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.

RHS 20 Year Reunion ~ School Tour

(My friend Whitney took this photo of Katie with her daughter, Ava.  So sweet!)

We met at our old stomping grounds on Saturday at noon for a school tour.  Families were invited to come and see the school, which honestly didn't seem very much like it used to.  There had been a LOT of remodeling.  When I was in school the main building housed the "mixing area" ~ which was the major Senior hangout outside of the cafeteria.  It was a large area lined by the Senior lockers where the "bomb" (inlaid tile) was proudly displayed in the middle of the floor with benches surrounding it.  Rumors flew down to the Jr. high of Freshman being forced to wash the bomb if you stepped on it.  Nervous 9th graders knew better and I remember anxiously eying it myself when I first started school.  It was High School lore that spanned years of students...gone.  We were more than a little dismayed over this.  Apparently "the bomb" is in safekeeping until it is determined where it will be displayed.  This did not go over well.  We were all suddenly transported back to being 18 and this news was just not okay.  :)

There were additional changes like a "credit union" that was actually run by the students.  The cafeteria was expanded and classrooms added in lieu of the "mixing area" to accommodate the growing school.  (Again, so wrong...class should have just been held on the bomb!)

 

Our gym is fantastic.  I spent many, many hours there....cheering at games and attending cheer practice for 3 years.



Olympic Gold medalist, Hope Solo was a Bomber.

 

We toured the classrooms and it was fun to see the kids sitting at the desks.  I loved school and I have to say, walking through the classrooms did make me miss the world of academia.  I could very easily go back and pursue another degree if I didn't feel like I wanted to put that time into my family instead.  Sometimes I wish I could live two lives and do both.  



Some high schoolers did face painting for the kids.  They loved it.  Even my kids are "proud of the cloud!"  :)

 

After we left these rooms we were walking out of Mac Hall (Remember "Mac Hall" RHS grads?) and Andrew saw a Roly Poly in the hall way. He asked, "Mama, can I go get it?"  (We had already passed).  I told him yes, but to hurry.  I turned to watch as he ran back, bent down and then stood up with his face dissolving into tears.  And if you have heard Andrew cry...well, I just thought, "Oh dear..."  The child wails tragically...and wail he did over his devastation from the death of a bug.  I hugged him and he cried and cried as we walked and the wife of a fellow graduate (whom I didn't know very well) looked at Andrew and said, "I don't blame you, I don't want to go on this stupid tour either."  He stopped and looked at her in shock ~ because "stupid" is not allowed in our house (just because we really don't want that applied to people and so it's just easier to disallow it in general) and here a grown up was saying it to him.  Basically like the equivalent to profanity to Andrew and it momentarily snapped him out of it.  Kids are kids even when you are at your high school reunion! 



So, to explain why my High School was called "The Bombers" and had the highly controversial mushroom cloud as it's symbol....(Mom or anyone else in the know, please correct any of the details that I get wrong, because I am not researching this and purely going off my memory, which is definitely not always the most reliable.)  The "Hanford Area" where many people in Richland are employed originally started during WWII.  It was where they processed the plutonium for potential atomic bombs in WWII.  (Giving us our mushroom cloud symbol).  It was top secret and most of the workers didn't even know what the project was that they were working on for the government.  It really is such fascinating history ~ with people coming from different parts of the country to do the work and many of the women and men (including married ones) were separated and slept in different dormitories.  (I imagine this was the economical housing ~ There were also many small houses built during that time that are still in Richland).  During that time, the workers gave a day's worth of their pay to buy a Bomber plane that flew in the war.  That Bomber was named "A Day's Pay" and it is depicted on the gym wall ~ Hence, our name, "The Bombers."  That being said, the mushroom cloud was a very controversial symbol and there were letters that would pop up from time to time in the "Tri City Herald" about how it was inappropriate.  I wonder if people still fight it or if it has been put to rest....anyway, the term "Proud of the Cloud" was born as a result. 



Signs like this certainly did not exist when I was in school.




Or this.  I can only imagine all of the people bent over their phones in this area of the school, running into each other left and right.  While I do love my iphone, I honestly wish they just weren't allowed during school hours. I feel like it just provides a distraction for the kids.



We posed outside the gym.  Again, we were the last ones at the function!



We were feeling very high school in this photo.  :)

I went back to Mom's house after this and put photos on facebook for friends who were not at the reunion.  There were people who really wanted to come, but just couldn't and it was fun "seeing" them on facebook sending their greetings and commenting on photos.  I have to say, it gave me a new perspective on facebook and it was really fun.  It provided a "virtual" reunion, so to speak.  Then we got ready and headed out for the dinner...which was where the fun REALLY started!

Great Wolf Lodge ~ Day 2

We spent a few hours at the water park in the morning before heading home.

 




Shannon took photos as we were heading up to the big slide. That's me up there waving. You can see the rafts heading up to the left of us on the stairs.

And here we are heading down! I found the more people in the raft, the more wet you were when you landed in the water.




We made it!



Warming up in the hot tub.


Andrew & Grace heading into the wave pool. The kids LOVED this.

 

Matthew and Hannah. Growing up.




Kaitlin is a little fish and loved all of the water and slides. She was great. She has always taken new things in stride. She's like her daddy.




Dan and I took Claire and Andrew down...I was checking on Claire because she seemed to be laughing and crying at the same time. I was making sure she was okay. She was. :)




Right before we headed out.  We had a great time, and I definitely felt like one night was plenty.  Andrew wasn't even sure he wanted to go back to the water park on the second morning but after breakfast he did, and had a great time.  It's very loud (I was relieved to walk out of there on Sunday night), there's a lot of people and it's definitely tiring (especially with small kids ~ I was doing a lot of head counting all the time), but it was a lot of fun too.  The kids had a fantastic time.  It was really a perfect amount of time there, and a great thing to do with friends.  Our families traveled very easily together ~ and it was a fun break from our routine.  We stayed over on a Sunday night, so Matthew and Andrew were excited that they got to skip school on Monday.

It was a great trip!