Fourth of July

The fourth was our first holiday here in Oregon.  We had a pancake breakfast with the ward in the morning, and an invitation from some ward members to go to Foster Lake for the afternoon.  Unfortunately, because of a flat tire the day before, and no new tire on our wheel, we stayed close to home.  We did have a picnic  in North Albany and went for a little hike along the Willamette River.  In the evening, we did a few sparklers.  We had an enjoyable day.

The family on our 4th of July Hike

Having fun with sparklers.  Were sparklers always so smokey?  Or did we just buy cheap ones?

The day after Independence Day, we decided to go explore Silver Falls.  It is a temperate Rain Forest near Salem.  There is a loop hike that takes you to 10 different water falls.  Unfortunately, the hike is probably over 10 miles, so we just enjoyed the first fall and called it good.  The kids had so much fun on the hike.  It was short with lots to look at and discover.  Under the falls were some narrow crevices and shallow caves that Ellie and Christian couldn't resist exploring.  It was a fun day activity, and I hope we can maybe go back again sometime when it isn't a holiday weekend.  

Ellie and Christian touching the ceiling

More exploring

The falls

Ellie saw this tree off of the trail and had to sit in the swing tree.  She just though it was so silly.

Christian's turn on the swing tree.