OREGON-Day 4

Day 4 (July 5th) we started by visiting the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. This is where Keiko (of Free Willy fame) spent some time being rehabilitated. Our favorite exhibits were the jelly fish, Passages of the Deep (a tunnel full of sharks), and the leopard seal who loved the kids looking at him through the window! Then it was on to Tillamook...

Our drive to Tillamook started with a traffic jam which delayed us about 30 minutes. Because of the super winding roads, it took forever to get there, but it was worth it-

(free cheese samples...)

We also had ice cream cones before continuing on our journey back to Yachats.

We decided to take a little detour and go see the Cape Mears Lighthouse. It was gorgeous there! On the way back, we passed by a community called Netarts that looked like a fun place to rent a beach house. When we got to Newport, we stopped at Mo's for some dinner. This was a busy, but very fun/memorable day!

FUN ON THE 4TH!

To start our 4th of July celebration, we dressed in our patriotic clothes and headed down to the beach. We looked for agates, climbed on rocks, and let the sea urchins grab our fingers!

Waiting for the parade to start...Jen painted fingernails, and Jacob decided to go down to the beach "all by himself"!

After the famous La De Da Parade we went to lunch at The Drift Inn...

Happy 4th of July! The La De Da Parade had some interesting entries...a synchronized umbrella team, belly dancers, dogs of all shapes & sizes, a woman with very hairy armpits hula hooping, and a nice man with a bucket who was picking up garbage!

The miniature kites we bought were a big hit with the kids (young and old!)

It was windy and a little chilly at the beach...we played bocce ball, had dinner, played in the sand (and water), and made a fire.

A great way to end the day...fireworks on the beach with family!

Happy Birthday, America!

Oregon-Day 2

Sunday, July 3rd we woke up to a nice, sunny day. This is the cottage where Chris' family, Brett & Lauren, and Darren stayed. Dale & I stayed in the Overleaf Lodge, which was within walking distance of the cottage, and the beach!

The first thing we did was take a walk down to the beach behind the Overleaf Lodge. It was low tide, so we were able to see lots of sea creatures in the tide pools!

STARFISH, everywhere!

FUN ON THE BEACH!

Hunting for agates (an ornamental stone consisting of a hard variety of chalcedony, typically banded in appearance)...they're basically a small transparent rock that are fun to find...

Exploring at the beach...

At Strawberry Hill, Shan found a starfish laying on the sand. We also found lots of agates and saw seals sleeping on the rocks...

We met my brother Brent and his family at Strawberry Hill to look for agates. Jacob and Austin loved throwing rocks!

On our way to Florence to buy groceries, we stopped at the Heceta Head Lighthouse. We were lucky enough to be there when an awesome bi-plane flew over!

Mom fed everyone a delicious spaghetti dinner, then we chilled on the deck! Their house is 2 miles south of where we stayed, and just west of Highway 101...

Exploring on the beach behind Yachats Ocean Road. This is just a short walk from Mom & Dad's house. Day 2 was a fun-filled day on the Oregon Coast!

Oregon - Day 1

Saturday, July 2, 2011 we left at 5:30 a.m. for a family "road trip" to Oregon. Chris, Shan, Jacob and Austin rode in Chris' Jetta. The travelers in my car were: Dale, Linda, Brett, Lauren, Darren, Jensyn & Ashley. It was a little crowded with people, plus all our stuff for a 1 week stay on the Oregon Coast, but we made it work (after all, we did have a "canoe" on top the car!)

After quite a few stops along the way, 2 speeding tickets (the speed limit in Oregon is only 65 and we did NOT know that!), singing, and hearing "Are we there yet?" 50 times, we arrived in Yachats around 9:30 p.m.-yes that's 16 hours in the car!

Austin was a good sport-most of the time!

Uncle Deena is pretty tall to be riding in the back seat-I switched him some of the time...

Nice and cozy-watching a movie (DVD players in cars are a wonderful thing!)

We stopped along the Columbia River...it was super windy there.

GIRLS CAMP

Mueller Park Stake Girls Camp 2011 - Heber Valley - June 27-July 1.

Heber Valley is no ordinary camp...this camp is amazing! Cabins, showers, Legacy Lake, beautiful scenery, zip-line, amphitheater, volleyball courts, a huge pavilion (where we ate DELICIOUS food), hiking trails and indoor toilets!!
Girls at camp...like to scream A LOT, hate bugs, like to share secrets late at night (and even tell which "Wardies" they think are cute!), like their hair braided, love to stay up very late, have strong testimonies of the gospel, like to laugh and sing silly songs, try to make sure everyone feels included, give lots of hugs, and when challenged, can do things they think they can't! I also learned that paddle-boating around a lake is a very good work-out, a certain leader doesn't like the food on her plate to touch, you find out a lot about people when you play "fruit basket", and homesickness can be cured with a little "TLC".

I really enjoyed spending time with these amazing young women and leaders!