Oregon

Me, my mom, and the kids went to (Eastern) Oregon last fall to visit my grandpa, step-grandma, uncles, aunts, and cousins. It's a place I've visited dozens of times, nearly every year of my life. It had been a while since my last trip though, and this time it struck me as especially beautiful. I'd love to take a photography trip some time with Josh's nice lenses and get really serious about taking pictures. This was a warm-up.

View from my cousin Blaine's house/farm. Across the field lies the cemetery where my grandma is buried.

My cousin Blaine's work horses, Fred and Ted.

Blaine grew all these pumpkins (and many more)

And he heats his entire house with wood he cuts from family land (with some really cool contraption that I can't explain).

This is my family's land, called the Smith Place. I remember coming here as a kid for picnics under the little pine tree forest, picking wild flowers (especially Indian Paintbrushes), and enjoying the wildness of the place. It warmed my hear to see Zoe trotting off by herself to pick some flowers.

Lambswool was another of my favorites.

Thistles growing on the site of a cabin my uncle is building on the land for the family.

These swings were not here when I was a kid--nothing more fun than swinging in the woods!

Well, maybe a zip line (that' my grandpa pushing Zoe up).

A while ago, a forest fire did some damage to some of the trees on the land. As we walked through the burned area, we heard tons of pecking. It turns out the woodpeckers liked these trees for some reason.

The highlight of the trip for the kid was a trip to my mom's friend Duane's farm, where Zoe and Nico got to ride a horse, Chip. 

My mom riding Chip as he broke into a gallop.

Across the street from my grandpa's house lives a farmer's family. The kids love playing there. And their cat loves to sit on their four-wheeler.

See the mouse?

My grandpa's house. This is the one place that remained constant throughout my childhood. It's SUCH a nostalgic place for me.

My grandpa repairs tractors.

And makes cool things out of metal.

This sign is attached to one of my grandpa's workshops. i think it was maybe from the company he worked for.

Grandpa. He smells like ivory soap and is skin is slightly rough to the touch. And he's so sweet inside of his slightly crusty exterior.

Taking the kids for rides on tractors my grandpa restored.

Another restoration project.

My grandpa giving Zoe and Nico a ride, just as he did for me and Diana years ago.

I didn't only take pictures of scenic vistas on this trip. I also wanted to capture the little nostalgic details I remembered of the house. The inside of this trailer is definitely one of them.

I now love this rug for its great graphic design, but mostly it's the familiar sight that greeted us every time we opened the garage door after the 12 hour drive to Oregon.

My grandpa made this swing set when my mom was a kid and it's still going strong. We loved playing on these bars.

Since the house is out in the country, this is the only (short) stretch of sidewalk  on the property. We would  draw all over it with chalk, drive toy cars up and down it, etc.

I remember taking these chairs up to the Smith Place every time we went. My grandma was a quadriplegic, and my grandpa would set one of these chairs up (the kind with the leg rest) for her to sit in. They still remind me of her. 

These are pictures that my grandpa takes of OR scenery every season. I love their uniform frames and the wall they cover in the basement.

 I know that a lot of these photos (especially toward the end) may not mean much to anyone else, but I'm so glad I got them and I can't wait to take more.