Oregon Coast

The idea for a bike tour was sort of last minute, although Geoff has been wanting to go on one since we got our road bikes last fall. About 10 days before our planned Taeya kidnapping we decided to tag on a bike trip down the Oregon coast. Beauty, relatively beginner stretches, Tennie about to return to Provo and Geoff potentially starting a new job that would keep us local for awhile all contributed to the decision. Why not? Tennie got to work planning the easiest route and places to stay. Adele was in charge of places we could eat in each town. Ceci was in charge of sites to see along the way. Adele and Ceci bought road bikes at a pawn shop and we got them tuned up. Geoff and I began to research gear. That was our biggest challenge, because many stores aren't open and shipping items wouldn't get to us in time. It was a bit of whirlwind getting set up, but we were off.

Our girls haven't been to Oregon since they were small kids, so this was all new for them. We stopped in Portland to explore that beautiful city for a few hours, but the entire place was empty and boarded up due to riots the previous couple days. It was an eerie end-of-world kind of feeling. We got to visit with TK, who was working there for a couple weeks, and talk all about his mission to Paris!

A lot of Oregon was still closed due to the virus, which we somehow didn't think about too much. We had brought enough freeze-dried meals to eat on our own, but we ended up finding enough restaurants that were providing take out that we didn't have to rely on those. Any activities that Ceci found, such as the Tillamook Cheese Factory, were closed. But the amazing thing was, in most towns we had the place to ourselves. So forests and beaches were ours to explore, and the scenery along that coast was so absolutely spell-binding that it was all we needed. Riding along the coast and seeing it at about 13 MPH was a new experience. Wild flowers and ferns I may not have noticed were part of the experience. Bird song and waves were our surround-sound music. Thick, lush forests lined our way (and were our bathrooms!) Rain and wind and the cool air gave each ride its own personality. We all loved it.

We actually had dry weather three out of the five days. The fifth day we got rained out, but once we got settled into our Airbnb Geoff went out and braved a ride on his own. We had our car with us the whole time, someone taking it for a leg and then switching off each day. Four of the five days we biked around 25 miles, and that fifth day we biked 50. There were some bigger hills than we anticipated. Adele and Ceci, who were brand new to road biking, tackled some of the biggest their very first day. Their perseverance and determination were amazing!

Geoff insisted that someone wear a fluorescent vest as the trail rider to make sure cars saw us. It became quite a joke, although there was great wisdom in it.

We started in Cannon Beach, which is an adorable and quiet little seaside town. Some friends from our church (the Crittendens) have a home there, and we were able to see them for a short while, which was fun. From there we went to Rockaway Beach. Then on to Pacific City, Lincoln City, Newport, and we ended up in Yachets, which might have been our favorite spot.

The beaches were soft and expansive. We found some hidden gems too!

We worked for every view we got! And they were always worth it.

Tennie bought a pair of scissors and cut Ceci's hair on the beach.

Ceci performed some incredible feats along the way...

We stayed at an old little motel right on the beach just outside of Newport, Oregon that was so cozy and had gorgeous views. We extended our stay a day just to enjoy it. Tennie and Ceci slept out on the balcony, snuggled right up next to the window to stay out of the rain.

And lastly, in an effort to invite a peaceful family trip during a somewhat tumultuous time, we bought a little kiwi while at Fish Lake, and it became our mascot, named Emu. Whenever we ordered food Geoff gave the name, "Emu, the love kiwi." And he would tell the restaurant not to give the food unless the person picking it up said it. Emu sits on our dashboard still.

Overall it was an amazing family adventure; the first of many bike trips to come.

April, May, June, Oh My!

How have three months gone by?! In some ways it feels as if nothing has been happening, and in some ways life has been filled to the brim. I'll try to recap what has been going on around here.

Covid 19 kept us homebound for nearly 2.5 months. Having all of us home was an unexpected treat (although our apartment feels smaller than it did before!) We had a lot of long discussions, took turns planning church at home, went on lots of walks and scooter rides, watched movies and sometimes all crammed into the kitchen to make delicious meals. We ate well (it DOES feel like the shopping and prepping and eating was non-stop!) And while things have loosened up as far as coming and going is concerned, the world seems to be living cautiously, us included.

