july 29, 2012

On the last day of our trip we had to cross off the final thing on our to do list: crabbing.  Eric had done all the research and knew where to go and what to do.  We started by renting the crab pot and buying some crab bait (frozen chicken, who knew?)

Then you lower the prepared crab pot into the water

Then you wait. You must wait longer than a three-year has the patience for.  So you go to the park down the street for a little while and get some lunch.

Then you come back and pull up the crab pot to see what treasure you may have caught.

Oh yeah, we caught one!

It was a female so we were required to throw it back.  Good thing we weren't planning on keeping it anyway.

The members of the Smith family all give this activity two thumbs up.

We also headed to downtown Seaside for some Pronto Pups and the aquarium.

This was such a great trip.  We can't wait to make our way back to the coast again some time very soon.

july 28, 2012

On our second day at the Oregon coast, we drove about 40 miles South to tour the Tillamook Cheese factory.  The drive was beautiful and took us through several cute little beach towns.  It took over an hour and the little ones were getting pretty antsy, but Charlie said the the trip to Tillamook was his favorite part of the whole trip so I would say it was worth the drive.

We were starving so we ate lunch first.  Definitely the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever had.

The tour itself was okay.  It was mostly just a few viewing rooms where you could watch them making the cheese.  It was also much more crowded than we had expected.

We finished the visit with some squeeky cheese (or squishy cheese as Cannon calls it) and some Tillamook ice cream of course!

After a rest at the beach house, we headed to dinner at the Pirate's Cove.  The rest of the gang couldn't wait to get their seafood and clam chowder.  I stuck with a burger.

Those two had a blast together the entire trip.  Cannon really misses "Mancy" and keeps asking why she has to live so very far away.  So cute.

july 27, 2012

We spent a few days on the Oregon coast with Eric's family.  We were all excited for a few days away and the boys were especially excited to see their cousins.  After a very long nine hour car ride, the kids picked up right were they left off when they last saw each other over a year ago.

Of course one of our first stops was to get some salt water taffy.

Then we made a stop at the arcade for some games and pizza.

And finally, our first of many visits to the beach.  The boys were in love.

It was all fun and games until Grandpa Rodger got his van stuck in the sand.

We went home to let the kids rest for a little while and eat dinner and then it was back to the beach.

Cannon flew his first kite ever.

Andrea, Eric and the kids made a huge sand castle.

And the boys played and played and played.

Day One on the Oregon coast:  A complete success.