Murphy Family's FIRST Camping Trip

We had the BEST time camping last weekend with several families made up of our closest friends. The kids had more fun than we ever could have imagined. Bella had a "sleepover" at Reese Waldron's house, while Riley Bergeson camped in our (Mom and Dad's) camper - there were kids all over the place! Our destination was Greenough Lake up past Red Lodge. Max and Daddy spent a lot of time fishing, while the kids ran around and parents RELAXED. We plan to make it an annual event! Heather Bergeson took that shot of Bella, by the way - isn't it priceless?

Daddy and Max fishing down by the lake - cheese ended up being the winner as far as bait was concerned.
Mulligan had a wonderful time on the trip (this is her first blog appearance in quite some time as well).

Baby Micah, Amy, myself and Brighton, who will NOT look at the camera, unless she is posing with Baby Micah (below). Brighton's babies are all named "Baby Micah" in honor of this little cherub.

Reese and Bella spent a great deal of time together over the weekend and forged a close bond. Bella has been asking when she gets to see "Reesie" again all week. Bella, Reese, Katie, Ava and Flora (with some back up Rusted Root sung by Max) performed a "Mountain Lion Show" for our viewing pleasure. The show was an interpretive dance of sorts - very interesting. The Show was conducted atop the rock pictured below - with Max at its peak. The kids spent endless hours climbing this rock and sliding down its face over the weekend. We literally had to toss a pair of shorts (burned in the fire) and a pair of jeans due to the "sliding down" part.

Here's Max with his catch. We had a hard time with catching and releasing this little guy, so Max strung him up and took him back to camp to show his friends. He was very proud.

We did not think to snap a photo of the kids the first night (there were more), but did get this shot of the two-nighters, including the Finks, the Nemers, and the Waldrons. (NEXT year the Bergesons will be there for night two). FUN! It was truly an adventure to remember!

Oregon Coast

Near the end of our time in Portland, we went to Seaside and Cannon Beach for a day of kiting, building sandle castles, the acquarium, and . . . FREEZING. It was COLD. The kids had a great time while the rest of us froze, reminding ourselves. The grownups survived by telling ourselves over and over again that memories were being made here!
After grabbing some coffee and hot chocolate upon our arrival, we walked down the promenade to the Seaside Acquarium, a wonderful little place Ali and I remember from our youth. On our way to the Acquarium, we had to stop and let the kids check out the ocean.The acquarium has some pretty humorous residents. The sea lions performed tricks and would slap their fins against their bodies to get you to throw food to them; it was incredibly entertaining. Cannon Beach. Max, Bella, Connor and even Brighton really enjoyed flying the kite that Auntie Ali brought along. It provided a distraction from the cold for the adults as well, THANK YOU ALI!

My Maxer flying the kite.

Yes. The kids went swimming in the cold Pacific Ocean on this balmy July day. That studly adult male in the water with them is none other than Uncle Joe.

Connor and Brighton building sandcastles with Cannon Rock in the background.

Brrrrr. Daddies were cold.

Brighton is trying to catch that kite!

When we set out for our return trip to Montana on Friday, Gavin and I had a very interesting conversation with the kids. We had just crossed the Idaho border (to give you some idea as to the length of time we had been in the car that day), when we asked the kids to tell us which of our vacations was their favorite. We expected them to yell, "the cruise" or "Mexico." Instead, they all said that Portland was their favorite! This, despite the fact that we drove to Portland and flew to our other destinations, and despite the fact that we did not spend the week at beautiful beaches in exotic locales.

So, I suppose the lesson here is that our time together as a family is the thing that the kids both appreciate and will remember. They do not seem to care as much about the destination as the opportunity for us to spend some time together without the distractions of work and daily life. We feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to steal some time away in what has been a very busy summer and we feel so blessed to have such beautiful and happy children - life would not be complete without our three little buggies.

Portland!

On our way back to Portland from Eugene, we stopped at the Enchanted Forest for few hours. It is a wonderful little place that has "lands" based on fairy tales and history. The kids loved it. Bella with Honest Abe in "Frontier Land.

