July- Idaho, Oregon, Mount St. Helens and Lavender 5K

Ok, you asked for it- I've received a plethora of requests to post pictures from my summer adventures, so here you go. In July, we visited my parents in Idaho, my good friend and her husband in Oregon, and we ran a 5K in a lavender field in Mona, Utah. Here is a summary of last month's awesome activities-

Here is my husband in front of Multnomah Falls- the second highest falls in the United States- just outside of Portland, Oregon.

Ok, Twilight fans- in case you didn't know, a TON of the Twilight movie was filmed in and around Portland. So, on our first night in Oregon we went to the View Point Inn; where they filmed the prom at the end of the movie! It had a gorgeous view, there was Twilight stuff everywhere- and they had a Twilight menu. I was in heaven.

Lion and the Lamb salad...

Bella Ravioli (mushroom filled ravioli)...

And the Eternal Love Cake...well... it was good... so good that it was gone before I could take a picture. Oops!

You can't see it very well, but this is the view of the Colombia River Gorge from the back lawn of the View Point Inn- where the gondola was in the movie during prom. It was so beautiful!

And of course, they had the Monte Carlo dance backdrop from the movie as well! I couldn't help myself; we totally had to get a picture.

We also got to hike a volcano on our trip in the Pacific Northwest. Here is Mount St. Helens from the parking lot.

Me and my friend at the treeline (see all of the baby trees? They are just barely growing back after the volcano blew up).

Prayer flags about halfway up the volcano; I was definitely praying by this time.

Most of the hike was climbing over big, black rocks, but the last mile or so was a 40 degree angle(though I swear it was steeper than that) crawl up ash and sand. It was TOUGH.

Here's the view from the top... four and a half hours after starting our little "walk." This is the right side (with Mount Rainier in the background)...

The middle (the part that was blown out in the 1980's)... there was a pile of rock in the middle that was still smoking. Pretty cool!

And the left side of the volcano.

Me and my hunny; I hope to have many more adventures with you, babe- hopefully they won't be as painful as this one!

The group- thanks for hiking with us, guys! There is no way I would have made it up there without your expertise and encouragement.

The next day, while our husbands fished, my friend and I got the more girl-y parts of the trip out of the way- the Lake Oswego Farmer's Market, Japanese Gardens, Rose Gardens, and downtown Portland.

The next day we visited the Pacific Ocean. Here is the view from where we had lunch on the Oregon coast.

Our gracious Oregon-ite hosts holding a baby crab they found while exploring the tide pools.

We visited my husband's great aunt who lives in Depoe Bay on the Oregon coast; we were able to climb down into a cove and explore the tide pools and watch some seals lounging around and playing in the water. It was beautiful (and really cold)!

The Portland Temple is gorgeous.

Then we headed back to Idaho, where we spent some time rafting down the Boise River- this goes right through the city; you go under bridges, past the University- all on a little blow-up raft! We also biked on a trail next to the river called the "Green Belt." It's gorgeous, and definitely one of our favorite activities when we visit my mom and dad in Idaho.

Lavender 5K in Mona, Utah at the Young Living Lavender Farms... best smelling race EVER. We made it! Thanks for running such an early morning race with us, guys- you're awesome!