Oregon Coast

This is a bitter sweet entry, because although we just returned from a wonderful vacation, Michael now has to return to get ready for the coming school year. We sure are going to miss him at home during the day!

Our road trip to Oregon could not have gone any better, although Michael picked a pretty sketchy place to stay at our first night, just outside of Sacramento. (It was late and we were leaving pretty early, so we didn't stay there long :)) The second night was much better. We had a nice stay at a Comfort Suites where we could swim and let Josh run around a bit.

I was very anxious about two things on this trip: finding spots to stop so I could feed Carter, & traveling with Carter on such a long drive. But he did fantastic. I pretty much just sat in the back seat with the boys, which worked great because I could play with Josh and TRY to keep Carter awake.

We decided to take the 99 up because it had more towns and rest areas to stop at. Somehow we were able to find a rest area to use before Carter would need to start screaming for food (Thanks Babe!!) The tricky part was finding a parking space where I could nurse and not be seen, it's not as easy as it sounds.

Before meeting up with Michael's family in Lincoln City, we headed to McMinnville where I spent some of my time growing up. We visited with one of my best friends and her family, and looked around at some of my old schools and my old house. It's funny how when you are a kid everything looks so much bigger!! Thanks Stacey for taking us in for a night. It was so great to see you and your beautiful family again! (Here is a picture of the Spruce Goose at the Air Musuem in McMinnville.)

Okay, have you ever gone a vacation that you just didn't want to end? This was definitely one of those. My in-laws were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, so they treated their children and families to a beach house for a week. We took advantage of the beach as much as possible.

Josh loved the sand, I mean LOVED the sand. He would seriously start rolling in it! I'm not sure why that surprised me, but it did! Michael and I were able to enjoy some runs on the beach (a girl could seriously get used to that!) Michael was able to tease his siblings and we were able to get some awesome family photos ( Thanks Julie)! I will post some when I do get them. We visited a lighthouse, went to the Newport Aquarium , hiked, and mostly relaxed. So we had great company, great food, and a beautiful view of the ocean. Oh and some great stories (Josh!). Thanks Mom and Dad!

Josh was our comic relief through much of the trip. Here are four examples of 3-year old fun.

Story One: We were driving on I-5 in Oregon and Josh asks for some milk. Of course we don't have any milk, so Michael responds, "We don't have any milk, but if you like I can pull over to a field and we can milk a cow." Josh not seeing in problem with this scenario, agrees to stop and milk a cow. Michael then asks Josh, "Do you know how to milk a cow?" Josh says no and decides its okay not to have any milk. About 20 minutes later, Josh blurts out, "I wanna stop at a field and get some milk!"

Story Two: We are arriving into Salem, OR, when Josh informs us he has to go potty. He had just stopped to go only a little while before, but with how much he drinks, it didn't suprise us. We pull into a parking space at a fast food place and Josh says, "I already went". Figuring he meant that we stopped just a bit ago and he had already gone, Michael proceeds to take him out of the car seat and let him go in anyway. Well, he didn't mean that he had gone earlier, he meant he just went. He was very wet! Michael asks Josh, "When did you go?" Josh replies, "About 7 miles ago!" Silly kid! Michael takes him out and starts to undress him when he starts going again...all over the parking lot!

Story Three: We are walking up the hill from the beach to the beach house, when we pass a bush with berries on it. One or our nieces asks Uncle Randy (our scientist brother), if the berries our edible. Josh replies, "they are INcredible, not OUTcredible!"

Story Four: We are sitting at the dinner table at the beach house and I turn to my mother-in-law and say "Mom, could you please pass the water?" Josh responds, "She's not your mom, she's Daddy's Mom!" I started to explain to him that when two people get married, they become one and before I could finish, Josh starts to tear up and says, "I don't wanna be a mama!"