Avriette Family Reunion

We had the best time at my family reunion this last weekend up in Oregon at Silver Falls State Park. This place was breath taking. We left our house on Wednesday night and drove all the way to Medford and stayed the night, then we drove into Silver Falls the next day. It was a beautiful sunny day. We pretty much spent the remainder of the day waiting for everyone to arrive, reaquanting and drinking (a common theme every evening).

My dad, Luke, Colin and I over looking the North Falls.
Max and Colin inside an "Erosional Chimney." The dripping water erodes away at the rock and creates large holes, some cave like. Colin pretended we were going on a bear hunt. This particular hike was great fun. Luke and Ava stayed at the cabin with my Aunt Dixie so we could have a few hours with Colin.

This is the backside of the South Falls.
Colin and I at South Falls. The drop was around 170 feet.
My dad, Luke, Colin and Max over looking the North Falls.
Colin and I at the South Falls. We hiked from the top all the way around and behind the falls to the bottom where we are standing on a small bridge.

Another picture of the South Falls right before we began our hike down the trail.

The next day we went back to the South Falls and took Luke and Ava with us along with my cousin Katie. We couldn't take the trail down to the falls because it was to slippery, so we walked to the top instead. Here is Luke, Colin and Ava with the drop off right behind them.
Colin and I before our hike down to the South Falls.
My Aunt Becky had shirts made for all the different families. Every family had a different color. It was actually a great way to visually see how and who everyone was related. This was a huge grassy area in front of our cabins. We stayed in "Dogwood" (far left) and others stayed in "Blueberry" (far right). The cabins were nice. There were six rooms and two bathrooms with a large living area with couches, TV, and fireplace. The park had a dining hall where we all got together everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This was a great time to catch up. Along with each night we would gather on the porch of one of the cabins until 12, 2, 3:00 in the morning, drinking, laughing, and telling stories. That was truely the best.

Colin and I in another "Erosional Chimney" at South Falls.

Colin and I in "a bear cave" Colin said. "I'm not afraid. Are you afraid?"
Colin and Max at South Falls. We came home on Sunday. The trip took a little over 9 hours. Can we say "NEVER AGAIN! with three small children. It has to be done in two days. One day was to much to ask of the kids. Colin got car sick and then Luke cried on and off for the last 3 hours of the drive. His way of saying "GET ME OUT OF HERE." Anyway, there was talk that we should do this every year. I hadn't seen some of my family since I was a small child. That's way to long. Hopefully now we will all keep in touch more often and see each other sooner than later. Meeting at a half-way location like this was really nice. Maybe we'll have to find other locations to explore in the coming years. So, onwards we go. Colin turns 4 on Friday and his "Pirate Party" is planned for Saturday. We are very excited. Looking ahead this month we have a lot going on. We have another family camping trip in a week and half, we're going to the state fair the following week and then ending the month with Colin's school orientation, my birthday and an end of the year camping trip to the coast for Labor Day. So, needless to say I will have a lot more to post as August unfolds.