Friday, March 8, 2013

We're Seaside!

For a fun mini get-a-way grandma/pa Potts took us for a mini 2 day trip up north to Seaside Oregon, someplace I hadn't been to since I was a little little girl. The night we got in we just stayed in and had fun relaxing and eating dinner & lots of candy that we got at fun candy store in Cannon Beach on the way up. The next day we packed in all the fun! We went to the tiniest aquarium where the kiddos had a blast feeding the seals with herring bits & looking all around at all the fish. We practically had the place to ourselves, which was nice since this aquarium was only about 1000sq ft.the kids had fun running around  They had mini touch tanks and Phoebe loved watching the hermit crab run around in it.
They also had a couple wolf eels which we learned really aren't eels at all but a fish. Grandma Potts said looking at them reminded her of grandpa  ;)  The aquarium also housed one of the LARGEST octopuses I had ever seen! He was in an open tank in the middle of the room so we could see him swim around.  He had been caught by a crabber only a month prior so he still wasn't used to being enclosed and kept crashing  full speed into the side of his tank, which made us a bit sad for him.
Sophie spent most of her time doing the rubbing drawings and playing with this fish in the tanks that would chase her hand as she waved it up and down.
A couple other things the aquarium used to house was a live 26 lbs lobster also caught by a fisherman, but saved spared from the dinner table to live out the remainder of his days here. They also had a dead large squid which Cami was mad would't swim around, so she stood there and yelled swim fish swim!
After the aquarium we walked through the cute town of seaside.
Josh wanted to go in the local pot store and actually walked right in since they had their doors open, we had to go running in after him to pull him out, I pray this isn't a sign of what he likes.
We also found an old carousel in a shopping center and let the 3 older kiddos have a ride. Josh was excited to be riding one of Santa's reindeer.
While continuing to walk through the town we found a fun doughnut shop and thought we would let the kiddos spoil their lunch with these delectable treats.
Following "lunch" we walked back to take a little nap before heading to the beach. Right outside our hotel they had a swing set on the shore. The 3 littlest kiddos LOVED swinging and swinging on it, I wish all beaches had this!
After prying them away from the swings we headed further down on the beach where we found a fun sand castle. Phoebe had one track mind however, so she passed up both the swings and castles to go find shells.  Unfortunately, the beach was pretty picked over so we only found part of a crab and one whole razor clam shell. I found a wad of seaweed which I told her was a pile of huge ocean worms, but she wouldn't believe me. Following out 15 minutes on the very cold windy beach we walked back up to the hotel where we went hot tubbing to thaw out.
On a side note: my mom has had declining vision and finally got her cataract surgery this week, but when we were at the beach she found this piece of plastic on the beach and told Phoebe it was a delicate rare round shell. Phoebe later came and threw it at me telling me grandma gave her garbage, which we all laughed and laughed at because it was CLEARLY plastic trash, but grandma couldn't see it clearly enough to know it was.
The next day we, our checkout day, the weather was AWFUL  It was pouring and the wind was so forceful that all of our umbrellas flew inside out and nearly flew a couple kiddos away with them Mary Poppins style. We were laughing so hard at the kiddos and their crazy umbrellas whipping all round in the rain & wind it was all we could do to walk back to the van without losing it ourselves. You can see at the end Phoebe's umbrella became more of a rain catcher than shelter.
It was a good thing we were headed home because we were all wet and the kiddos were exhausted from their short jaunt in the Oregon Coast wind and rain. I loved this mini get-a-way and it was a VERY welcome change from our normal day full of Disney channel and house play.

Smile & Say CHEESE

On the way to a mini get-a-way in Seaside we stopped in at the famous Oregon Tillamook Cheese Factory.
I knew the kiddos would enjoy seeing how they make & package our favorite cheese, which they did! They ran from window to window watching closely every step of the packaging process
After observing the cheesy goodness we took the kiddos down to taste test all different kinds of cheese which are set up in  a large buffet style, we also let them pick out their own mini packets of cheese while I got my favorite, squeaky cheese, which sadly can only be bought at the factory. We also enjoy some of the yumm-o Tillamook ice-cream! Well, Sophie actually didn't get the whole ice-cream concept so she immediately set the ice-cream down on the table and I had to coax her to take the few licks she did before tossing it...weird-o kid. On a side note, when you walk in the Tillamook factory you are immediately slapped in the face with the heavenly wafts of the baking waffle cones which tasted every bit and delicious as they smelled.
After our thoroughly unhealthy lunch of cheese and ice-cream the kiddos LOVED playing in the baby loaf  bus, they all fought & fought over who got to drive.
Cami loved the factory so much she had a HUGE melt down when we got up to leave and she threw herself on the ground right outside the doors. I told her we were leaving her and being the stubborn pill she is she tested our bluff so, but when I finally got all the way to the end of the sidewalk she gave up and came running sobbing after us, typical of this one.
This was a fun stop and we even went down the street to the Tillamook smoke house where we got the BEST fresh beef jerky and WAAYY cheaply. It is a good thing I don't live near here or there is no way I would be down 50 lbs, cheese is my personal kryptonite.

We're Oregonians!

Since he have been in Oregon we have spent many MANY days hot tubbing! The kids have truly come to love hot tubbing in the rain.
The girls have discovered all of grandma's play jewelry and make-up which the love to glam up in on a daily basis.
Phoebe has rally gotten in to the laid back hippie style of Oregon folk and it is not uncommon she comes out dressed to go to the store in awesome outfits like this one.
We have spent many hours hanging out with each other cuddling, some by choice and some because baby sisters lock them selves in with us.
We have managed to find a nice day here and there to go out to play in the backyard or the park and have fun picnics.
Most of all we have spent a lot of time missing our daddy. The kids are all working on their phone/Skype conversation skills. Phoebe even made this computer (all by herself  out of a blank greeting card which she had then spent a great deal of time Skyping with daddy on.  I loved all her detailing & then her 100+ keys on the keyboard.
There has been much more goodness we have been up to lately now that spring is approaching, but I will add those adventures later.