Oceanside Aug '10, cont.

I'm so glad my sissy got to come with us to the beach! Ben decided he might have better luck trying to fly the kite from the balcony...

He actually did it!

Relaxing in the afternoon sun. After dinner, we will all be headed to the beach to play a little more until the sun goes down. Then, it's bonfire time, yippee!!

The sun's going down but we still have plenty of time to frolic in the water...

... if you just jump right in, hypothermia and delirium set in and you can have a wonderful time chasing waves!

While Noelle and I were playing in the water, Ben went exploring. His goal was to get "the shot" of the sunset. He got some amazing pictures...

through the tunnel...

and one of our bonfire just starting out.

Isn't this cool? To keep warm while I was drying off, I gathered a ton of rocks to rim our fire pit. This view was pretty to me and it translated well when I took the picture too.

It's getting quite dark but you can't really tell. Mom and Dad have just arrived at our bonfire and they were very impressed with Ben's handiwork. We had the best bonfire on the beach!

Enjoying the fire and the company...

It's so sad that this is our last night here. But so many adventures await us in the next week. Della will be arriving soon and she is bringing a surprise...

Oceanside Aug '10

So we got this really cool kite to take to the beach. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at flying kites so Ben tried helping me. First you stand like this and hold it up high. Then, you throw it up into the wind and ... run Ben run...

and for a brief moment, we are airborne!! After numerous, frustrating tries, Noelle says "let me try." Maybe Ben just has the wrong "kite launcher"...

SUCCESS!

Look at that form!

Not only is she a successful kite launcher, Noelle also created this beautiful rock statute!

So the wind died down and it's time for a little Frisbee toss. Look at the waves behind me.

Now that's some beautiful wave action!

The next morning was very foggy. This was the view from our balcony. That's okay- we're still at the beach! Time to go exploring. This is the entrance to the tunnel through the mountain.

This is at the other end of the tunnel. Isn't it beautiful?

It's hard to believe that these are the same rocks we explored the day before. They seem so far out into the ocean!

More pics to follow!

Tillamook Cheese Factory Aug '10

Looking forward to a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. But we forgot to take pictures of them- so yummy. Tillamook Cheese Factory- here we come! Ben and Noelle, clowning around. Couldn't get Mom & Dad over there.

Are we lucky or what? Squeeky Cheeeeeeese!

Wait, I wanna to go first! Stop! Me first!

"No honey, it's fine, see he's smiling!"

Never a dull moment with these two around!

They were cutting Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar into 2 pound loaves. Fascinating process to watch.

Before we move to the gift store, we must stop and enjoy some Tillamook Ice Cream. Look at that happy face!

Shopping for the grandchildren- miss you Marin and Marshall -looking forward to meeting your new baby brother real soon!

Time to head back to Oceanside. Gotta get in some more beach time!

Mom & Dad Aug '10, cont.

Tide pools are fascinating to me and it was fun to explore them with Ben and Noelle. There were mussels and starfish everywhere- Ben was mesmerized by the sea anemones.

A huge wave came in and shocked Ben. "The water is not supposed to be this cold! It's August, people!" Look at the starfish on the rocks behind his head.

Noelle was laughing at Ben until the cold waves hit her feet!

Ben went through the tunnel and took this picture of Noelle and me through one of the view holes.

The next morning, we piled into the car and headed out for two stops. The first one was Cape Meares Lighthouse. It was a nice walk through the forest to the lighthouse.

We stopped for a picture- thanks to a perfectly placed bench, we got this self portrait.

The lighthouse isn't very tall but it doesn't need to be since it is on the side of a cliff.

Trying to get a serious shot was hard. You should have seen the others.

Finally!

We saw this adorable little creature on the way back up the trail.

Time for stop number two- lunch and tour at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

Mom & Dad Aug '10

So excited for Mom & Dad to arrive again! Waiting around for the luggage. After the airport, time to go to Noelle's house. She made cake!!!

Couple of days later, we packed up and headed to Oceanside for some R & R. First step, make sure we are still connected to the Internet, lol!

Preparing the grill for some yummy vittles! Ribs, sausage and grilled corn on the cob.

On our way to get coffee, we encountered two neighbors (look closely, one is behind the other).

Can you hear me now? Noelle tried so hard to get a signal but it just didn't happen until we went into town (Tillamook).

Since it was to be the lowest tide while we were there, we decided not to waste any time. First stop, cave exploration. This is the view from inside. It was so cool!

Then we headed up the rocks to explore the tunnel's exit. Hold on tight, don't want to slip down the rocks!

At a lower, safer rock cliff, the sisters posed for a picture.

A friendly passerby was gracious enough to take our pictures all together.

Now it's time to head out to the tide pools!