Spring Break--Our Trip Home

A lovely uneventful trip home!  We stopped at Multonomah Falls for a mist bath, a coffee, and a potty break, then back on the road.

We had such a great week of fun--starting at the farm, going to the coast, and back home again.  All refreshed for the 2 1/2 months of school that is left!

Spring Break--More Fun!

What is it about kids...you can go to the most amazingly beautiful place on earth, and the thing they remember most is the swimming pool?  That would be our kids--fish!

They LOVE swimming with Auntie--she knows all the fun water games!

 Our pool burritos...

One day Auntie straightened Gracie's hair.  (Just so you know her powers, Gracie doesn't let ANYONE do her hair...)  But Gracie kept bouncing by mirrors all morning long with her straight, long hair...

At the waterfront in Newport...one happy boy and one three-legged mom...actually a mom hiding an unhappy girl.

 Lunch break!  Gracie, Julz, and Trina...

 ...and Jeff, Josh, and me.

I had to take this picture to let you see why most of our shots were taken inside this week.  Granted, this was at Cape Foulweather, but the wind and rain were steady companions this week.

Spring Break--The FIRST Lost Tooth

I passed on swimming that night, graciously allowing Jeff and Auntie to swim with the kids while I did dishes, and wouldn't you know, that's the place where Gracie's tooth would fall out!

She'd been wiggling this sucker for WEEKS!  She said that she was in the pool with Auntie and all of a sudden it POPPED OUT!  She was afraid of losing it in the water, but somehow she kept it safe.

This girl isn't yet FIVE, people.  I thought tooth-losing commenced at SIX.  I'm not prepared for such grown-up milestones to be happening.  It makes my heart hurt.

"The children were snuggled up fast in Auntie's lap...while visions of TOOTH FAIRIES danced through their heads..."  We're so glad the Tooth Fairy knows when we're on vacation!  Gracie woke to find a quarter where her tooth had been laid the night before.

The next day she tells me, "I miss my wiggly tooth."  And then she started working on the loose one right next to the empty space.  Holey gums, girl!  Slow down!  :)

Spring Break--Tillamook Cheese Factory

The Van Sickles were in Portland over break, and so we decided to meet them half-way to play at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  How fun getting to see Spokane friends in Oregon!  :)

 Gracie and Alea posing as the cow and farmer...

 Kai and Kalei posing...

 ...and the biggest CHEESE of them all posing as #95.

We watched them package some cheddar...love that this factory picture even came out as the color of CHEESE.

And of course there's no better place to eat ice cream right BEFORE lunch!

Lunch at Burger King after this and THEN, a very memorable excursion on the windiest of beach days at Oceanside, OR.  We ran on a windy beach to a tunnel that was made through a rock...Gracie said that was NOT her favorite part of the day.  :)

Spring Break--Newport Aquarium

Day two took us from Portland to Depot Bay.  We weren't with Julie & her mom for more than an hour before we decided to rush to the Newport Aquarium...we heard that the weather was about to change for the worse and wanted to get some good outdoor fun in!

This tunnel surrounded by water was the coolest thing!   Sharks, stingrays, all sorts of fish swam all around us as we walked and gawked.

A very fun first day at the Oregon Coast!

Spring Break--On our way to the Oregon Coast!

Destination:  Auntie Julie's condo in Depot Bay.  Day One took us from the farm to Portland.  We made many stops, but the Bonneville Fish Hatchery.

Home of Herman the Sturgeon

A great place to stretch the legs!

That night we met cousin Megan Dobroth for dinner and swimming at our hotel.  It was so fun to see and spend time with her!

Oregon Coast Trip with Auntie Julz

We love our vacation time with Julie! Last year we went to Glacier and camped, but this year the thought of beds, pillows, and separate rooms for sleeping children sounded more appealing...not to mention THE OCEAN! We were so excited to pick Julie up on the way through the Tri Cities...

This was Gracie's expression when we finally saw:

THE BLUE BRIDGE! Here we come, Auntie!

Julz took the first shift in the backseat with the kids. After McD's in Troutdale, someone snuck in kid contraband...

