Salty Sea Air

Though this post could get very lengthy & will probably be at least partially a repeat of Brooke & Kate's blogs, I will do my best to sum up our fabulous week in the salty Oregon sea air in a timely & informative manner. We arrived at the lovely beach house (THANKS, mom & dad!!) in Newport on Saturday & when the fun began that night it continued non-stop all week long! We're talkin' whale watching, crabbing, haunted lighthouse touring, puzzling, weenie roasting, Boggling, good home cooked fun. Never a dull moment to be had. Especially with 9 kids in tow.

For the most part we had gorgeous weather, which was definitely a nice change from the scorching Utah desert heat. Sixty degrees never tasted so good. My entire awesome family was able to make it -including Gracie whose gracious parents allowed us to kidnap her for a week, & Tanya, who was a great help with all the short people. Sometimes I find it amazing that so many people can get along for that long while abiding in the same abode. But that, friends, is just part of the beauty of my family, & man, we have a good time.

As far back as I can remember we have been vacationing on the Oregon Coast & it seems to get better every year. We enjoyed our traditional tour of the Tillamook Cheese Factory, complete with a tasty lunch, including ice cream cones, perused Aunt Belinda's Candy Shop & despite the consequences, loaded our kids up with sugar, and learned a thing or two at the awesome Newport Aquarium. There was jewelry making, tie dying & fanciful puzzle doing aplenty thanks to Brooke who might I add, Martha Stewart has nothing on. I don't think I ever heard the words "I'm bored." It surely would have been a lie.

Porter is a fish like unto his father & wanted to play in the ocean so badly. However, being the mean mother I am, he had to make do with just putting his legs in. That water's dang cold! Gracie picked one of every flower so we enjoyed fresh bouquets daily. Andy, Tyler, Jack, Cami & Lee went out on a crabbing boat & brought home a bag of crab the size of 2 small children. Needless to say, there was crab meat galore. It's still stinking up my fridge. Lee wowed us with his amazing & surprising culinary abilities with tasty, homemade gourmet pizza. (In case you're wondering, no, I did not lose any weight on this trip, even with rigorous daily exercise.) We found an awesome little campfire spot next to the beach & had a weenie/ s'mores roast. No one lost an eye to a smoldering stick & the sunset was unparalleled.

And though it would seem we could not have fit one more thing into a single week, we did. I could go on & on. It was truly a marvelous time. Can't wait for next time. Shall we say July 2010? I'll pencil it in. We can always move it up if we decide we need to go sooner.
THANKS, everyone!! IT WAS AWESOME!!