All Things I

Interestingly, we just finished up our first I day of this summer! We were in the car all day beginning our road trip back to Iowa. Oddly enough, at dinner tonight in the small CA town of Crescent City (in the Redwood National Forest), we met four women who were native Iowans and even graduated from the University of Northern Iowa, which is our alma mater. What are the chances???

I Places/Activities in the Pac NW:
* Ibach Park (Tualatin)
* Ice Harbor Lock & Dam (east of Pasco)
* IKEA (even children love shopping there... and they have cheap hot dogs!)
* Indian Point Loop hike (Columbia Gorge)
* International Selkirk Loop (long scenic byway encompassing OR, WA & BC)
* Into the Wild Equine Adventures (horse riding in the Santiam Forest)
* I restaurants around Portland

More I things we'll be doing:
* Inside Out (the movie)
* inviting over someone new

The original I is for... list includes places to go, things to do, foods to eat, Bible verses, and pictures from my oldest's ABC photography summer. As I went back to this list, I saw that I had written it on a snowy February day. Today we drove through 110° temps in southern OR. Crazy! Photos from my daughter's ABC summer can be seen here.

Please feel free to share my blog with friends and read the beginning of my ABC summer story. Just wait for J ideas!

All Things H

Happy summer break to us! My family is off to a fun start on our ABC summer. We celebrated the letter C today and made these cool Crayon canvas art pieces.

H Places/Activities in the Pac NW:
* Hall of Mosses Trail (Olympic National Park)
* Helen Bernhard Bakery (Portland)
* Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (this is in ID, but worth the road trip)
* Heritage Park (Camas)
* High Desert Museum (Bend)
* hiking... ANYWHERE
* Hoh Rainforest (Olympic National Park)
* Hopworks Urban Brewery (or HUB - family-friendly brew pub in Portland)
* Horseshoe Basin Trail (WA, near the Canada border)
* hot air balloons (festivals in Tigard late June and Albany in August)
* Hot Lips Pizza (Portland)
* Hoyt Arboretum (Portland)
* Hult Center for Performing Arts (Eugene)
* Hyland Woods Natural Area (Beaverton)
* other H restaurants around Portland

More H things we'll be doing:
* be a hero by looking out for others
* horseback riding

The original H is for... list includes places to go, things to do, foods to eat, Bible verses, and photos from my oldest's ABC photography summer. Photos from my daughter's ABC summer can be found here.

Please feel free to share my blog with others and check out the beginning of my ABC summer story! I will be giving you the inside scoop on I ideas soon. :)

All Things G

Golly gee, this weekend galloped by. ;) Gotta get going on letter G!

G Places/Activites in the Pac NW:
* Gearhart Mountain (south central OR)
* George Rogers Park (Lake Oswego)
* ghost towns (there are several in WA & OR)
* Gingko Petrified Forest State Park (on the Columbia River, Vantage, WA)
* Glowing Greens Mini-Golf (Portland or Beaverton locations)
* Goonies Tour (Astoria and Cannon Beach)
* Goot Park (Camas)
* Goose Lake (in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, WA)
* Graham Oaks Nature Park and Playground (Wilsonville, OR)
* Grand Coulee Dam (central WA on the Columbia River)
* Grass Valley Elementary playground (Camas)
* Grass Valley Park (Camas)
* Great Wolf Lodge (Centralia, WA)
* The Grotto (Portland)
* Grove of the Patriarchs Trail (Mt. Rainier area)
* G restaurants around Portland

More G things we'll be doing:
* giving gifts (to those least expecting or most in need of a pick-me-up)
* My husband wants to get a GPS and go geocaching, but we've talked about this for years...

The original G is for... list includes places to go, things to do, foods to eat, Bible verses, and photos from my oldest's ABC photography summer. Photos from my daughter's ABC photography summer can be found here.

As always, please feel free to share my blog with others, and be sure to read the beginning of my ABC summer story. Heading for Hs next!

All Things F

Forgive me... It's been an entire week since my last post!

F Places/Activities in the Pac NW:
* Fairy Falls (Mt. Rainier National Park)
* Fallen Leaf Lake (Camas)
* Finnegan's Toys & Gifts (Portland)
* Fir Point Farms (Aurora, OR)
* Firehouse Subs
* Firstenburg Community Center (Vancouver)
* Fisher Basin Community Park (Vancouver)
* food carts in downtown Portland (The Grilled Cheese is my favorite)
* Forest Home Park (Camas)
* Forest Park for hiking (Portland)
* Forestry Center (Portland)
* Fort Casey, WA
* Fort Laramie, OR
* Fort Rock Cave (Fort Rock, OR)
* Fort Stevens State Park (Hammond, OR)
* Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (Vancouver)
* Fort Warden, WA
* Fossil, OR (Paleo Lands Institute)
* Dorothy Fox Elementary playground (Camas)
* other F restaurants around Portland

More F things we'll be doing:
* family fun nights
* fort (building one indoors)
* friends (spending time with them)

The original F is for... list includes places to go, foods to eat, things to do, Bible verses, and photos from my oldest's ABC photography summer. Photos from my daughter's ABC photography can be found here.

