Campout 2012

Well, we all survived. Our 4 night camping trip on the Oregon coast was a success. We all had lots of fun! We had gorgeous weather the first 4 days. Lots of sunshine and blue skies. The beach was perfect with super soft sand and not too much wind. It really was about as good as it gets on the Oregon coast!
On Wednesday we packed up and headed out. Our van was super loaded down! We had our bike rack hooked up, which really saved a lot of space. It did make the back end pretty heavy though. We actually scraped our driveway when we pulled out. That was the only mishap we had. After getting camp ready and eating a yummy pasta dinner, we headed for sunset on the beach.  The kids also had a great time exploring the surrounding trees for "secret hideouts".
All Neil wanted to do was run down the middle of the road. This continued the entire time. He would just run and run and run. We ended up putting him on time outs in his car seat. It was great! He would totally relax as soon as we got him strapped in. Poor kid would scream his head off while we corralled him, but would just sit happily once he got in the van. Whatever works. 

On Thursday we took it easy. The girls went out on the boat with both Grandpa's and Aunt Bree to catch crabs. We went on lots and lots of bike rides. Neil loved to be pulled around the campground in the trailer. We saw deer all over the place which was fun. We were able to get really close to this one here. They must be acclimated to people. She wasn't easily scared off. Of course we also spent time on the beach. It was funny to see Neil react to being barefoot in the sand. At first he refused to walk in it. It took quite some time for him to warm up to the idea. He would crawl around with his feet up in the air. Eventually, he decided that it wasn't so bad. Chris got his fill of making lots and lots of fires.

  

Friday was probably the nicest day that we had. We spent the day on the beach making sand castles and playing around with the freezing cold water. Chris and I, along with his uncle Troy got to go crabbing with my dad. It was beautiful out on the bay! We saw seals and plenty of crab. It was both Chris and Troy's first time crabbing, so it was pretty fun! Once you grab the rope, you have to pull without letting up in order to keep all the crabs in the ring. It is a bit of a workout. They even made me do it a couple of times. It was pretty heavy! We were able to pull up quite a few crabs, unfortunately, most of them were either female or too small to keep. We got 5 keepers in all. We brought them back to camp to boil up. It was a perfect day!

  

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 On Saturday the weather was noticeably different. It was still dry, but the clouds had come in and it was cooler. We had plans to all jump in the ocean, so we waited until 2pm and all put our swim suits on anyway. We all went in! At least I went in to my knees...that counts right? Chris and the girls went all the way out, and said they had a blast. That water was freezing. So cold, that it made the bones in my feet hurt just to stand in it. Oh well, they seemed to have fun. We also buried all the kids in the sand. Besides having sand in all places, they really liked doing that. Nothing a warm shower wouldn't fix.

Chris and I went on a fun bike ride that day with his brother Calvin and his fiancé Jill. We rode up to the small town of Manzanita. It was pretty quaint and had all sorts of shops and bakeries. It was fun to walk around. It reminded me a lot of the seaside towns in Ireland.

It started to rain on us while we slept on Saturday night. It was so fun to hear the rain hitting our tarp through the night knowing that we were perfectly dry. I'm glad we were prepared for rain. Unfortunately, the rain continued the next day, so we woke up and had a pancake breakfast and then took down camp to head home. We of course stopped in Tillamook on the way back for some ice cream. It was a little hectic because Chris's brother and his wife delivered preterm twins late Saturday night, so everyone wanted to get back and go visit them in the hospital.
Considering everything, we all had a really good time camping! I can't wait to do it again. Hopefully next time Neil will be a little more cooperative.

Fireworks

The 4th of July is probably my favorite of all holidays. It is supposed to be nice weather and it's perfect for family gatherings of BBQ, games, and fireworks. This year, we had a really great 4th.


Since Chris and I both had the whole day off, we lounged around in the morning which was really nice. At lunchtime we tried out our new bike rack on the van and drove to Dawson Creek Park for a family bike ride/duck feeding. It was pretty hot outside, but we had fun. The kids really loved the ducks and we even stopped for a bit under a tunnel and let them dip their toes in the water. Afterwards, we hit up Sonic for some tasty lunch.

