Cam & Rachelle

I don't really like the idea of bucket lists, BUT if I had one, going to the Oregon Coast would be on it. I've always wanted to go and this year, Cameron and I packed up the kids and went for the weekend.

This was a brave thing to do with twin toddlers. They started to nap shortly after we left Spokane and we thought all was perfect, but after a very short 30 minutes, they woke up, and they, especially Maddie, were very upset. I managed to entertain her until Tri-cities, but she cried from Kennewick all the way to the coast...minus the times we stopped for breaks. It was a LONG day!

I won't dwell on that too much, because aside from that, we had a great trip. I loved Portland despite the short time we spent there. We had a late lunch at Little Big Burger which was yummy, I especially loved the fries (I'm particular about fries...)!

The drive down was beautiful. I grew up living right next to the Columbia River, but the Columbia River flows all along the Washington and Oregon boarder and it was so interesting seeing different parts of it. I found myself Googling info about the Columbia River even though I grew up learning all about it.

I loved how relatively clean Portland was and just how gosh darn beautiful it was. There were roses, and Rhododendrons everywhere!! I told Cameron that we must move there immediately.

The coast was, of course, breathtakingly beautiful. We stayed in Rockaway Beach in a condo right on the beach. It was perfect! What I didn't love, was that it took forever to get anywhere. The roads are so wind-y and the speed limits so slow. Honestly, before kids, I would have loved this, but with kids - it was so hard constantly having to keep them from breaking down in the car.

On Saturday, we went to Cannon Beach. On the way we stopped by a look out point. Cameron didn't realize we were so far up and it was so cool to just see everything. This is where we saw the mama gray whale and her baby. I was so excited! I thought they were dolphins at first, but soon realized that dolphins don't have blowholes. I wanted to get a picture, but every time I tried, they'd go back under water.

Cannon beach was so beautiful and so windy! Call me crazy for bringing Ollie and Maddie, but it was so fun seeing them discover things for the first time. They LOVED the beach! Maddie was so content just sitting playing (and eating the sand), but Ollie, (oh boy!) wanted to see and touch, and do everything! He'd chase after dogs, and then he'd run towards the water, and then he'd see a friendly old man sitting down and go up to him and try to sit on his lap (he has no sense of stranger danger whatsoever). We got a really good workout chasing him up, down, and around. He even face planted it a couple times, hence the muddy face.

For lunch we tried The Old Oregon Smokehouse. Their fish and chips were REALLY good and their breading was especially yummy, but I was brave and tried the fried clams...I like the breading...I like clams...why not? Right? They were gross. But it still made for a fun experience.

We drove back to the condo and put them down for a nap and had a much needed nap ourselves, and that afternoon we went to Ecola State Park. I wish we could have stayed longer and come when the tide was low and discover the tide pools, but we still had a great time. We first hiked to the look out point...this was slightly insane with the stroller, but we managed it. There was a beautiful stream which led down into the ocean. Then we just carried the kiddos down to the beach. Ollie rolled, crawled, splashed, and walked all through the water on the beach and was completely soaked by the time we got back to the car.

Cameron trudging up this super tiny trail with the ridiculously huge stroller.

There are flowers everywhere!

Madelyn loves sand.

A lot!

On Sunday, we mostly relaxed. Cameron watched the kids while I made pancakes, bacon, and eggs. It was JUST what I wanted! Cam went out to the store the night before to get me some much needed feminine products (he's a great guy!) and he surprised me with my favorite ice cream (Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia). He's the best! Later on that day, we went to Cape Meares to see the lighthouse. This was probably my favorite part of our trip. We had tons of fun, laughed lots, and just enjoyed each other's company. We visited the Octopus Tree which is like the oldest tree in the area...or something like that, hiked around a bit, and saw some amazing sites, including the lighthouse. We have a tradition of getting an ornament or snow globe on every vacation we go on, so I got a little lighthouse ornament at the gift shop.

It was beautiful. I love the ocean so much and sometimes wish we lived closer. After Cape Meares, we came back to the condo and then walked around the beach there for a bit. Cameron played with Maddie further up on the beach and I took Ollie down by the water. I underestimated how far the waves come in and the both of us got completely soaked! Ollie loved it and was laughing tons, but it was freezing outside and his lips very quickly started to turn blue. We all rushed home and gave the babies a much needed, warm bath and then snuggled with them in their towels.

We got out on time this morning and stopped in Portland for a couple hours. We walked along the waterfront for a while and then had Pad Thai for lunch. We love us some pad thai! Maddie slept for three hours after Portland which was awesome! Ollie just stared out the window the entire time. Except when we go through tunnels. He's so scared of tunnels, it's the funniest, cutest, saddest thing! His eyes get really big and scared and his mouth starts to quiver and whimper.

We didn't realize just how much sand Maddie had eaten until the drive home and after...we're still cleaning up her sandy poops!

Bruno was VERY happy to see us when we got home and has been following us from room to room, I think making sure we don't leave again. I love getting away, but I also love coming home. The babies are FINALLY asleep and I think I might follow their lead here soon. Goodnight!

Our little Cinders is a year old. She is so sweet and the perfect calm puppy to match Bruno's craziness. She's a troublemaker through and through, but also the sweetest puppy anyone could ask for.

The puppy experience was so much different than with Bruno, because we didn't get to meet him until he was 8/9 weeks. We got to meet the puppies days after they were born. I fell in love with Cinders (Lulu) right away. I remember after our first visit, I told Cam that I wanted her so bad. These pictures are of her first year and in no particular order. Also, my friend Natalie (the puppies, mamma's mama) took a lot of these photos. Hope you enjoy!

She was the most precious puppy!