As always, please feel free to share my blog with friends and be sure to read the beginning of my ABC summer story.  Get a glance at G ideas next!

All Things E

Evidently, it is going to be more challenging to post multiple times a week than I imagined! Encouragement... I need lots of it. ;)

E Places/Activities in the Pac NW:
* Eagle Landing Mini-Golf (Happy Valley)
* Eastbank Esplanade (1200 ft. of floating walkway along the Willamette River downtown)
* Edgefield McMenamin's (Troutdale) - this is one of their most popular locations
* elephant ears (yummy treats you can find at Portland Saturday Market)
* Elephants in the Park (our family's favorite lunch spot in downtown Portland)
* Elowah & Upper McCord Creek Falls (along the Gorge)
* Enchanted Forest Theme Park (south of Salem)
* Enchantment Lakes Trail (central Cascades)
* Engleman Park (Wilsonville)
* Esther Short Park (Vancouver)
* Experience Music Project (or EMP... in Seattle)
* Explore! (there are endless places to do this...)
* Evergreen Wings & Waves Waterpark (McMinnville, OR)
* other E restaurants in the Portland area

More E things we'll be doing:
* Excitedly entertain visitors from our home state of IA!

The original E is for... list includes places to go, things to do, foods to eat, Bible verses, and photos from my oldest's photography summer. Photos of my daughter's E photography can be found here.

As always, please feel free to share my blog with friends and be sure to read the beginning of my ABC summer story. Fabulous and fun F ideas are forthcoming!

All Things D

Determined to keep posting at least two letters per week! Diligently plugging away... ;)

D Places/Activities in the Pac NW:
* The Dalles (home of the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum)
* Dave & Buster's (family-friendly restaurant/arcade)
* David Douglas Park (Vancouver)
* Deception Pass State Park (Oak Harbor, WA - north of Seattle)
* Der Rheinlander (a popular German restaurant)
* Devil's Punch Bowl State Natural Area (Otter Rock, OR, along the coast)
* Dog Mountain (beautiful wildflowers along this hike; great for older kids)
* Dorothy Fox Park (Camas - adjacent to Fox Elementary)
* downtown (Portland, Camas, Vancouver, Seattle... whatever downtown you wish to visit)
* Dry Falls (near Coulee City, WA... was once 5 times the width of Niagara!)
* Duggan Falls (much closer - and wetter - falls to play in along the Washougal River)
* other D restaurants in the Portland area

More D things we'll be doing:
* Donate stuff to Open House Ministries (whatever is left from our garage sale... )
*Draw in the dark

The original D is for... list includes places to go, things to do, foods to eat, Bible verses, and photos from my oldest's photography summer. Photos of my daughter's D photography can be found here.

As always, please feel free to share my blog with friends and be sure to read the beginning of my ABC summer story. Expect excited E ideas soon!

All Things C

Certain that no other moms I know are sitting on their rears watching "American Ninja Warrior," I decided I'd better at least blog another letter while I watch and listen to crazy commentator Matt Iseman try to make his voice even deeper and impressive...

C Places/Activities in the Pac NW:
* Camille Park (Beaverton)
* camping in any of the hundreds of options around here (this is something my husband and children enjoy... not so much my idea of fun)
* canoeing (we did purchase a canoe last year, but the last time I went was long before children entered my life... I will attempt to pull on my big-girl panties this summer and go once)
* Cannon Beach, OR (still my favorite of those I've seen so far)
* Cape Disappointment (southwest WA where the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean)
* Cape Horn (our family just spent our Memorial Day morning climbing the first leg of this - beautiful view of the Gorge!)
* Cascade Lakes Highway (90 mile scenic route from here to the Bend, OR, area)
* Catherine Creek (near Hood River; best in June)
* Cedar Flats (great for younger children; just east of Mt. Saint Helens)
* Central Library in downtown Portland
* Children's Museum (Portland)
* Children's Playground at Washington Park
* Chuckanut Drive (near Seattle)
* Columbia Hills State Park (north of The Dalles on the WA side)
* Columbia Park (Portland)
* Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
* cookouts (we enjoy them in our backyard, but they're great in parks, too!)
* Cooper Mountain Nature Park (SW Beaverton, OR)
* Council Crest Park (SW Portland)
* Cove Palisades State Park (Madras, OR)
* Crater Lake National Park, OR
* Crown Park (Camas)
* Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, Portland
* C restaurants in the Portland area

More C things we'll be doing:
* Cheer up someone who needs a boost (derived from Bucket Filling from A to Z)
* Crayon art (if we get this accomplished as planned, I'll post photos)

The original C is for... list includes places to go, things to do, foods to eat, Bible verses, and photos from my oldest's photography summer. Photos of my daughter's ABC photography can be found here.

As always, please feel free to share my blog and be sure to read the beginning of my ABC summer story here. Don't worry, D will be here soon!