Trip to Washington: Day 5-8

So after we came back to Vancouver, we got to do more stuff :) On Monday, we got lunch at Gustav's, a German restaurant in the Vancouver/Portland area. We had delicious fondue! After that we hung out with a couple of friends of mine, Chelsea and Alex. We all went up to a waterfall that my family discovered north of Vancouver. Its a beautiful drive and the waterfall is kind of hidden from the road so we've always called it Hidden Falls. haha not sure how we found it. Anyways, it was fun to go there and cool down. We put our feet in the water but it was of course freezing (it's basically snow melt). We did get to take some fun pictures!

 There's also a little trail that leads to an old railroad which I discovered one time from going to the falls with my family. Chelsea and Alex had fun playing chicken :)

 Then Chelsea and I went to the mall and got pedicures. Yay for girl time! Then the next day was temple day!! We got some great pictures from our wedding but I wish that it hadn't rained at the temple and I hadn't had bronchitis xP So Adam and I attempted to take more pictures in our wedding clothes at the temple but when it was sunny. Alex and Chelsea helped us and we used one of my dad's cameras which sadly we couldn't figure out how to turn on the flash but we did get some good ones. It was very hot as well haha it made us appreciate the coolness on our wedding day. We tried not to get in the way of a bridal party that was doing stuff but it was interesting to see people stare at us haha. Since I got married in December, the grounds weren't exactly crawling with people. A family with two little girls (about 5 or 3 was my guess) came up to me and asked me my name and wanted to look at my dress and my ring. So cute!! I kinda felt like a princess at Disneyland haha. I thoroughly enjoyed it. My dad will help edit them but here's one of them :)

We then got to go through a session which was absolutely wonderful!! It was great being back in the place we got married and feeling the spirit there. I love Adam so much more now than I did when we got married and I know it will continually be growing with time. We also got to go into the new visitors' center briefly :) Then we traveled back to have an early dinner with my friend Sarah and her boyfriend. We went to Dok Koon Thai food and it was very yummy as always :) It was great seeing Sarah again however briefly since she's been my friend since we were 13 :) After that we went over to my aunt and uncle's house with my mom and my sister. Haha that morning we got a surprise by finding out that my aunt Amber had come to visit from Idaho and brought her kids!! She got to meet Adam when we went to Idaho Falls last year but I hadn't seen her since. She also had a baby boy in that time! My other aunt Sarah (the house we went to) had a baby girl too. So I got to meet my two new cousins who were completely adorable. Naomi was a very content little one and I got to hold her a lot and watch her make funny faces haha. Benjamin was cute as well in all his attempts to crawl but getting thoroughly frustrated.

I am so glad I got to see them all and Adam got to enjoy being around a bunch of little cousins who like to kick him and hit him with their toys haha ;)

The next day (Wednesday) Adam and I went to the coast (Cannon Beach, OR to be exact)! It was so fun to be there with him because he's only been to the beach twice in his life. Once when he was ten but it was cold and rainy and in March, and another on his mission but of course he didn't get to do anything. It was fun to show him all of the places my family would go. It was a gorgeous day at the beach and relatively warm for the Oregon coast. We walked along the surf collecting sea shells, getting our feet wet, and running from the waves. We also got to go to the tidepools and see a starfish and little fish that change color to their surroundings. We then ate at a seafood restaurant overlooking the ocean. A wonderful time :) 

 Then the next day we drove all the way back to Utah which was very long and very tiring. I'm so glad that we got to make this trip and Adam could experience a little bit of WA summertime :) So glad I got to see so many friends and family :) Now for relaxing and preparing for the coming semester of school!!

Love,

Ashley <3