some fun things the last week or two as we are trying to pack in as much time with friends as possible. Two of my friends got together and planned a little "going away party" one afternoon. It was basically a giant play-date and it was so much fun. It wasn't until right after I got home that I realized I didn't take a single picture and I'm so sad! Many of these friends I don't have any pictures of, so that was a big mistake on my part. My friend Melissa hosted and everyone brought food and she had all sorts of water toys set up in the backyard. The kids had an absolute blast and it was so great to visit with some wonderful ladies.

Then last Friday, one of Jeremy's colleagues invited a few people from work over to his ranch. He and his wife have a couple horses and they had a BBQ and let everyone ride the horses! It was really fun. Carl and Brenda are the nicest people and really have a love for horses and children. They were so great with the kids and so accommodating. Eli kept his distance, but I could tell he was really enjoying seeing everything. Connor pet the horses and even rode one with me! It was so fun. I hadn't been on a horse in years and I don't think Jeremy ever had. After we rode horses, we roasted marshmallows around the fire and the kids never wanted to leave. We finally pulled out around 9pm (very late for our early-to-bed kids) and were so happy we were able to go.

 Beautiful horses! Rush and Jules.

This is Carl with Jeremy's boss' son Kai. He is 7 and such a cute little boy! Eli and Connor had a lot of fun with him.

Brenda showing us how to really ride a horse. The horse responds to leg movement, so she can direct her by moving her legs and doesn't even need to hold the reigns. Impressive.

 Poor little Anna was scared to death of the animals! We were standing near the barn and a dog walked up next to her and she screamed and had a look of sheer terror on her face. From then on, anytime she saw the horses or dogs, she was just shaking from head to toe. I've never seen her like that and I felt so bad! She's usually so fearless. She was not very happy when I was riding the horse either!

And here are a few random pictures from the last week or two, mostly from our phones.

These were from our strawberry-picking. These two are so cute together when they get along. :)

 Tractor driving is serious business.

 We had some friends over one morning. Anna and the four boys!

 This girl is independent. I caught her over here in the bowl full of goodies. She got that chair and brought it over there all by herself so she could get into all those things I hide from her - coins, screws, other random small objects. When I found her she had five pennies in her mouth. And then I had to grab my phone to take a pic to send to Jeremy and she smiled and said "Eee!" for cheese. What a ham.

 This was on our 9-yr. anniversary! We tried to get a babysitter, but it didn't work out, so the kids and I met Jeremy for lunch and then that night we went to the park after dinner. The kids found some people with bubbles! Always a hit.

 Chipotle for the win!

And of course, no post would be complete without some berries. We heard that one of the berry-picking places was open for raspberries, so Jeremy and the boys went yesterday to get "a few". Well, nine pounds later...they returned home and then tonight we made some jam! Obviously it's not freezer jam. It will be nice to bring a taste of Oregon with us.

Only a few more days left! We have a couple more friends to see, lots of things to get done, and then it's off to California for a week and then on to Chicago!