Lovely Oregon

Some of Bobby's siblings were getting together at Bobby's home this summer and we realllllllly wanted to go, but Bobby couldn't get out of school.

So I decided to go without him! And I'm so glad I did. I had so much fun.

We went to music in the park (Broadway tunes, my fav!), the farmer's market, the splash pad, the Oregon Coast, got a tour of a train set, had dinner with Oregon friends, went to a play, helped Sara move in, played with the babies, hung out and talked, flew kites, and picked a lot of delicious Oregon berries and vegetables.

Cousin lovin'. The two youngest there, Sage and Ellie. I just wanted to squeeze them all day long.

The fun rings in the backyard!

(Is it just me, or are all the pictures of me on this blog are me in a white shirt? I don't even own many white shirts. See http://ramptonfam.blogspot.com/2013/08/new-york.html)

Some of the cute boys at the new swing set

Abby has grown most since I last saw her. She is a pre-teen!

Hours on the swing

Is this backyard awesome?

 At Newport Beach (a little cold for my Phoenix blood)

Flying kites

They're so kind to me

Jasper picking up a crab!

And Catherine!...

Until she got scared lol

The best fresh meals at the Rampton's

Got my hair done by Catherine :)

  

Sweet Catherine, thanks for loving me. I'll love you forever for making me feel looked up to.

With the Phillips at the play

I feel so honored to be a Rampton. I was so lucky to marry into this family. 

Can't wait until we get together again! I love you, Ramptons!





P.S.
Update on the blackberries: We tried stuffing my luggage with blackberries and jam for Bobby, because it's his favorite thing. The jam in bubble wrap and fake wrapping paper made it! So did the blackberries, the fresh ones did better than the frozen ones. FYI for anyone trying to travel with fruit :)

NEW YORK

I have A LOT of great things to blog about, but I want to stay in order.

Thanks to my sister for flying me out, and my mom for making the trip happen, we three got to go to upstate NEW YORK in July!

It was such an incredible trip, and one I'll never forget!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We took red-eye flights and got to Albany, NY early in the morning (then somehow made our standby flights to Rochester).

The Hill Cumorah Pageant was probably my favorite part. It is a musical about the stories in the Book of Mormon, and it really brought the scriptures to life for me! I left with a desire to study and understand the scriptures better. I highly recommend the show to anyone- LDS or not. 

The top of the Hill Cumorah, where we believe the Book of Mormon was buried until Joseph Smith was led to find them.

The Smith family's home.

We ran into Sister Harline...

 and Sister Astorga...

They were both such darling, powerful missionaries. It was so fun to run into them!

Another favorite part of the trip was the Sacred Grove, the area where Joseph Smith prayed and saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The spirit was so strong here and what a blessing it was to be able to walk around in the grove for myself. 

We got to go to the Palmyra temple too, one of the few (only?) temples that has clear windows so you can look out into the Sacred Grove and Hill Cumorah. Luckily we were able to get in because it was supposed to be by appointment only. 

We realized that my mom was holding the camera upside down...

Our faces zoomed in- lol

The last day in Palmyra it poured! But it was still so warm!

Grave of Alvin Smith

Luckily, while it rained we planned on going to Grandin's printing press where the first Book of Mormon was published. The church has done a great job at preserving it.  

We got to visit our cousin Amanda who lives in Rochester. Amanda's husband Charlie goes to school at Eastman School of Music and he gave us a tour of the beautiful Kodak Theater. Amanda and Charlie are so cute and happy in New York and I was so happy to see them. 

Our last stop was Niagara Falls.

Idk...

Chelsea and Amanda got to walk over to Canada, but my mom and I forgot our visas...doh. But we had a fun time taking glamour shots instead.

Isn't she cute?

 Thanks for such a memorable trip, Chels and Mom. 

You two are the two most influential women in my life and I'm so lucky to have you two. 

Thank you!!!