Random Portland...

All in all we had an enjoyable time in Portland and got to do everything on our to-do list. Other things we did while there were:
Visit the fish hatchery and feed the fish.



We saw the HUGE sturgeon! Tucker was pretty impressed!

Lots of swimming and dance parties in our hotel room:

And Kayla got in as much snuggling on this little girl as she could before heading home!

Another fun thing we did was go to VooDoo Doughnuts as featured on this show. We love Man vs. Food! :) And I love doughnuts! It was a fun little place, sadly, no pictures! I was glad to get home and rest from this non-stop and emotionally exhausting vacation.
Now on to the month of May! :)

The Campbell side...

Also on our to-do list in Portland was a trip to visit my Aunt, cousins and their kids. We had a little BBQ planned and it was so great to see everyone! This is on my dad's side. They have lived in Alaska my whole life, which meant that I didn't get to see them a lot growing up. I spent a summer up with them when I was 12, and occasionally they would come down to visit us, but it wasn't often. Within the past few years my aunt and two of my cousins, with their kids, have moved down to the Portland area. We don't get to Portland too often, but definitely more than Alaska, so it's been fun seeing them at least a few times within these past few years. And it was especially great this time because we actually got to spend some time with them, rather than just a quick stop on our way out of town to say hello. We met at my cousin Misty's house and had a delicious BBQ. It was so great!
Me, Kayla and my aunt Jeanette:

The girls: me, Taylor, Kayla, my cousin Misty and her daughter Leiara:

Me and my cousin Kris:

This is who Tucker spent the most time with... :)

And the whole gang.

They do have another sister who still lives in Alaska. We missed you Dawn!!!
There is nothing better than family!

Sweet Natalee....

This post has been a hard one for me to wrap my head around. I just wasn't sure how to do it. No matter what I say, it won't be enough for what I am feeling. Maybe subconsciously that is why it has taken me so long to get this trip posted about, I just wasn't sure of what to say or how to say it. Many of you remember that I had a little 12 year old cousin who was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma, which essentially is Kidney Cancer in May of 2009. She was treated, and healing for a while, but after about 7-8 months the radiation and the drugs stopped working, after lots and lots of praying and faith, my aunt and uncle decided to take her off the medication that was making her life miserable. It wasn't shrinking the tumors, and it was making her so sick and miserable. They knew the cancer was terminal, and were advised to let her live the last few months of her life comfortably. Natalee passed away in June of this year, after just a little over a year of fighting the cancer. She was 13.
I can still remember my senior year in high school when my aunt announced to us that she was pregnant with Natalee, none of could believe it! We hadn't had a new cousin years. But we were so excited. In fact, my aunt Sherry kept it a secret except to my grandpa, and he called up my mom and my other aunt and made up some story about a girl he knew being pregnant, and I'm not sure the rest of the story, but somehow he got my mom and my aunt to go down to his house in Oregon, and they both thought that there was a possibility that they would be coming home with an adopted child. Somehow he had tricked them into believing that this baby would need a home and they were both willing to accept. They, in their minds were going down to work out the details. They got to my grandparents house to find my aunt Sherry large with child! :) My grandpa was always pulling stunts like that. When Ben got home from his mission, he lived in Portland with his sister and brother in law for a few months. While he lived there, I would go to visit him and would stay with my aunt and uncle. Natalee was in the third grade and I can remember going to her class with my Aunt Sherry to help out with activities. We also always watched a lot of sponge bob together while I was there. Natalee was so much younger than me I don't have a ton of memories with her, but she was just so cute and sweet!
While we were in Portland we went over to visit Natalee, my Aunt and Uncle and other cousins. All of their kids were in town from college, Utah and Idaho, and we wanted to see everyone. I also took some family photos for them. Natalee at this time was very weak, so we just stayed on the couch and chatted and laughed. It was a nice visit. They were on their way out to the Oregon Coast for the week, so we weren't there very long. But I am so glad that we went. Natalee passed away just a month later.
We miss you Natalee!

Me and Kayla and all of our Walton cousins, in white.

The Oregon Zoo...

Next Stop on our non-stop trip to Portland was the Oregon Zoo. Portland has one pretty cool zoo. Another one of my favorite stops in Portland since I was little. And that's a lot coming from me, because we all know how I feel about animals! :) Tucker loves them though, so we were in the right place.

They have a really great little petting zoo, which Tuck loved! No thanks for me, I was quite content being the photographer! :)



Aunt Kayla was getting in on the action with him though!