"Do you just love spoilin' us, Auntie?" -Gracie

Chocolate chip cookie behind the backwards bink.

DAY 1--Portland

Here we are on the bus to the Portland Zoo. The kids were excited to be on their first ever SCHOOL BUS. Gracie still talks about the speed bumps.

The first stop--the Elephants! Grace and I had been doing research on the zoo's most wrinkled creatures and had watched many videos of Baby Sam, who was born the same year as Grace. Here we got to see him in real life--3 years old.

They didn't want to turn around from their dinner...but even their wrinkled keisters were pretty cute! :)

The rest of the elephant clan was outside, waiting their turn to feast.

Josh soon started wiggling and grunting in his stroller, not content with the view. He preferred walking and being held up high.

Grace got to pet the goats! She and her dad got in there--they weren't kidding around! :) Har.

Naked mole rat babies.

We were amazed that Josh could spot the animals and get so excited. We got some funny pictures that show how "into it" he was...

How do you measure up?

"Extremely stubborn and suspicious..."

We had a great afternoon! The kids were enthralled and fell right to sleep in our hotel room that night--Josh in his pack-and-play by the bathroom and Gracie sharing a bed with Auntie. We all had to lay still in the dark for 15 minutes at 8:00 and after they were out we turned on our reading lamps. A wild and crazy night in Portland, folks! :)

Day 2--Portland to Seaside

The next morning we had to experience the amazing...

...in downtown Portland. Julie, Jeff, and Grace waited in line to get donuts while I stayed in the van with a sleeping boy--but by the time they got through, Josh was awake and ready for a snack.

Beautiful, delicious calories...

The name for this donut is not allowed on our blog. I'll give you a hint: Old Dirty ____ (boy without a father) MAN, was it delicious--daddy or not.

So, so delicious. We finished off our morning in Portland with a visit to Powell's where Jeff scored a couple of great books and the kids walked away with a new favorite, "Kiss, Kiss." Gracie had it memorized by the end of our trip.

Next stop: Seaside!
We ran out to the beach as soon as we checked in--and it was an instant hit because of the set of swings.

Josh could've sat here all day! He loves to swing and SING. "More sing, more sing," he signs with his hands.

We had a great first experience with the ocean. The kids got a bit wet unexpectedly, so they were a bit gun-shy, but the next day they had time to experience the SAND.

Day 3--Seaside Beach

Unfortunately Jeff woke to a migraine this day. Apparently the migraine didn't get the memo that they aren't invited on vacations... So Julz and I took the kids to get Gracie some shoes and go to the Aquarium. We saw seals and fish--but Gracie was most excited to color at the color table. :)

But after naps Jeff rallied for an afternoon on the beach. He was the great kite flyer.

Usually this was Gracie, running back to the towels as the surf would get closer: "Is it coming for me?" she kept asking Julz as they worked in the sand.

Julie asked Grace what she wanted her to make in the sand. A little surprised to hear, "Dora!" but she created it without a blink!

But the kiddie pool at the resort took the cake! Both Grace and Josh loved the shallow pool and Grace kept jumping in and jumping in!

Day 3--Going home...

We started the day with one last swim

...and then we hit the road. When we got to the turn-off to head inland, we decided to extend our coastal time by another 1/2 hour and go see Cannon Beach and Julie's family's favorite stop: Hug Point.

Hug Point was beautiful!

Hugging Auntie at Hug Point. :)

And the beauty of the beach got the better of us at that moment. As we were leaving, we got the idea to extend our stay one more night--Julie called down to Depoe Bay and found an extra night available for us at the time-share! So the spontaneous teachers drove down the coast instead of toward home. :)

And for dinner...Mo's!

Clam chowder.

Our view from the deck.

BONUS Day 4--Good-bye Ocean at Depoe Bay

We had a great, great time. Our trip back was long--but we worked in a lunch at In-n-Out and de-stinkin-licious dinner at Julie's in Kennewick with Trina, Michael, Melinda, and a wee little dog that missed his owner: Ollie! (and their pool is the best refresher for the road!) Thanks, Auntie Julz for a super four days! We love you!