Summer's gone and we sent it out in style! We spent the week before school started at the beautiful Oregon Coast. What a great week!
We rented a house in Rockaway Beach and it was perfect for our vacation. The beach was not crowded, the drive to Tillamook and Cannon Beach, either way, was not long, and we loved that we only had to walk about 100 steps to get to the ocean.
Haystack Rock was misty the day we went, but our timing was good and we got there at low tide and saw some pretty cool things. I think we all liked the sea stars clinging to the rocks, and the sea anemones didn't mind a stroke from our fingers as long as we were gentle.
John and the kids flew kites on the beach. Sadly, Allison was wearing plaid shorts the day we went to the kite shop, so as you can see by the sign, she had to stay outside! Too Bad!
They found a good bay to go crabbing in and provided dinner one night. They brought in 8 crabs, 4 times as many as the last time they tried! Many of us decided that crab meat is much more tasty when you don't have to do all the work to get to it! :-)
If you go, we highly recommend Flamingo Jim's for all your souvenir needs, and a stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory for an ice cream is a must do!
Trevor and Amber gave the skim board a try and both ended up in the water, but in the true spirit of the beach gave it another try, and mastered it!
Chelsie, Amber and Alli all embraced the library of books to escape into.
The Cape Mears lighthouse still stands and the view from it is just as beautiful as I remember from previous trips.
By our final afternoon, we still hadn't been able to build a sandcastle, but as you can see from the pictures, mother nature cooperated with us, and we had the perfect afternoon. We pooled our talents and built quite a turtle castle; we impressed ourselves.
Talmage found the sand too good to resist! We found him too good to resist! He was all smiles, giggles and fun! He couldn't stand to be away from the party! We loved to oblige him, but we know Ashley paid the price when she got home. The heavy price of not having 7 other people to entertain him! Even so, we are so glad he and his mom could be with us for the week. We missed Brandon, but assured him that he is invited again, the next time we come!
We also couldn't resist the beautiful sunsets! Just look at the colors! Gorgeous!
One of the best parts of the trip was watching how quickly Talmage had Grandpa wrapped around his little finger! They are quite a pair. They also look good at the beach!
As with any family vacation, its so good to just get away and spend time with each other!
We did come home a little earlier than we planned. The night before we left, the kids let us in on the secret that they were throwing a surprise 25th Anniversary party for us! Surprised doesn't begin describe it! We are very touched that they did that, and proud of the younger kids for keeping the secret! Neither one of us had any inkling that it was in the works! Very fun!
So, now here we are, at the beginning of September! Good things are around the corner - Ashley, Brandon and Talmage are moving to Seattle for 6 months! We can't wait! It sounds like there is a road trip in the move for this grandma! Fun!
Chelsie is back at BYU and living the college life again! She said she loves us, but is glad to be back at college. We love her too, and know how good it is!
Allison, our high school senior is working hard and studying hard, preparing for her own college experience.
Amber, our freshman in high school, is also working hard, her grades are showing her efforts.
Kristin, 6th grade, is patrol captain, and getting ready for soccer to start. If she can maintain perfect attendance, there is a reward of a new bike. She is bound and determined to be a winner! We'll see how that ends up!
Trevor, 4th grade, is giving flag football a try. Mom said she'd prefer he played soccer, but football won out in the end. No surprise there! Hopefully he'll stay on his feet and not get smushed!
