On Memorial Day we went for a hike to Silver Falls. It was a lot of fun and very beautiful. Sorry in advance for a lot of nature shots but I wanted to give you an idea of what it looked like on this hike. It is extremely different from the dry, desert climate in Utah.
At the end of the hike we had lunch. The ground was very wet but it wasn't raining so it was a fun little picnic.
Jonathan wanted to give a big smile for the camera and show off the peanut butter and jelly that is all over his face. What a cute face though!
Lindsay, her Aunt Michelle, and cousin Gavin. Towards the end of the hike they were quite a bit farther along the trail than Michael, Jonathan, and I. The hills at the end of the trail were a little rough for the pregnant lady and the 4-year-old.
Jonathan though that the moss growing on the tree limbs looked a lot like worms.
Laurel, her siblings, and her cousins had a great time getting really muddy on the trail.
These are some lower falls that are not as big, but still really pretty.
Jonathan takes a rest near an old tree trunk. This must have been a really big tree.
While we were in Oregon it never ceased to amaze me how green it was and how dense the trees were everywhere you looked.
The water in the river was beautiful, but very cold. A few of my nephews and my niece went for a swim at the end of the hike, but they were really cold when they got out.
This was the second set of falls that we walked behind. Not as powerful as the first but still very beautiful.
A shot of the cousins climbing up the hill. It was very wet here because we were just to the side of the biggest waterfall. There was a lot of spray coming off of the waterfall.
The power of this waterfall as it fell into the pool below was unbelievable. It created a lot of spray and was very loud.
This is a view of the biggest waterfall on our hike. It was really neat to be able to walk right behind the waterfall on the trail. It was really wet but very worth it.
Our family as we started the hike. It was raining that day when we started but soon stopped. We learned quickly that in Oregon you can't let the rain stop you or you will never get out!
This is just a random waterfall on the side of the hill. They spring up all over the place.
Jonathan and I walking back from the park in the rain. Oregon is definitely a rainy place, but we adjusted and got to do lots of fun things in spite of the wetness. 
This is probably the best picture that we have showing the entire area they were playing in and how wet and dirty they were getting.
I think that Evan stayed the driest and cleanest of all of the kids. 
I wish we had a picture that really showed how dirty they got. None of the pictures show just how wet and sandy they really were.
I have to admit that playing in the sand and water just feels really cool on your hands. As a mother, I just don't enjoy the clean-up process or we would definitely do this more often.
It is difficult to tell in the pictures, but there was a steady amount of rain the whole time that they played at the park.
Building the dam to stop the water and create a giant pool.
The kids went to the park in the rain one afternoon. This park had water along with the sand. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins making dams and generally getting very wet and dirty. Not my very activity but definitely one of their favorites.
While we were there we celebrated Julia's first birthday. They had a really hard time trying to keep the hat on her head.
I loved reading aloud to children. It is one of my greatest joys. We had a good time laughing and reading together one of the nights before the kids went to bed.
We went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. It was incredible. The kids had such a good time exploring, building, and learning.
Jonathan really liked trying to build a tower of Legos that could withstand the shaking from an earthquake.
