Spring Break Trip - Day 3

Our third day in Oregon we spent a little time out on the water.

This is a view of the Yaquina Bay Bridge from the boat.  We only got to go out on the ocean for a few minutes because the weather was so bad on this day, so we spent most of our time in the bay and on the river.

Thomas got to help throw some crab pots out in the bay.  It was raining pretty hard at this point.

Luckily the rain had stopped by the time we got back from the ocean and it was time to pull them in.

We pulled in a pretty good haul.   The boys were pretty intent on getting pictures of the crabs at this point.

I was happy that Thomas was brave enough to hold this little crab that had lost its claws.  He has come a long way from our trip to San Diego a few years ago when he wouldn't even hold a starfish.

Dallin learned how to safely hold the bigger crabs that still have their claws.

A view of the shore from the river.

Thomas hanging out in the cabin of the boat.  He got a little wet and cold while he was helping to put the crab pots out.

These are some cute little harbor seals we saw on our cruise.    They were a lot more quiet and shy than all of the loud sea lions that were all over the place in the bay at Newport.  I'm not sure why I didn't get any pictures of them.  There were thousands, and they were LOUD and stinky!!  The boys thought it was great!

More pretty views from the  boat.

After the cruise we headed up the coast.  We stopped at Cape Foulweather again for a few more photo ops.

These views are only available from the gift shop and it was closed the first time we stopped.

Another view from the gift shop.

We drove up to Tillamook and took a tour of the cheese factory.  The tour was just okay.  It is a good stop if you are passing through, but I wouldn't really recommend it as a destination.  I didn't get any pictures of the boys at the factory.  Probably because I didn't see any great photo ops inside and it was raining pretty hard outside, so we didn't really want to stop for pictures.  This was by far our rainiest day, but luckily we spent most of that rainy time in the car and in the factory.

All-in-all, another good day in Oregon.

Spring Break Trip - Day 2

Our second day in Oregon we spent exploring the coast around Yachats, Florence, and Newport.

First thing in the morning, we took a little hike along the historic Yachats 804 trail to a sandy beach.

The boys couldn't resist the water and had to do a little playing. The got much dirtier and wet than I planned.  Luckily our hotel had a complimentary laundry room.

We then drove down and took a look at Devil's churn.

Then we drove on to Heceta Head lighthouse.  This is one of the views from the trail that you hike to get to the lighthouse.

This is another view from the lighthouse trail.  Obviously it was raining while we took this little hike.  Luckily the rain didn't last long.

Here is a view of the Yaquina head lighthouse.  I was lucky enough to catch it when the light was flashing.

We spent a lot of time exploring Cape Perpetua.  We were lucky enough to be there during high tide, so everything was really active.

This is Thor's well.  I have a video of this.  It is amazing.  I might post the video later, but if I don't get around to it, you should look up one online.  It is pretty cool and I am so glad I got to see it in person.

One of the churns on the cape.  When the big waves come up in these and hit the rocks, it looks, and sounds, just like a geyser.

Here is another one.

This was really cool, the waves would pound up into the cavern underneath that blowhole and force the water out through the top really powerfully.  It was crazy fun to watch.

Here are the boys in front of the blowhole.  If you are going to visit Cape Perpetua, try to visit during high tide.  Just be careful.  I was glad I didn't have my littler boys to look after while all that crazy stuff was going on.

The boys hanging out in Newport.

Yaquina Bay lighthouse.  It needs a little love, but it looks like it is getting it.

We stopped at Ona Beach state park, and took a walk over this cute bridge to get to the beach

More of the bridge, I obviously couldn't get enough.

We also had to walk through this forest to get to the beach.  That is a covering of moss all over the ground and on the tree trunks.

We decided to take a drive through the countryside on our way back to the hotel.  It was all so pretty!

We saw this giant herd of elk.  There were so many I couldn't get them all in the shot.

We also saw these Canadian Geese.

