Ladd Photos

We drove around Mercer Island to show Gavin the beautiful island where he lived the first 3 months of his life. Then we played a bit at Luther Burbank Park, on the north shore of the island, so the boys could enjoy a beautiful day.

After our visit to Mercer Island, we continued about 30 minutes east to Snoqualmie Falls. I think it was the first large waterfall the boys had seen and they were amazed by it. It is such a beautiful piece of nature; if you are ever in the Seattle area you should make the trip out to the falls.

After spending a few days in the Seattle area, we headed back to my parent’s house in Beaverton, OR to celebrate my mom’s birthday. It was nice to get to have a family birthday with the moss covered Ladd clan up in the great Pacific Northwest.

My family and I out for a stroll along the downtown waterfront of Portland, OR.

If you are ever in the area of Tillamook, OR, which is about a hour west of Portland, I recommend going to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. They have an interesting self-guided tour about the cheese making progress, free cheese sampling, and an awesome ice cream counter.

The kids enjoyed the annual Big Truck Day in Beaverton, OR.

The Loera Clan celebrating the soon-to-be arrival of Kristel’s new baby boy, Hector Chacon.

Checking out the pumpkins at Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center. It was way too hot for October.

My parents, little brother, and little sister came down from Portland, OR to Bakersfield for the Thanksgiving weekend. Lots of the Ladd clan and my aunt’s side of the family got together at my aunt and uncle’s house for a giant Thanksgiving feast.

We went up to Knott’s Berry Farm to check out all the Christmas festivities and see Snoopy On Ice. The show was very entertaining and the boys loved all the rides, as usual.

The family and I spent part of the Christmas holiday in Bakersfield. We finished our trip at the traditional Christmas Eve party at my Uncle Steve’s house.

We got on the road after the party for a very scary trip back to San Diego. The fog was horrible going up the ‘Grapevine’ with visibility dropping to a few feet. It was like that most of the way until we dropped back down in Castaic.

The boys opened presents at our house in the morning, and their Grandma and Grandpa Loera’s house in the afternoon. They were spoiled by everyone, as usual.