Down by the Seashore

Not much today. Went north to Seaside to check it out. Turned out the truck needed servicing, so Todd took the truck and the kids and I bought sand toys and headed to the beach. Seaside's beach was crowded and not nearly as pristine as Nehalem's, but the kids didn't seem to mind. Grayson and Todd bought kites, which they flew on the beach on our return to our campsite. Grayson made a friend across the road named Max and they became best buds rather quickly. Max and his folks are from Maine and are tent camping up the Coast for a couple months. Very nice people. Max is very interested in our trailer and wants to play in it. I have to keep shoeing the two besties out of the trailer. Grayson and Todd discovered a wonderful biking trail that they rode while the little dude was napping. We are having tons of fun. The weather has been awesome. Tomorrow we plan to drive the two miles to Manzanita and have lunch. After lunch more beach time.

Oregon Escape

We arrived at Nehalem on Monday afternoon after two days of driving. We were all beat, but after setting up camp we high tailed it out onto the beach. Paradise. Miles and miles of white sandy beach. Hardly anyone to share it with. We tiptoed into the surf. Giggles. Frigid. After a couple of waves, Greer tumbled. Brrrr. But, no tears, just chattering teeth. All was better after we stripped him down and sat him in the warm sand. Shall we say sand everywhere? No plans. Just relaxing. Enjoying the ocean, the sand and each other.

Terrible Two...We hope not!

Since there was some question as to Greer's real birth date, we have gone with the date the Ethiopian government put on his birth certificate. July 9, 2009. So, on Saturday, the ninth, we had cake. Nothing more. He is too young to comprehend the significance of the date, but definitely understands the significance of cake. BB and Papa Joe were here, so we sang the song and ate the cake and played in the sand box...his gift. The sand box is a huge hit. Hours of enjoyment. We have discovered that sand in Greer's hair is a bit of a mess. Shall we say, power wash until the curls go straight.

Going back to June and the Swingset

Though I am getting totally out of order, I thought it proper to post about the swingset. Ya see, In my childrens' hearts it is sooooo very special and important. Grayson wanted a swingset. We promised one. In February, for her 6th birthday, we told her that as soon as school got out she would have her swingset. So, in June, we purchased the most amazing swingset money can buy. It is massive, and took a full three days to complete. The huge smiles and hours of fun have made the anguish of the huge build totally worth it. They love it!!

The 4th "near" the Lake

I say near because, though we had intended to be "on" the lake, we weren't quite. I blame it on T. Despite my constant nagging, he failed to make a reservation for a campsite for the 4th until it was too late. When he did get around to it, we were left with only one option. That option sounded good in theory. It was in Woods Bay on the lake. It was in Woods Bay and did have access to the lake but that access was through a neighborhood and was a very small shared beach. Nonetheless, we loaded up the trailer with kids and dogs and headed out. Though it wasn't what we had expected, and nothing at all what we had dreamed of, it was fun family time. We are loving our new trailer!

Our Happy Ending......

Finally, after several long, bittersweet years...our happy ending. Today we re-adopted our baby bird. My boss man Sean did the adoption for us and another friend, Judge David Ortley issued our final decree. It was very special and afterwards T, the kids and I took the Judge and his wife to breakfast. Only in Montana!

First Trip to the Woods

We are campers by nature. Love the woods. Guess it is the Montanans in us. When we were younger and without children, we hiked and liked tent camping. Now we are older and sleeping on the hard ground is no longer comfortable or possible. And, I can say with certainty, I don't miss waking up in the middle of the night deep in the woods and having to go to the bathroom. First of all, the woods are dark. Not dark like normal dark. I am talking dark like your head fully emersed in a bucket of tar dark. Anyway, we have owned a trailer for the past three or four years now. This year we bought a bigger trailer. Oh my, it is awesome. Big enough for us, the kids, the dogs and about 4 of our closest friends. It is lovely large. Not in an obnoxious way. It is not luxury....well, yes it is, for the woods it is luxury. So, we finally got out this past weekend. Just close. It was marvelous. Lots of family time. Lots of hours on the lake.

Enjoy the pics.