OREGON vacation--Day 2

We thought we'd try a different location to go crabbing, right off the beach in Nehalem Bay.

Turned out to be another chilly morning and of course we forgot the kids' jackets at the house that was 20 minutes away.  So we had to lend them ours.

We threw our rings and then waited...

Meanwhile, we started collecting clam shells,

and Corbin got really wet and muddy.

And Taryn spent a good amount of time complaining and screaming that she was cold, wet, and tired and was begging to take a nap.  Who are you and what did you do with Taryn??

After 30 minutes of no crabs and wet and cold kids, we decided to cut our losses and drive back to the house for naps.  But within 5 minutes, both Taryn and Corbin were dead asleep in the van.  We figured we may as well take the opportunity to drive a little farther to a more popular beach in Lincoln City.  Happily, it was much warmer there and kids were in happier moods after sleeping a bit. 

Corbin really started to love getting hit with waves.

A little ring around the rosies

and a little sand play.

Reed even made some (Mormon) friends.  What are the chances?  I seriously can spot a Mormon a mile away though, especially outside of Utah.

Reed started to lose his shorts.

This sign read "Tsunami Evacuation Route."  It was pretty funny considering that Reed had been reading about tsunamis the last few weeks and was a little concerned about the idea.

After playing at the beach for 4 hours, we ate at Mo's Restaurant which was pretty decent and probably the most popular restaurant on the Oregon Coast.  Up until this point, our food experience was pretty awful.  I guess Kevin and I have become food snobs and fast food just doesn't cut it anymore.  I know, we are ridiculous.  I just figure if I am going to spend money and calories on food, it better be pretty good.  It didn't help that neither of us are big on seafood.

That night we had such a fun late night playing a card game called "Deer in the Headlights" with Reed and Taryn and eating Oreos.  Could've been one of my favorite moments of the whole trip.

OREGON vacation--Day 1

Our goal when we came to Oregon was to spend a lot of quality time together as a family.  

And that's what we did.

We spent the first morning letting Corbin take a nap while the rest of us played hide-n-seek.  It amazes me that simple things like that make kids so happy.  

I had the best spot ever...

Taryn and Reed had to try it out.

"Princess Steel" and "Blue Steel" (Zoolander)

Within minutes of trying to go somewhere, we realized that our tire was flat.  So we had to take it into the tire shop to get repaired.  Luckily, we found a park nearby.  Again, simple things that made the kids really happy.

Luckily they had some coloring books and popcorn at the tire shop.

Once our tire was repaired (2 hours later), we made a stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  As far as factories go, I thought it was pretty lacking, but Reed thought it was awesome and could've stood and watched the big hunks of cheese be cut into smaller hunks and packaged for hours.  All but Reed tried the cheese samples and we bought ice cream at the end.

The house we were staying at had crab rings we could use, so we bought a fishhead (gross) and made our first attempt at crabbing.

The kids froze,

and we lost the fishhead after one throw. :(

We ended the night by watching Peter Pan at the house which is a favorite and kinda a special thing for us (we only watch movies on Sundays at home).

OREGON vacation--Destination reached

When we finally found the house we rented in Nehalem, OR I was a little skeptical when we pulled up.  Of all the houses on the street, this one was the most rundown-looking for sure.  When we went inside, we were pleasantly surprised.  Everything was really taken care of and it was perfect for our 5 days stay.  It had a great deck and firepit in the back (which we actually never used), 2 bedrooms, bathroom with washer/dryer, living area, and kitchen.

The "bonk beds" (Reed) or "bumping beds" (Taryn) were the best feature....

The Nehemela Beach was only a block away, so it was easy to walk to.  The best part was we rarely saw a single soul at this beach.  As soon as we arrived at the house, we walked to the beach.  This is the kids as they saw the ocean.  Reed literally ran like half a mile to get to the water, he was so excited!  

Corbin was a little unsure of all the sand at first...

and the ocean...

Taryn and Reed spent the next 4 days running from waves.  They seriously could have just played in the ocean the entire vacation.  They loved it (it was pretty cold but didn't seem to phase them).  

(Corb got used to it)