Family Beach Trip 2012

It's how we always wrap up the summer~the annual beach trip to the Oregon Coast with the Slater/Cotter/Moore families all in one house. This year we were at a house in Lincoln Beach.

Lunch outside in the sunshine.

Feeding the seagulls. Such pesky birds, but it sure is fun to have them come right up and take the food out of your hand! Big seagull taking off with the bread from Aunt Susie. So exciting!

The view of the beach from our house. Kids could roam and play for hours.

Cousin art project. They all decorated t-shirts. One of these kids was not real pleased with his finished product, so he's hiding it. Can you guess who?

A classic Depoe Bay hot spot....Jordy's candy shop (since 1942). Each of the cousins got to choose 10 taffy pieces for their little bag. Decisions, decisions. Thanks, Uncle Mark!

Looking over the harbor at Depoe Bay. Exactly as I remember it from 35 years ago.

My dear brothers, Uncle Greg and Uncle Mark.

Dinnertime! We always eat well at the beach. Each family takes a dinner for one of the nights. Pork Tenderloin, Fish Tacos, and the grand finale....Sookie's ribs (Claudine's first go at the recipe on her own) and they were delicious!

Hot tub time! Always a crowd pleaser, even in this ghetto shed.

Chillin' on the deck with some cocktails. There was one more Moore along on the trip this year~Susan's boyfriend, Jared. He tolerated us well. We like having him there, too.

The Slaters.
Catie looks just like Claudine, Will looks just like Mark, huh?

The annual 'cousins on a log' photo.
Chris Catie, Will, Nate, Grace, Caroline, Ella.
These kids love each other so much.
Beach play! Nate bats the cycle with the ladder ball game. He was mighty proud of himself!

It wouldn't be a beach trip without a few rounds of Down-Set-Steal. We taught Jared the ropes and he was all over that game.

Beach bonfire the first night. Nothing like sticky marshmallows in the sand. mmm

Big excitement. Uncle Mark found a fish that washed ashore with no eyeballs. All the cousins came running to check it out. Back it went into the sea with a big fling into the air.

On Saturday G'ma and Uncle Greg drove over for the day, and as a family we decided we would spread G'pa's ashes into the Pacific Ocean. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and Mark, Susan, Greg, my mom and I went down the beach and set his remains free. He rode a big wave out, and we all said goodbye in our own way. It was as lovely as that type of event can be.

We had one final beach campfire that night. It helped us all feel like closure was set in motion on a sadness that defined this summer. We miss you, dad. We'll see you next year in the sand~or in the water~or in the breeze~wherever you may land around us.