Slater-Cotter-Moore annual beach trip

We had our annual beach trip with the family, and it was a great time. We stayed at a house in Pacific City that was right on the beach, and was perfect for our group. The whole crew at a beach bonfire.

All of the cousins. These kids have so.much.fun.together!
Ready, set......
Go! Down the sand dune they ran.

Aunt Susie making her way down the huge dune at Cape Kiwanda.

The boys and I at the top! Mission accomplished.

All of us girls at the top of the dune showing off our STRENGTH Studio tanks from Susan's studio in Seattle.

Playing in the ocean.

Nate, the surfer.

Uncle Mark on his way down the big dune. Ahhh! He's being attacked by his jacket!

Grace set up a snack-shack in the arcade room.

Ella, Nate, Chris and Grace play a football game as the sun was setting.

A trip down to the tide pools in the morning. Lots to look at!

Dan and the boys.

G'ma and G'pa came over to spend the day and brought Granny's ashes so that she could be returned to the earth. It was a lovely and simple moment, and just how Granny would have wanted it.

With a sunset like this later that evening, I think that it was Granny's way of telling us thanks...and that she is finally right where she wanted to be.

Today was our annual pilgrimige..

...to the Enchanted Forest. Tons of fun this year, as Ella and Grace were able to join us too!

The big thrill of the day was the log ride.

Thanks for the fun day, Grandma~can't wait to do it again next August!

Good times at Black Butte Ranch

The boys and I had a mini vacation at Black Butte Ranch where we stayed with the Slater family for a few nights of their family vacation. We had a GREAT time!

Chris, Nate, Catie, Will at the first pool.
Slater family. Catie is an amazing little swimmer. I truly think that she is a mermaid.

The Yunkers were staying at their house at BB, so on Sunday evening they came over for a very tasty Korean dinner. mmm.. sookie ribs!!

It was HOT in Central Oregon. Notice where my boys are sitting in this picture? They thought that Asa was a really cool 'big' boy....and he was.

It was hard to keep kids out of this hot tub. We cooled it down with cold water and they swam every chance they got.

Scootin' to the playground and pool. Please note Catie's poppin' wheelie. New skill, and she was very proud. :) We also went on two really big bike rides. Nate had 2 big crashes, but amazingly enough, no scrapes to show for them.

Uncle Mark in front of the house which was right on the golf course.

On the second night, we stayed up extra late and went down to the golf greens with blankets/pillows/flashlights to watch the stars above. Very fun until the sprinklers started coming on around us.

Chris does a plunge into the water.

This trip did wonders for both boys' swimming skills, especially Nate.

Nate jumps!

Mama and her boys. You should see my sunburned back from being waist high in a pool for hours on end. ouch!

It was so hard to leave this fun. :(

Thank you so much, Mark, Claudine, Catie, and Will.

summer bliss

I'm thankful for lazy summer days...

where we can read books outside...
underneath the tree in our front yard..... ...together.

ice cream truck

Every evening they listen in the distance for the sound of the ice cream truck. Sometimes they will sit and wait, with quarters in hand, warming up as they wait for the little blue truck to turn down 23rd Avenue.
Last night it all went right and the boys finally got to buy themselves a treat, while 'You are My Sunshine' blared from the speaker.

Nate takes the lead!

It's funny how life works out some times.....

Lazy Bend on the Clackamas

Another awesome camping trip, this time at Lazy Bend Campground on the Clackamas River. We had never done a trip in this part of the Mt. Hood National Forest because, well....it's Clackamas. But boy were we wrong! It was a beautiful part of this state. We were all impressed with this beautiful, private campground.
This spot on the rocks was down a short trail from our campsite, and whoever was there before us kindly set up a little wading area adjacent to the raging river.

Bad dads enjoying a cigar after dinner. It's a rough life out camping.

Sunday morning. I love this photo because it really captures life around the campground on this trip. Bill playing shut-the-box, Maya the dog sleeping on the dusty ground, Amy snapping amazing photos, and 4 boys relentlessly poking at and messing around with fire.

Our chain gang working to build up the wall on our secondary pool that we built.
It was so funny to me that Nate was 2 feet away from a raging river that could have carried him downstream before he would know what happened, yet last weeekend he sobbed in fright over getting in up to his ankles at the beach. I asked him about why it was different, and he told me that he had 'never been rolled in the river.' Makes sense.

Liam, Chris, Aidan, and Nate. Thanks for the fun and impromptu camping trip, McMullens! You're great camping buddies.