The Coast

We are now having a blast, since Brian doesn't have work so now we're just on a vacation. Since we only have a few days to get in everything we want to get done,we packed a lot into today. We took off for the coast with a long list of stuff to do and see. First stop, of course

Elsie was quite pleased with herself, and has decided she's going to grow up and become mayor of Elsie, Oregon. However, the town is more like a village. If that. It's everything you see behind her in the picture. There was hardly room to pull of the side of the road to take the picture. Next stop, Astoria.

Just a cool house we happened upon?

Umm...nope! I'm married to a Goonies fan!

Tyler doing the Truffle Shuffle! Another male member of my family, who shall remain nameless, also performed the truffle shuffle outside of the Goonies house. However, for the sake of all, I will refrain from posting those pictures. It was funny though.

This was a beautiful little town! Next, on to Seaside.

By far Sofie's favorite part of the trip. She LOVES carousels and she almost jumped out of the stroller when she saw it. The other kids liked it, too, but Sofie loved it.

Down the road to Cannon Beach.

Haystack Rock

Tyler and Grace's favorite part of the day. They loved the beach and playing in the ocean. No one minded the 67 degree weather. The water wasn't even cold. We had fun playing. Tyler got way out in the water.

Sofie was hilarious. She loved the sand. She would lay down in it, bury her face in it, and roll around in it. It was nice and warm. She was covered in dirt, all over in her hair, ears, nose, everywhere. Last stop, Tillamook!

Elsie, the cow, mooing

The "tour." They had just finished up for the day and we got to see the clean up. Fascinating!

Elsie favorite thing of the day, the ice cream! This one isn't really a must see. I wish we would have spent a little more time in Seaside and rented the bike buggies instead of doing the Tillamook factory. Oh well. We're debating going back out on Monday and leaving Tuesday, instead of Monday. But I don't know if it's worth going all the way back out for. The kids had a blast today, and so did Brian and I. Brian's a big Goonies fan, and I kind of am as well, so it was a great day! We especially love spending time together as a family. I see the picture of Tyler and Grace together at the beach today and I am reminded of why family vacations are so important. These are the times we really bond and our kids really appreciate each other. (They also tend to fight more in the car as well.) Hopefully they're building some lasting memories and bonds to last a lifetime. I sure love this little family of mine.