One of the larger attractions at the Enchanted Forest is the log ride. Max, Bella and I are pictured here on the scariest part of the ride. We got VERY wet.

We hit OMSI with the Curnow crew. Here are Bella, Connor, Ali, Carter, Max and myself standing outside the submarine we toured at OMSI.

One day during the trip Gavin and I took the kids downtown for an afternoon. We hit Pioneer Court House Square (below), and walked through downtown. This was a great day for Gavin and I, although the kids were anxious to get back to the condo for some swimming.

Bella lovin' on her daddy.This fountain, which the kids spotted during our walk on the waterfront, provided about an hour of amusement for the kids. Unfortunately, we did not have swimsuits, but that did not stop the kids from playing in the water.

Brighton and Daddy are shown to the left of this picture, with Max playing in the water right in front.


Any trip to Portland would not be complete without a trip to the Zoo. We spent a day touring the zoo, riding the train, and watching the animals. Above: Connor, Bella and Max pose with teh penguins.

Below: Carter, Brighton (hiding behind Carter), Max, Bella and Connor check out the river sea life with the assistance of a zoo employee.

Melissa and Buddy's Wedding

Well, the whole premise for the trip to Portland was the wedding of my beautiful cousin, Melissa, in Eugene. Melissa married a great guy and Bella was lucky enough to be asked to participate in the festivities as a flower girl. She LOVED her job, and thought Melissa was "a princess." It was a beautiful wedding.

Bella and the Bride.

Bella, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The bride and groom - love the bubbles!

I love this picture of Brighton and Carter - they were having a great time!


Stephanie, dancing with Bella and Brighton here, was a life-saver. She hung out with Bella throughout the wedding.

Mom and Dad had a great time as well. It was a fabulous day. Congratulations Melissa and Buddy!

Silverwood

We kicked off our DRIVE (yes, DRIVE) to Portland with a trip to Silverwood Amusement Park in Idaho. It was a great opportunity to tucker the kids out before the 7 hours drive from there to Portland. They had a fantastic time first at the amusement park and then at the water slides!

Brighton was hysterical. Initially, she was with Bella in an airplane on this ride. Suddenly, she decided she would ride all by herself. She hopped out of Bella's plane and Bella, who did NOT want to ride by herself, hopped in with Max.

Bella and Max getting ready for take off.

Silverwood boasts several HUGE roller coasters. AT this point, both Bella and Max were going to ride Timber Terror. Bella promptly backed out when she saw it, Max, on the other hand, went on the coaster with his dad and thought he was super cool for not crying.

The three little munchkins with Timber Terror in the foreground.

We then spent some time at the water park, which was a hoot. The kids loved going down the inner-tube slides with Mom and playing in the wave pool (pictured above). Brighton played in kiddie land and then slept on her daddy's chest for a good hour.

I couldn't resist throwing this picture in of Brighton's little bootie. She's growing up so fast!

Fourth of July

Wow, I am so far behind on my blogging this summer I can hardly stand it. Although it is today August 5, I am blogging the 4th of July. We had a great time this year at the cabin in Red Lodge, complete with the "candy tree" (little fairies - Jock and Gayle - tie candies and other goodies to a tree that the kids get to find when we arrive up at the cabin. The day, of course, began with the annual Fourth of July Parade up in REd Lodge. We then went to the cabin. At about 6, we headed home to Billings where the kids lit fireworks for the first time (BIG hit). It was a great day!

The kiddos LOVED the parade!

Our youngest insisted on a back tattoo - CLASSY.

Flaunting our face art for the camera.
Max lighting some dangerous explosive by himself.

My little bug lighting sparklers for the first time ever - she loved it! Max and Bella both lit the "big" fireworks this year with their Daddy.

Photos!

We had the kids pictures taken in early June, and between the photographer's schedule and my own, are only now getting them downloaded. They turned out adorable - one of my favorites is of the three kiddos clowning around. Enjoy! I've been terrible about blogging our busy summer but hope to catch up with that later this week.