West Coast Getaway

Last minute weekend getaways are the way to go.  Jared & I typically plan things months in advance, but the weekend before last, we went out on a limb and took a last minute two day trip to the west coast.  We even forgot the GPS, so my map reading skills were revisited (I didn’t do too bad until we got to Portland, but luckily, we hit a traffic jam, & I had sufficient time to figure things out;) ). 

  We first stopped off at Multnomah Falls just east of Portland.

 

Just before we got to Portland, we drove through Hood River, the birthplace of my Dad.  (The scene below was past Hood River, but it gives you an idea of how beautiful Oregon country is).  I love Oregon.  It’s so green & picturesque.  We passed a sign that read , “Elephant Garlic Festival – turn here!”  Oh, I so wish we would have turned!

After staying a night in Portland, we drove 90 miles to Seaside.  I have many memories there.  It’s a very quaint beach town full of petunias, seafood, surfers, homemade taffy, & multi-pedal bikes. 

A Jr. College Women’s Volleyball Tournament was going on at the road side end of the beach.  We were pushed through to the ocean side pretty quickly, so I missed taking any pictures of the actual tournament.

The Seaside Candyman had 150 different flavors of homemade taffy.  The list of flavors was unbelievable.  Almond Roca, Banana Marshmallow, Blueberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Christmas Peppermint, Irish crème, Mint Oreo, Root Beer Float, Peanut Butter & Jam, Pink Lemonade…I’ll stop already.

Jared snuck a Green Jalapeno flavor in.  Bad idea.

Heading home before the typical rainfall. 

We hope to see you again Seaside.

A Flagship Store Tour

Last month I toured the new Deseret Book Flagship store in downtown SLC.  The store is located almost exactly in the same spot as the first Deseret Book location.  The art collection was full of original paintings and sculptures including replicas of the original Book of Mormon. 

LDS Artist Michael Bedard happened to be painting on site that afternoon.  He was working on a new painting entitled “Ephraim Hanks, Angel of Mercy.”  (If you are not familiar with Ephraim Hanks, I highly recommend taking a few minutes to read his personal account HERE.)  I was inspired to say the least.

“The beauties that surround us consist of two kinds:  those found in nature and those found in the fine arts.  The beauty in nature is our gift from God.  The beauty in the arts is our gift from others – artistic men and women of all ages and from all countries.”  - Belle DeJong VanWagenen

Mama Don’t Cry For Me

This morning my amazing friend Lisa (at The Far Side of Complexity) featured a post on my cousin & I’s song Mama Don’t Cry For Me.  You can check her post out HERE.  (Talk about a big surprise when checking her blog this morning!) ;)

Aside from Mandy’s son Clyde, Lisa’s daughter Elisabeth was a huge inspiration for us while writing this song.  Lisa has a contagious love for living that I admire beyond words.  Her faith & overall attitude is simply incredible. 

I am constantly amazed by the mothers of special needs children.  Even though Mama Don’t Cry For Me specifically refers to autism, our hope was to somehow reach out to any mother with a special needs child, sending the message that these children are “meant to be,” & would say if they could, “Mama don’t cry for me.”