Next up was the train ride! This is my way of enjoying a zoo! :)



And apparently Taylor's too! :)

One cool fireman dude:





Aunt Kayla seeing how she compares to the bears...

And me and my little man! I love this guy!

We had a great day at the zoo actually! I love watching how excited Tucker gets seeing all of the animals! And we even got lucky with a beautiful day, as great a day as you can get in Portland in April! :)

The Arctic Lady...

Many of you know that my dad is a commercial fisherman in Alaska. Yes, just like the guys on the Deadliest Catch, except his boat is even bigger and better! :) Anyway, every few years, the boat spends a few months in Portland getting routine maintenance done on it. That is one of the reasons for our visit to Portland, to see him and the Arctic Lady. The summer after I got home from my mission I went up and worked on the boat, tendering salmon with him for the summer. It was so much fun and I have a lot of fond memories working with my dad and his crew on the Arctic Lady. It really is my dad's first child, not me. :)
Here's the wheel house:

Tucker in the skippers chair:

I let Kayla in on the little secret candy stash that is always kept full in one of the cupboards in the storage room. :) We took advantage! :)

Me, my mama and baby Taylor:

Papa and Tucker

My beautiful baby girl...


Here we are out on the deck of the boat. Because of the construction going on, we had to wear hard hats.

No worries that my daughter is on an upside down garbage can close to the edge of a commercial fishing boat. Totally safe, right? :)

I love the Arctic Lady and being in Alaska with my dad was such a great memory that I always love to go back and visit the boat when I can.

Multnomah Falls...

So, Kayla and I picked up my mom in Milton-Freewater and headed to Portland. But only after finding out that she is MARRIED! It was a little bit of a shock to hear and it made for some interesting conversations over the course of our weekend. But we tried to still enjoy our time together as we worked out this little bit of news.
But onto more important things...the next stop on our weekend trip. :) Multnomah Falls. Multnomah Falls is a beautiful double waterfall right outside of Portland. We have been going there as a family since I was little little. BUT...for those twilight fans out there, YES it is the waterfall in the background during the baseball scene in the twilight movie. (I don't remember which movie.)
Anyway, it is beautiful and every time I go I am always amazed at the beauty of this earth! The Portland area is just gorgeous! You can hike to the upper bridge and then actually hike all the way to the top. We only went to the bridge this time, but if you ever go and have time, go all the way up to the top, it is gorgeous! We hiked up while my mom stayed in the lodge with Taylor. :) Thanks grandma!
Here are some gorgeous pictures:

My dad had been working in Portland and so he met up with us there.













Gorgeous.

Trip to Portland, first leg

When Kayla was here in April, we planned a trip to Portland. Kayla actually got her return flight ticket out of Portland, just so we would for sure make a trip there. Kayla wanted to see my grandparents while she was here, so we thought it would be perfect to stop on our way to Portland.
Here are me, my mom, my grandma, and little Taylor Rae. 4 Generations:

Me and my baby girl (Just over 2 months old):

{Remind me to not take pictures of myself after driving in a car with two children all morning!} :)
The other thing on our 'to-do' list in Milton-Freewater was to see my best friend from elementary school!!! Her name is Coco and I hadn't seen her since we moved away after the 6th grade!!! We had recently been back in touch through facebook and she still lives in Milton-Freewater with her husband and two adorable kids!!! It was so so so great to see her! Even if it was only for a few minutes in Dairy Queen! :) (reliving some of the good ol' days!) :) I think that I am the only person ever to have had two best friends in my lifetime named: Coco and Cookie! :) Coco was my best friend in elementary school and when we moved to Spokane, my best friend in Jr. High was Cookie! :) I guess my love for food extends into the people I choose as my friends! :) It was so great to see her again, she was still Coco, and it was like no time had passed at all!!! We were able to reminisce about my 10th birthday when we went to see 'Beaches' in the theater and Coco leaned over and said to me 'it's ok if you need to cry, Taraka, I am here for you.' :) What a good friend! :)
Anyway, Tucker got a hold of my camera while we were in Dairy Queen:

{He had to get a few close ups}

And one of Aunt Kayla:

Oh, and one of Coco:

OK, here we finally are!!! :)

{Again, remind me to never take pictures of myself after traveling with small children for any amount of time!} :)
The rest of the Portland trip is one for the books! Not sure that I would like to relive it again, but stay tuned because, for posterity's sake, I will be posting about the rest of our trip!