Since I last wrote, Geoff was recruited to run the Sorenson Impact Center. At first he wasn't interested but advised them on strategy and who might be interested in the job. But the more he learned about it the more excited he became. He has been wanting to do something with a university for a few years. Yet, he absolutely loved Cicero. He loved the people he worked with, the Cicero Way, the impact strategy they had created and that was gaining momentum. The interview process was longer and more drawn out than he was used to, but a few weeks ago it was offered and Geoff accepted. He starts July 13th. He is planning to keep a strong partnership with Cicero and the great work they do, remaining a senior advisor and on the investment committee. He is super excited. Here is a typical Geoff look, readers over his blue light glasses. I love his quirks!

As part of this we began considering moving. This initiated a great de-cluttering of our home and storage units, house hunting and drives to check out neighborhoods and towns. Overall, the job decision and potential change and the house hunting took a lot of mental space and time. Geoff is super excited about this new chapter, and as for the house change, we haven't found the right fit yet. As part of our de-clutter we went through all of the girl's old school work, artwork, keepsakes, etc. and put them into separate bins, one for each of them. It was so fun to see some of these things!

I continued with some Zoom foot zoning classes, and when things loosened up a bit I attended a 4-day class. I have been practicing and studying and feeling a bit scattered with life's distractions, but I love it and am making progress.

Tennie finished up her sophomore year at BYU at her little study spot at the kitchen table. We loved listening in to her Arabic study groups. She was the cutest, most cheerful study partner!

We moved her in to a new house in Provo where she had signed a contract just before Covid, and while she didn't move back to stay until just over a week ago, she continued to pay rent. Here she is with her future roommate Zoey, who will move in in the fall:

She returned to live at BYU where she is taking an Arabic and religion class online for summer term, and it is stretching her to her limits! Languages in a shortened term are hard as it is, and Arabic is one of the harder languages, but she is pushing through like a champ, developing more grit along the way. She is also waking at 5:15AM every morning to teach English to Korean students online, her summer employment. She and her friend Kate have rescheduled their bike tour through France for the end of summer term. But just recently the virus is making a comeback, so that future trip is uncertain.

Adele pushed her way through the final, annoying details of her senior year online. She had to finish a 300 hour project before graduation, and because of Covid had to change course, giving up hours of preparation to interview refugees for podcasts. Instead she choose a yoga and meditation project and completed it on time.

We had our own little celebration of her graduation where we indulged in her favorite ice creams and Ceci made her "cords" for things about Adele that matter most (I wish I had written them down!)

A friend brought over a cap and gown for Adele to try on, as well as some 2020 donuts.

We had a family gathering to celebrate her graduation where we played a game with questions about Adele, which ended up being a little hard with everyone keeping their distance outside. She received a pair of roller skates, for "a kid who likes to go places", and go places she will! Britt took the one and only picture of the gathering.

She was accepted to The New School in NYC to get a combined undergrad/masters at the Eugene Lang School studying Global Studies. It is a small liberal arts college at The New School that sounds perfect for her, and she got a good scholarship to boot! She is super excited about it. But NYC has been shut down for a long time due to an overload of Covid cases, the decision of whether or not they will actually open for in-person classes this fall has been a big question mark since she was accepted in April. The waiting was excruciating, but it was looking hopeful. Universities have been innovative in how to hold classes safely. Just last week Adele received the very disappointing news that she will not be able to attend in person in the fall. My goodness. Adele sure has her fair share of big disappointments over the past two years! But she is developing an amazing resilience through it all. I'm so proud of her.

Ceci didn't mind her online classes, but it was a lot more work than in-person classes. It took her most of the day to do her work. She is relieved to have a summer break, is just back climbing at the gym (with a face mask on!), and she and Geoff head off to play pickle ball often. She seems taller every time I see her! And just last week she got her driver's permit!

