Day 5 ~ Cannon Beach/Pacific City

We headed South to Newport to go to the Aquarium for the day on Thursday.  Mom bought the kids matching shirts and they were looking pretty cute in their "Team Awesome" shirts.



The aquarium isn't huge, but our kids love it and look forward to visiting.  They love being able to touch the sea stars and the squishy anenomes are always a favorite.







They added a part on to the aquarium that was very much like a children's museum. The kids loved exploring the new exhibits....



And if there is a theater within a 500 mile radius, Kaitlin will sniff it out.  She found one, was dressed up and putting on a performance in no time.



The funny thing was that people saw her and were coming in, sitting down and watching. like she really was putting on a show.  :)

Shortly, an aquarium employee came in and read a story....



And the image of her sitting in that little costume, listening to the story was just so so sweet.



We toured the outdoor exhibits, where Nana indulged the kids with salt water taffy.  This is just a classic shot...Nana's hand with candy in it for her Grand kids.



Nana with sweet Isaiah.



The tunnel is always a favorite as well.  This is about as close to a shark I ever plan on getting.

There was a diver doing some cleaning and they were waving to Kitti.  She thought that was pretty fun.










We wrapped up our time in the aquarium with a photo in the mouth of a great white.  Exhibit A of why I do NOT swim in the ocean.

Taking that many kids through the aquarium was a little like herding cats...I was happy to head to Rogue Brewery for some lunch.



It took a long time for our crew to get seated (and we lost Andrew during the wait...when will we stop losing children?)  But we managed to have a complete brood by the time we were seated.











Kaitlin and Dennis had a staring contest.  The intensity at which she engaged in this was quite entertaining.  Isaiah had a good laugh at the spectical of it all.



Everyone else headed back and I took Mom, Uncle Butch and Marcia to the historic bayfront at Newport.  I love the view of the bridge, but it is not my favorite coastal spot.  It is a fishing bay and it is smelly.  Really smelly.



But the reason we go is for this little gem....



I love the charm of Bruce's Candy Kitchen in Cannon Beach.  It is so cute.  But Aunt Belinda's has the best salt water taffy (SO soft!) and biggest selection of flavors that I've found on the Oregon Coast.



We collected our haul and headed back to the house after a quick stop at one of my favorite Christmas shops for Advent Calendars.

It was another great day at the beach!