Cannon Beach

(This photo was taken at the beach house before we left. It was a really foggy morning but it burned off and we had a beautiful day!)

Cannon Beach is my favorite spot on the Oregon Coast. I really wanted to make a trip there before heading home. So Sunday we got up with that goal in mind but the morning was a challenging one--so many things threatened to make it one of those days. One thing after another kept going wrong and it wasn't until around 2:00 that things finally smoothed out but we hung in there! We were pretty determined to have a good day and it did eventually get better. I've learned a positive attitude helps a LOT.

We finally did make it to Cannon Beach and because of our delays we didn't sit down to eat until around 1:30 which was WAY too late for the children and they were really fussy--but the lunch was so delicious...you can't go to the coast and not have clam chowder! And I had a crab sandwich that was SO good....After the kids ate they were much happier.

The Bug was thrilled with this cup. It was water. She took the straw out and was calling it her "Coffee." On a side note she saw a Starbucks and gasped and said, "Coffee!!!! My faaaaavorite!!" She is so funny.

Here is happy Andrew with a full tummy...He and I had a nice snuggle on the bench outside the restaurant while he tried to cope with being hungry. :)

After lunch we took the kids to a favorite stop:

All of Cannon beach is charming like this. I just love it.

Part of the reason why I wanted to go to Cannon beach was to get saltwater taffy. They make it fresh in this sweet little candy shop. I love it. I bought too much. I am still eating it. And I can't stop. I have a terrible sweet tooth. My scale will be more than happy to confirm this. Kaitlin was my taffy buying accomplice. She now shares my unhealthy relationship with saltwater taffy and keeps asking for the "treat in the bag."

Matthew and his candy of choice...

When I was in Gepetto's Toy Shop I found a game that I had as a child. When I had it the name was "Run yourself Ragged." It was like a marble obstacle course and I LOVED it. I've seen it in catalogs that have vintage toys and I've thought about ordering it for the kids. It's now marketed under the name "Screwball Scramble" and when I saw it, I had to get it for the kids. Kaitlin is too little, but the boys LOVE it. They've had a lot of fun with it and I have to say, Matthew is way better at it than me as a kid! He told me, "Mama, I like this game so much I can't stop playing it!" :) Here is Andrew playing the game after we returned home that night...

There are little buttons, levers, etc. on the bottom of the board that you use to maneuver the marble through the course. It's really fun--thought I'd share that with Christmas around the corner before we know it!

Oceanside....

These next few are my favorites of the children from our trip. We were about to leave the beach and they had played enough that they were game for a photo.

I love Kaitlin's expression in these photos. You can see how she hates to be doted on.

Just can't stand it a bit.

Thoughtful Matthew taking the ocean in....

We had lunch on the beach, played some more and then went back to the house for afternoon baths and played games, ate dinner and made S'mores.

This is Kaitlin after enjoying her S'more. I love her eyes in this photo.

We ended the night with family movie night--it was a really wonderful day.

Oceanside--Day 2

I took a crazy amount of photos last weekend. I'm just going to post them as I go through them. So here's the first set from our second day there. Day 2, part 1, subgroup A.

Kidding. :)

Let's get started with my little Muffin, Andrew who was clean and dry for 5.2 seconds. Here he is in his tidy glory...

Take a good look, because it's the first and last time you'll see him looking like that.

The Bug sharing her "treasure" with Daddy....

This is how Kaitlin spent the first part of her day. Nose to the ground, picking up and exclaiming over pieces of shells.

While these two preferred the waves....

Grammie and the Bug...

A sweet photo. I hope my boys love me like this someday...

I turned and barely caught this as it happened....

And here I am with my wet boy and the sand castles we built...

And I'm going to end with these three of Kaitlin. I just love them. They are so her. She isn't blinking but rather closes her eyes when she laughs like that.

The Oceanside Photo Marathon continues tomorrow! :)

My Matthew

I brought some cute outfits to the beach thinking that we might be able to take some photos of the kids. After seeing that our beach access wasn't as convenient as we originally thought, and our time there being so short I decided to put off the torture for a year and take them next summer when we plan to spend a week at the coast. (Provided the weather cooperates!) I didn't have the heart to put the kids through that knowing they wouldn't be happy and they really just wanted to play. (I still had fun following them around with my camera though taking candid shots--which they don't mind at all--and finally forced myself to tuck it away and just play as well).

However, I did really want to take some photos of Matthew though because his two front teeth are loose! That baby tooth smile is about to be leaving me and I have to admit I'm a little sad! I kept telling him--don't wiggle it too much until we get to the beach! :) His chipped tooth is the one that is the most loose. (Andrew is our only child that doesn't have a chipped front tooth!)

I love this next series because there are so many fun Matthew faces.

The "Awww, Dad!"....

This is perhaps my favorite. It's a face of Matthew's that is very hard to capture because it comes out when he feels safe and secure and not feeling the need to put on a show or be a certain way...this is just my sweet Matthew's smile. I see this particular smile less frequently the older Matthew gets and he becomes more aware of himeself.

And then there's the smile that Daddy so easily serves up....

Mathew's posed, Big kid smile...

And my other favorite. Matthew's focused, serious face. He wore this face most of the time for the first five months of his life. I used to wonder if he'd ever be a smiley little kid! He most certainly is now. But this side of Matthew is still very prominent and I love when he shares the thoughts that are behind his thoughtful expression.

It's hard to believe in two short weeks he's going to be a first grader. I wish I could freeze time and savor this stage just a little bit longer....

Oceanside--Day 1

We left for Oceanside on Friday. We were really happy to have Grammie along, but sad that it didn't work out for Grandpa's schedule. We sure missed having him along! (Next time!) We stopped off at the Tillamook Creamery on our way to see the cheese being made and also have our traditional ice cream cone. And then we were off to the beach! We found our beach house, but it was a little bit of an adventure! Up a gravel one way road where it teetered on the side of a cliff! I'm sure it was architecturally sound, but it looked like it teetered! It had beautiful views and ended up working just great for us. We unpacked the van and headed to the beach! The kids were SO excited. The first thing they did was just take off their shoes...

And experience the sand....

I love watching them. I no longer feel compelled to reach down simply to feel the grains slide through my fingers, but the children are so full of wonder and curiosity it's as if they can't help themselves. It's such fun to watch them discover and learn about this world.

And one can't stand on the expanse of the beach without feeling the need to just run...

...such sweet freedom.

And watch the waves crash in....

The Bug loved the coast. She could not get enough of the sand. Rarely did I see her eyes when we were on the beach. She was so focused on finding "treasures" (pieces of shell) and just playing in the sand. She was literally enthralled and was asking to go back as we were driving home today. Here she is building a sand castle and saying, "Ta da!"

And a big...

..."TA-DA!!"

I snapped this as we were heading back to the house...after a brief taste of the beach we were anxious to return the next day.