WE'RE BACK!

Yes-We are resuming our spot in the blog-o-sphere. It's been a while and we have a lot to catch up on, so bear with us as we fill you in on our fun filled summer. It might take a while to get through, (but not as long as it took me to post all the photos), so go get a snack and get ready to take a trip down MagMemory Lane:

FUN WITH THE BAILEY FAMILY!

When we came home from Twin Lakes, we were so excited to hear the Bailey Family would be in Seattle the next week. We had such a fun time with them and love all of those cute kids to pieces. Here are some of the highlights:




We took the kids to Deception Pass-one of our favorite places to visit in the Puget Sound area. The kids loved playing on the beach, but weren't so sure about crossing the very high bridge that goes over the channel. Rachel, despite hearing me say, "This is NOT swimming water," decided to take a dip in all of her clothes. We try not to think about the swift current that could have taken her away-I like to go to my happy place for that one:) It was a fun and beautiful day!




After church, Elissa and I looked through some of my cookbooks, and she found this great recipe called "Easter Basket Cake". It called for a cake mix, frosting, coconut, jelly beans and some kind of branch to make it look like a handle. Thanks to the fact that I borrowed coconut from Kamille, and never gave her the bag I bought for her as a thank you-I had all of the ingredients. SWEET! I still owe you, Kams. We had fun making our Easter treat in August and it was suprisingly dee-lish.




Thanks to Grandpa Jim, we were able to take the boat out for a fun outing around Lake Stevens. The Bailey kids were so brave and tried tubing and knee-boarding. They did fantastic! It was a beautiful day, and so fun to spend it with a terrific family. They left that night to spend a few days in Seattle and we joined them for a day at the Science Center and Space Needle. I was surprised at how much the kids loved it, they are still talking about how fun it was. We took them to see a 3-D IMAX movie, and it was so cute to see the kids reaching their hands out to try to touch the fish as they seemed to swim right in front of us. Here are some of pictures of some of their favorite parts:


I don't know how to rotate this picture, but the kids loved the dinosaur exhibit!


There was a little booth where they made their own aliens. Some of the names they gave them were very creative-of course, I can't remember them. But still, very creative. Sorry-I didn't get any pictures of the boys' creations, but they were equally as creepy.



The kids were able to meet a real astronaut and get his autograph. Very cool. Rachel was not so sure because she is going through an "I don't want to ever go to space because I might get sucked into a black hole" stage. A pretty legitimate worry, right?




The girls and I took a quick trip to the top of the Space Needle. Apparently, the rest of Seattle had the same idea and it was very crowded. The girls didn't seem to mind and loved the elevator ride, and the view, of course, is amazing. Then we met up with the Baileys at their hotel. We had so much fun with them, and the girls really missed their cousins when they left. We can't say enough about how much we enjoyed them. Heather and Mike are amazing parents and the kids are so good and adorable, we hope it's not too long before we see them again!


OREGON OR BUST!

After the Bailey's left we were off to the Oregon Coast for a week of camping. This was the first time our family has taken a long trip like this with just us five, and I have to say, we were all looking forward to exploring and taking each day as it came with no schedule or time constraints. We didn't realize how much driving we would actually end up doing, which was kind of a downer, and the baby definitely adds an exciting element to the plans, but besides all of that, it was a fun trip where lots of great memories were formed. Every day was a new adventure and the scenery(when you could see it through the fog)was breathtaking!

DAY 1-We drove to a place at the southern tip of Washington called Cape Disappointment, but the girls so lovingly dubbed it, "The Rock Beach". Our campsite was next to a big rock and climbing tree and the girls had a blast climbing to the top. The beach was next to a big cliff that the girls loved exploring around. Shawn's inner boy came out and he was happy exploring through the caves and climbing around the rocks.



DAY 2-Although we would have loved to have stayed longer, Cape Disappointment really disappointed us the next morning with some misty rain and fog, so we left and drove south to Astoria, Oregon. We spent the day at Shipwreck Beach, named after the fact it has the rusty bow of a ship sticking out of the sand. Apparently, it's a very popular spot for photos. There was a model in a wedding gown doing a photo shoot, so when she left, we had to get some pictures of our little models...