And this view of a bridge.

This is a view from our room at our hotel in Yachats.

Another view from our room.

And one more.  I could have just sat there and enjoyed the view for days.

This was the view from the front door of our room in Yachats.  No matter what way you look, things are gorgeous along the Oregon Coast.

Spring Break Trip - Day 1

This last week we have been on spring break.  Jeremy and I decided to take the two big boys on a trip to the Oregon coast.  We went there on our honeymoon and absolutely loved it.  I have traveled all over the United States.  I have been to Europe and Hawaii.  I love those places and hope to be able to visit again, but I must say, the Oregon coast is my favorite destination.

We decided just to take Dallin and Thomas for a few reasons.  We initially were going to go by ourselves, but as we got thinking about it we realized the hotel and rental car would cost the same, so it would only be the cost of plane tickets and a little bit of food. When I found a good price on airfare, I just couldn't resist and booked tickets for them.  Secondly, I want my boys to see as much of this country as I can show them.  Dallin and Thomas are old enough now to remember this trip and to appreciate the beauty of the Oregon coast.  Finally, I find that when you are raising a big family, sometimes the big kids don't seem to get as much attention as the little ones.  My littlest two are still with me all day and the three littlest require and demand a lot more attention than my oldest two, so it was nice to spend some time with my big boys and be able to focus on them for a few days, without any interruptions from the little ones.

I took a million pictures on this trip and in an effort to keep the pictures at a somewhat manageable amount I am breaking up this trip into days.  Each day will have a separate post.

Day 1

We dropped off  Jack, Drake, and Tad with Jeremy's sister, Emma, and headed to the airport.  We flew into Portland and then drove to the coast.

This is some of the pretty countryside on our drive to the coast.

I love how green Oregon is, even before the deciduous trees are in leaves.

This was a little stop we took just north of Depoe Bay.  We saw a few whales off the coast here.  It was pretty cool.

This was a pretty bridge on the Otter Crest Loop.  We also saw a bunch of whales here.  Thomas says he saw a group of dolphins here too.  I am bummed I missed that.

We stopped at Cape Foulweather.  This is one of the prettiest views you will ever see.

More Cape Foulweather.

Thomas at Cape Foulweather.

Dallin at Cape Foulweather.

I think I took this picture at Devil's Punch bowl on the Otter Crest Loop.

All of us at Yaquina Head lighthouse.

One of the views from the lighthouse stop.

A final look at the beautiful Yaquina Head lighthouse.

We said goodbye to day one with a gorgeous sunset.  It was a fabulous day!!

Week 3

Week Three of construction on the house was so boring that I don't even have any pictures to share.  They just grouted the stemwall and it was inspected.

I will leave you with a few pictures of the highlight of the week, which was Thomas's third grade spring sing.  They did a great job!

They sang a bunch of awesome songs.

They had some bagpipers come and play - which made Jeremy's whole month!!

Thomas did a great job!!

Week 2 Progress

This is the progress made at the lot this week.

This is how things looked on Tuesday night.  The footings had been poured and the stemwall had been started.

Another shot of things on Tuesday.

This is how things looked tonight.  The stemwalls are almost complete.  We will be ready to prepare it for the slab next week.  

I am sooo excited that things are finally progressing.  Every time I look at this, I can't believe that all those rooms are going to fit within these walls.  I have been told that this is totally normal, and most people have the same problem when looking at the footprint of their house before walls are up.  The concrete contractor and the plumber have both mentioned how big the house is several times.  They see this stuff all the time, so I guess I will trust them.  (The house is a good size - but not a mansion.  Just big enough for a family of seven)

And finally - just in case you are interested - - See that cute duplex in the background of the last picture?  That is the rental property that we own and where we are currently living.  Our entire family of seven is living in one side. Yup.  It is pretty squishy. We have two sets of sister missionaries in the other side, so at least we have good neighbors. :)