Caleb and Elizabeth came to visit over Labor Day Weekend. It was a lot of fun. We did so many things. The days were so beautiful and warm (a little too warm), but we got to have a really good view of Willamette Falls (back in the day - before it was destroyed by the papermill- they called it Little Niagra). It is kind of a depressing sight. There is hardly anything left of the natural falls. They have installed locks and a cement wall all around the top to control flow. Just to the right of it is the ulgiest sight you have ever seen. The VERY rundown looking paper mill (put into comission sometime in the late 18 or early 1900s. It drapes both sides of the river, just below the falls, and one can imagine that is were pollution begins. I really wish I could have seen it before. It is easy to see the beauty hidden beneath the destruction. Someday I hope that papermill goes away and it can, once again, be the little Niagra Falls.

Next to where we stopped to see the falls, there were history signs, filled with information on Oregon. Oregon City (which is where we were in the picture) was the first capitol of Oregon and the first settlements. It is where all of the pioneers came through, both American and English leaders ran the city. It is a very old city. Alot of history there.

And, of course, we can't stay away from the beach in the summer, so we took Caleb and Elizabeth there. First we made a pitstop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. It was really cool to see how they make cheese, and try all of their samples. It all tasted SO good, but of course we were starving.

There was a lot of fog on the beach that day, but it was still nice. We played soccer, made sandcastles with armies defending and destroying them. The boys LOVED this. We also jumped off sand cliffs. We were all so sandy when we were done, it took a couple of weeks before all the sand was out of Ansels hair.

This beach was really neat, out a few hundred yards from the shore sat the most amazing rock formation. They call it serpents rock, and for good reason. It looks just like and undulatiing serpent out in the ocean, quite beautiful! I can't get the blog to upload this picture so you will just have to imagine!