We loved playing on this beach. The sand is really fine and great for sand castles. Rachel amused us with not one, but several "serious" poses:



I was tired of holding Kristina away from the sand so I just let her have at it and here are the results:



We spent the next two nights at one of my favorite beaches of the entire trip. It reminded me of the scene from Anne of Green Gables where Anne and Diana are running alone the grassy sand dunes. It was so picturesque. I loved it! The girls flew kites that night and ran and ran through the dunes to make footprints and we enjoyed falling asleep to the sound of the ocean. Appropriate that we named this beach the "Sand Dune Beach"



Again-sorry for the inability to rotate.

I wish we would have spent more time at this beach, but because we were so close to Cannon Beach, which is a very popular spot, we decided to spend the day there. It was very pretty and looks like it's right out of the movie, Goonies.


We stopped to admire the view-so beautiful! Another great pose from Rachel...



A highlight of the trip for this cheese lover, was touring the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We got to see our favorite cheese packaged right before our very eyes. It was so exciting! Then we devoured some very delicious ice cream before we headed off to our next campsite.





Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma, we took the tent-trailer and camped in style. And what's a trip without bringing along some movies?




One of my least favorite parts of the trip was frequenting public restrooms. It is a phobia of mine, there is just nothing pleasant about it, especially with kids-and girls for that matter who have to sit-ugh! But seeing as we were camping there was no avoiding it. I was surprised at the general cleanliness of the state parks. But when your at the beach, well, the ocean is your toilet, right? Or so my kids thought. There were many moments where it was obvious what they were doing. (Picture Brooke pulling her bathing suit to the side and squatting.) This is when i pretend they don't belong to me. The pinnacle of grossness came when we took the kids on a short hike to a water fall and, of course, Brooke had to go #2. What choice do you have in the middle of no where but to find a bush and do your thing, right? The problem was that Brooke announced to the rest of the hikers that she was going to find a secret spot to poop. Nice. There was no pretending she wasn't mine. Here is a picture of us on the trail right before we found the "secret spot".



We moved on to a place we liked to call "the PlayGround Beach". Our campsite was right next to the park playground. It was nice to be able to sit in the trailer and watch the kids play, but it wasn't nice to see kids too old for the playground making out with their boyfriend/girlfriend. Please, people. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this charming scene. The girls loved it, though. It was surprisingly cold and windy here, so there was no playing on the beach. We decided to go to the Oregon State Aquarium for the day.

Rachel made friends with a sea otter. He came right up to the glass and was letting Rachel put her hand on the glass. It was so cute. The girls got to touch all kinds of sea creatures and see lots of different sharks and fish.

As we drove to our last campsite, we were amazed by some very beautiful scenery. We couldn't wait to explore the beach, so we set up camp and quickly made dinner. Just as we were eating our last bites, the fog rolled in and never left. We were so sad to end our trip this way, but we had a great time and have lots of fun talking about the many things we got to do and see. Now on to the next adventure:

GRANDMA ROLPH AND PAPAW!!!!!

We were beside ourselves with excitement for Grandma and Papaw to come visit! It was much too short, but we loved every second and the girls got lots of play time in with them. Of course, they spoiled them with love and fun activities and gifts the girls love love love. Shawn and I got to steal Dad away for a hike to Mount Pilchuck. It was so good to see them. We miss them so much already!
Dad and I at Granite Falls
Our hike to Mount Pilchuck was beautiful. Despite a slight shoe malfunction, we made it down okay. Washington is gorgeous!


Grandma and the girls made a blanket for cousin baby Eddie who will be arriving in November!

Papaw and Rachel reading about Mummies-of course!
We love you and miss you Grandma and Papaw!!!!!!!!!!

We hope you've enjoyed looking at our many adventures this past month. Since this has taken me all day to do, due to slow computer, many breaks to assist children, and to nourish myself with plenty of junk food, you all better leave comments. We'll resume MagMadness Monday next week along with updates on the new school year, etc. Love you all!