Ore-gone too soon

Dear State of Oregon:

I have been looking forward to seeing you for a long time. I find it very upsetting that our first meeting went by so very quickly. I thank you profoundly for your good weather, great company, and fun memories. However, I do not think that you should have placed yourself quite so far away from Utah, and request that you somehow situate yourself into a shorter drive for next time. I am willing to overlook this shortcoming due to the fact that you have beautiful views and beaches and most especially, that you are home to some of our very awesome family members. We hope that you give them back to Utah eventually, but in the meantime, meeting you was a wonderful experience. Maybe once our minivan recharges and I learn how to pack suitcases like Mary Poppins (and as cheerfully as her) we will come and see you again. I hope so.

Sincerely,
Someone who is trying to get back to the real world after being on a stellar vacation for a week.

PS Jef is sorry he ignored you so much by bringing his Droid on the trip. Ha ha, just kidding, Jef. It sure was nice to have GPS, but next time I will not give in to the temptation to check my emails while on vacation. That just defeats the purpose. We have way to much technology these days. I am almost proud of the fact that we made the entire drive without a DVD player in the car. (With special emphasis on the almost.) Go books on tape!

Now, this will seem like a lot of pictures, but I'll have you know, it is only a fraction of what we took...

We enjoyed getting to see the Columbia River and the State of Washington on the other side of it. On the drive home we stopped to drive across a bridge and then turn around and drive right back across again. We couldn't be that close to a new state without saying we'd set foot (or tire) in it.

For days before we left, Jonathan grew upset if we called this our trip to Portland or our trip to Oregon - we were only allowed to call it our trip to "the beach." We were not exactly sure if he even understood what a beach was, but he was so excited to go there. So I had the camera ready when he got his first view of it - this is how he looked.

Random Ring-around-the-rosies in a parking lot by Seaside beach.

Brotherly Bonding

Are you sure I'm really allowed to be playing in this?

Baby legs in the sand

Completely soaked and freezing and asking for a popsicle. He always demands popsicles whenever he gets wet - it's like his after-swimming tradition.

The crew at the first beach we stopped at - Seaside beach, where Jef's Grandma lived while his Grandpa was in the Navy during WWII. We also drove passed Cannon beach right after this in honor of the Goonies being filmed there. (Don't worry, I didn't do the truffle shuffle.)

So happy to be in Oregon

Logan stayed in this backpack most of the time. We were okay with the fact that he wasn't crazy about the cold water since that meant one less kid to chase. But he did get out and "run away" from the waves a few times with the rest of them.

Jane and Bo-daner at Pacific Beach where we stayed

Cousins, water, and sand. A recipe for fun.

Taylor just chilling in the frigid water like it's no big deal.

Favorite place to play in the townhome - the closet. There's no explaining little kids.

Little Buddies. After they spent hours building in the sand, we decided that everyone should have a sandbox for a front yard.

Shots by the Cape Meares lighthouse
Jane enjoying the sunny day - we felt lucky we got to see some

Logan at the lookout by the lighthouse.

Waiting for our food at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. It was followed by a taste of delicious ice cream.

So much fun + so little time = pure blissful exhaustion