In the evening we went to my Brother in laws house for a BBQ dinner. There was tons of food, and everyone had a good time relaxing. The kids were super anxious for the fireworks to start. Unfortunately, in Oregon it doesn't start getting dark til pretty late (after 9). We let them start out with some sparklers first. Neil actually got the hang of it. He would hold it out with a straight arm and not move at all. It was cute. I think we confused him though about fireworks being a hands on sport. Once we transitioned to the other fireworks he wanted to participate. (ie he wanted to hold/light/be right next to them) Obviously, this wasn't going to work. So after chasing him and holding his wriggling body, eventually he and I ended up in the van to watch the remainder. We still had a good time, and we were even able to see some of the illegal ones that were lit off around us. Hopefully by next year he will figure out the observation thing.

A' picking we will go

A couple of days ago we took advantage of a dry and mild summer day to go enjoy the outdoors and pick berries. We are so lucky to live so close to many many fields of juicy berries. We found one that had huge, sweet raspberries. It was great fun to pick and eat, and let the kids run around. After filling our bowls we headed home with our treasure.

We had so many raspberries! I really wanted to make them into jam, but I had never canned before. Last year I made freezer jam with strawberries....but no one really liked it. So I decided to try the real thing...and...it turned out AMAZING! I'm so glad that I finally bit the bullet and gave it a go. It really wasn't that hard in the end. We are all happy with the results. Tasty jam. Now I think we need to go back out for some strawberries and blackberries to make more. 

We had leftover berries, so we have made raspberry turnovers and raspberry pancakes in the last couple days. I think I am on berry overload at this point. Maybe by the time the other berries are ripe, I will be ready for more! What a fun family activity this has been!

Two

Alright, so I know that Neil isn't officially 2 until the 10th....but we celebrated a bit early. Next week we are going camping, so we decided to do a combo family party for him and Claire yesterday.

Neil is getting to be so big now. He loves to run through the house and play with his cars. He is also pretty into cartoons now. It's hard to believe that we are leaving the baby stage. He is learning new things all the time. He says all gone, bye bye, copper, yucky, vroom, and several other new words. I am happy that he enjoys nursery time at church, and he can play independently at the park. He entertains himself on the slide for a long time. Just within the last week we have been able to take him to restaurants again. It had been a nightmare, but he is finally doing better. He's still in the crib, but that's more because it's easier for me and also not necessary to move him. As much as I love having girly girls, I am so grateful for my sweet baby boy. He is so fun and full of energy. His smile is the greatest. I am trying to cherish this time when he will still give me cuddles and kisses.

For his party, we had all the fam over for pizza, cake and ice cream. It was good. Claire and Neil got so many great presents. Neil got a train set for his new train table, along with lots of great cars and trucks. Claire was excited for her Brave barbie, lots of new books, and wall art for her to decorate. They both got some clothes that they were less than excited about, but that are very cute!

 

Seven

How is it possible for my baby to be turning 7 today? It does not seem like that long ago we were eagerly awaiting her arrival. I had no idea how much my life would change forever. Claire is the sweetest girl. She is a great helper for her siblings, she likes to please her parents, and she is a rule follower. I just love her to pieces!

Yesterday, we had an all-girls butterfly dance party for her. Several little girls came and we had a great time decorating flip flops with bling, dancing with our Xbox kinect, hitting a butterfly pinata, making pink headbands, and the usual cake with ice cream! Claire decided that she wanted to make and decorate her own cake. She picked it all out. I think she did a pretty good job.
It was so fun watching the girls dance and sing along to popular songs. I was surprised at how well they knew the words. These girls are growing up so fast. It made me thankful for having girls. They are so much fun! At the same time it made me wish that she could stay this age forever.

Today we will be having a family get together to celebrate some more! She has had a great birthday week! Happy Birthday Claire!