All three of the girls jumped in to the Black Lives Matter movement that began with the killing of George Floyd. Tennie is minoring in Sociology because of her interest in racial equality in America (or at least that is a big part of it), so this was a continuation of her passion to fight for the rights of blacks. She is impressively knowledgeable about the various theories about what can be done. Adele and Ceci have been a part of countless discussions on these issues over the past few years, so they felt strongly to stand up and lend their voices too. Signs have been made for the almost nightly marches throughout Salt Lake City.

While Geoff and I wholeheartedly agree with justice for all people and the laws that need to change to make that happen, as well as improving education in lower-income neighborhoods (and frankly, in the whole nation), we didn't agree with the violent turn of many of the protests. And while we understand the theoretical process of defunding the police over time, it seemed the whole movement was hijacked by a strong push to defund the police immediately, as in not having police. The nasty and hateful attitude toward the police didn't sit right with me. While some police are totally out of line and should be held accountable, grouping all police into one group of racist pigs is no different than labeling all blacks as criminals. During this time we had a lot of discussions as a family, and not all were peaceful. We had to work really hard at listening to each other, respecting different attitudes and beliefs and finding ways to agree to disagree as we explored the various issues. Thankfully everyone was willing to work at this. This all took a tremendous amount of mental and emotional energy as well. And it isn't over!

We had made plans to make a trip to Idaho to kidnap cousin Taeya for her 16th birthday to do something fun. At the last minute we decided to tag on a bike trip down the Oregon coast. I'll post about that adventure separately, but I'll include Taeya's kidnapping here. We got a Marriott room in Twin Falls where Ingrid brought Taeya (somehow getting her in the car and driving 3 hours without letting on what was going on). Taeya was dropped off with a bag and pillow and told to tell the person at the front desk that she was "Mars". Taeya was wondering what in the world was going on, but did as she was told. The lady at the front desk then handed her a key and told her a room number. Taeya slowly opened the door to the room where we all jumped out and yelled, "surprise". (I think this was far more fun to plan and pull off than it was for Taeya to go through with it, but oh well!) We drove to Red Fish Lake about 3 hours away, driving through Sun Valley. Wow that drive was incredible. Red Fish Lake was stunning. The weather was borderline cold, but we still had a campfire, ate good food, explored the woods and shoreline, soaked up some high 50s warmth on the beach, rented a kayak and extra-large paddle board, and tried to soak in all the beauty.

It was a very quick trip but packed full. We took Taeya home and were with the Wells family when TK opened his mission call to Paris, France, which was so exciting!

We soaked up a virtual general conference. We celebrated Passover with some Mediterranean take out, and we celebrated a simple Easter.

Ceci got a jar of Nutella in her basket and took all precautions...

We celebrated Christian's boy's birthdays, a shark theme...

We celebrated Mother's Day and Father's Day with skits and massages and picnics. Here the girls are acting out Geoff waking them up...

Ceci's church lessons include costumes and scavenger hunts...

Britt and Hunter had a gender reveal party where each held one of the twin's genders. Can you tell what they're having?

We met Em and Bailey for some kayaking fun in Midway. These there was some serious bird rescuing. A bird was hanging and thrashing around from fishing wire from the nests under the bridge. They got it lose, borrowed scissors from a nearby fisherman, carefully cut the tightly wrapped line from its leg, gave it much-needed water and set it on the shore hoping other birds would come to its rescue somehow. It wasn't able to fly. Then a bit later another bird got caught in fishing wire and was nearly drowning. They scooped it up and took it to shore next to the other bird so it could dry off. Despite the bird traumas, it was a perfect summer day.

And just at the tail end of June we all planned to go camping and climbing in City of Rocks with the Wells and Britt and Hunter, but the forecast was rainy and cold, so Geoff and I decided to stay home. Adele and Ceci and Bailey still went with everyone, and while it was soggy and cold, they loved being in that beautiful place. (And they did get a few hours of blue skies!) I love that we can send our girls off on their own and they can set up camp, cook their meals and start their own fires.

There were a lot of other small happening too, I'm sure. This is what I have pictures of and remember. So many good times and new adventures mixed in with all the uncertainty, disappointments and disruption. We are blessed.