Cannon Beach Wrap up

Dan agreed to some family photos on the beach on our last morning.  It was VERY windy when we headed out ~ so much that we couldn't sit on the beach without Kaitlin's and my hair blowing in our face.  I found this spot that was a little sheltered and we snapped some photos.  I am suspicious that this is where we might have picked up our little flea friends who came home with us!

I set up my tripod and managed to get this in two shots!  My mission was to be quick and we really didn't spend much time doing this at all, but I was so grateful for the cooperation.  It gave me my creativity fix.



Lately the boys have been asking a lot of questions about when they have to leave home. My answer to them is simply when they are ready. I feel like they are too young to have to worry about leaving home.  I do tell them that while they don't feel this way now, some day they will want to leave home.  They are fascinated with the concept of living with their friends at college.  :)  However, I look at this photo and think that if they'd start picking up after themselves, they'd never have to leave as far as I'm concerned.




Since Dan doesn't have hair to fly in his face we could take his photo on the beach.
The benefits of being bald.
If my hair doesn't stop falling out, I'll use this as my consolation.



Dan snapped this. There was some "Raaring" going on. :)

A friend told me at our reunion that she loves seeing our kids' photos on face book because they look like they did that computer thing (she used the technical term because she's smart like that, but I'll just call it the "computer thing") where they sort of morph two people's faces to see what their kids look like.  She said she so clearly sees both of us in all of our kids.  I thought that was fun. You can definitely tell they are related!

Dan introduced himself to Andrew's soccer coach (he arrived after Andrew and I to the game).  Dan said, "I'm Andrew's Dad."  The coach replied, "I can tell." :)




The kids found some crab shells in the top right photo. I loved their little heads all together. 

The weather was getting cool and it actually started to rain just as we were finishing up. We headed into town for a slice of pizza and a stroll through the shops.



Gepetto's toy shop is a favorite.

 

 This is my favorite shop. I'm a Christmas girl.  I have bought many ornaments here through the years.  This year I purchased the kids' advent calendar as well as our christmas ornaments for the year (I buy one for each of the children and a family ornament that represents something special for us each year).  I didn't find one that was quite right for Matthew. When I returned outside, Kaitlin was dancing in front of some street musicians.

oh. my.

No photos, but Dan has some great blackmail footage. I'm telling you, that girl is so funny.

 

And even though it was raining we went for ice cream cones because it was the reward for cooperating so nicely for photos. 




The kids had asked why the town was called "Cannon Beach."  So we took them to the historical museum to read about it.  And for those of you wondering, it was because of this cannon that was found on the beach after a shipwreck.

We thought we'd take the kids inside and have an educational experience.




But a quiet, subdued museum wasn't a great idea when the kids were in run on the beach and explore mode.  They ran in like animals and you can see Katie and Andrew climbing the furniture in the background.  (In all fairness, I shouldn't include Matthew in that generalization ~ he was great).

We spent most of our time corralling and reprimanding until we finally left in frustration.

We're not quite ready for family trips to the museum. 
Clearly we should have done a little "how you behave in a museum" talk beforehand.
I wasn't on my A game at this point.

We loaded up in the car and headed home, stopping off at Camp 18 for some dinner. 
It was a short weekend get away, but it was wonderful to have the change in our routine, do something new for a while and have some good family time.

Cannon Beach ~ Day Two

We woke up Saturday morning to wonderful weather.  We spent a great day on the beach making sand castles and exploring tidepools....



Dan helped with the big castles and snuck in a kiss....

 



I helped with the small castles and also assisted my little baker with her sand cookies.

 

We worked until....



Presenting "ZeamerTopia!"




After the construction concludes, the DEstruction begins!



Then the tide pools beckoned....

 

We found a baby crab, baby fish, Anemones, a star fish, snails and mussels. The kids loved it!

 

There were lots of vacant shells to be found...



