Beach Bums

Last weekend was the long-awaited, much-anticipated weekend at the beach with friends. We did a similar deal like this last summer at Sunriver, however... this year we had three children that we didn't have last time we vacationed together. Talk about a change of pace! A little more planning, a lot more packing, and more discussions of naptime were the name of the game this time around. Also... a lot more rain, and some thunder and lightning, hail, and winds gusting up to 75 miles per hour. I love storms at the beach!

Enjoy the photo gallery of our weekend. I'm sure Kalina and Travis have some more group shots, and artistic food shots, etc., so keep an eye out for their post, too!

Josh and Travis playing NBA Jam on the Wii. I'm not sure why they felt the need to stand up while playing. Adam and I beat them good a couple of times.

Tillamook Cheese Factory! Posing with Kalina, Isaiah and the cow
(and a random guy in the background?)

Checking the cow for authenticity.

Lily loving her ice cream (or rather, her mom's ice cream). She is ready, just in case any should drop.

Michaela getting one of many bites of my ice cream. She was a little demanding about her need to get the good stuff. She doesn't realize she is lucky I shared any with her at all.

Bathing buddies - Michaela's first time sharing the bath.
She had a hard time respecting Isaiah's need for personal space. In all fairness, he was the one who got to sit next to the super-cool faucet. 

Pumpkins

It was a beautiful October day for Michaela's first trip to the pumpkin patch. Adam and our friend Josh may object to the word "patch" however, in favor of the term "pumpkin field." The farm we went to was very toddler-friendly, in that they had picked the pumpkins from wherever they were happily growing and moved them by the gigantic truckload to this nice grassy field where little children romp among them to select their favorites. I thought it was great - the kids stay cleaner, less work - but I think Adam thought something was lacking in authenticity. At any rate, we got to take a hayride behind a tractor, which was pretty fun. Michaela and her friend Lily enjoyed watching the other children on the hayride. The girls are seen below posing with the pumpkin...we managed to catch Michaela sitting still, and Lily is in the act of tasting the yummy grass that she was picking by the handful out of the field.

And last but not least - a family photo opportunity!  We look forward to next year when Michaela can really get into picking out her own pumpkin!