 The boys weren't happy when we put the end to the dream of collecting enough crab parts to reconstruct a crab. (Jo ~ Thanks for the tip on boiling shells! Never knew that!)



This little one had a ball dancing and splashing in the water.



We ended the day with dinner at the Fireside and then we all piled in our bed and watched "PollyAnna."
 


A wonderful day!!

Cannon Beach ~ Day 1

We were so excited for our trip to the Oregon Coast.  We didn't have any other vacations planned for this summer, so we were happy when it was time to go.  The kids were SO excited and Katie and Andrew were up and packed their own little suitcase of necessities before I was even out of bed.  I already did a post on all that went wrong on this particular day, so I won't re-hash the details here!



After we arrived (at last!) we walked around downtown to get our supply of salt water taffy.  The truth is, walking through the town and during the time I was at Les Schwab was pretty tough.  Andrew was SO excited for the beach and his little body was in overdrive.  Matthew was grouchy and Kaitlin was swept up in Andrew's energy (and I don't mean to make it sound like that was Andrew's fault ~ it's just what happens with kids ~ it spreads!)  Dan and I were both starting to lose our patience a bit.  (okay, a lot.)  While we were in the candy store a woman was in line but far back from the counter so the kids didn't know she was there.  Kaitlin and Andrew walked up to the counter in front of her and I told them no, that someone else was waiting.  She said to go ahead and Matthew smiled at her and said, "It's okay, you can go first."  She complimented him on his manners and then stopped us outside the store to tell us how mannerly our kids were.  What timing she had!  We were feeling ready for the funny farm!  I felt thankful for her that day as Dan and I were both really frazzled and definitely NOT feeling mannerly.  

Anyway, I love the quaint charm of downtown Cannon Beach.  Dan and I spent our anniversaries here before we had children.  We were reminiscing about standing in the candy store just 3 weeks before Matthew's birth and sharing with a couple that it was our last trip before having our baby.  They shared with us that it was their first trip as empty nesters.   A fun coincidence.



I love that it is all local, small business shops and restaurants.  It just helps to feel disconnected from the bustle of our daily life.  No glowing signs with large parking lots.  Just cedar shakes and painted or carved signs.  I love it.







Oh, and surfer hair!

We had a bite to eat and then headed to the beach!  It was definitely time for the kids to have some freedom and get some energy out. 



The kids love the beach. 
 


The water was frigid. Even the wet sand was so cold on my feet. But the boys didn't care! In no time at all they were into the waves.



The kids seem to just burst with joy at the beach.  I love it.  They are so happy here.



My little men. 



This one in particular knows how to keep his mama busy...especially when it comes to laundry! (I still have not caught up from this trip! ~ I was making headway and then was derailed when I found out we brought home a few fleas!  Bedding down to the duvet cover had to be done and so I lost my ground and Andrew told me last night, "Mama, you need to take the laundry out."  If only it were that easy!  It's top priority for tomorrow!)





I probably drive everyone (more than) a little crazy with my love for beach photos.



While I was taking these photos of Dan and Kaitlin a nice guy stopped and asked if he could take a photo of all of us.  They boys were off burying themselves in sand, so we missed having them in the photo.  But it's rare that there's a picture of the 3 of us without the boys, so this will be fun for the Bug to have.

 

A little beach happy dance was in order.



The boys made chairs in the sand. :)

 

And warmed up there as well.

 

Upon Shannon's recommendation we stayed at the Hallmark Inn.  Our room was on the bottom floor second in from the far right.  It worked great!  There was a little kitchenette so we could make an easy breakfast/lunch and the kids all shared their own room.



I took some silhouettes for my photography class.  I was grateful that these two were game.






And all too soon it was time to head in and get cleaned up for bed.



 After the kids were bathed I was standing on the balcony of our room when I heard Andrew say, "Ahhh, I could get used to this." I went in to see this...

 

And while the day started out a little rough,  it ended blissfully with a fire at my feet and the sound of the ocean waves and sea breeze floating through the window.  

I do so love the beach.