Oregon Coast 2010

Another great year at the beach. It's kind of like de ju vu every year and we never get tired of it. We LOVE the beach!

We stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory this year on the way to the beach. The kids and I have never been there and although there isn't a ton to do and it's super crowded, my kids and husband are cheese lovers (free samples!) and I would never pass up ice cream, especially Tillamook ice cream.

Outside the factory, ready to go in.

My kids love cows, real or fake. (I do too.... if it weren't for cows, I would not be able to enjoy ice cream in the mass quantities that I do).

The best part of the factory- the ice cream at the end!

Lex loved it

And so did Leah!

We hauled the babies around at the beach all week by carrying them in our backpacks. They both loved them.

The backpacks were great for setting in the sand too. Leah did not like being stuck in the backpack when it was not moving...

One of the best part of the beach- playing in the sand and water with cousins! Matching swimsuits is pretty fun, too!

Lexi was very happy at the beach.

She especially loved eating the sand.

By the fistful!

Leah, on the other hand, did NOT love the beach the first 2 days. I hate to admit, but it was miserable taking her down because she would just cry and cry and cry. She was a full time job. The only time she wasn't crying down on the beach was when someone would take her for a walk. Thank goodness all of our "walk Leah" volunteers. Nana took a shift multiple times.

Aunt Bethany also took many shifts and she and Leah became good friends fast. Leah loved her and there aren't many people Leah goes to besides mom without crying. We may be asking Bethany to move in with us...

This is what the first few days on the beach looked like with Leah....

The three little boys found all sorts of fun (and mischief) to do in the beach house. Riding across the room on the ottoman was just one of them.

Not being a water person (especially with ice cold ocean water and 60 degree weather), I spent a majority of my beach time with these two little ladies. Although we wanted to send Leah out to sea on her own private boat at times due to her crankiness, it was so fun to be with them.

Cousins are so much fun! The 5 oldest kids had a blast together. Down by the water, none of them seem to care about the cold water or wind.

For Family Home Evening on Monday night, Nana had the kids help assemble hygiene kits to send to countries that need them. What a great learning opportunity for the kids. They all pitched in willingly and had a great time.

Here they are with the assembled kits, ready to be shipped off!

The babies and I got a break from the beach (and the crying) when Ben took the kids crabbing one day and clamming the next. The kids loved being on the crabbing boat.

Maybe I don't belong in my own family... not a water lover, do not care for sea food... yet my kids and husband love both. What a fun experience for them.

While the daddies took the big kids out to crab and clam, the moms stayed home and took care of these 5 busy babies. Here is baby row- the babies spent a lot of time in these high chairs eating and making big messes on the floor.

If they weren't eating or napping, they crawled and walked all over the house finding all sorts of fun. Leah's twin cousins (yep, two sets of twins on the Andros side!) loved pushing her around in this little basket.

Here's a great shot of Leah with her best buddy, Bethany. Leah was so happy with her.

With just two days left at the beach, we decided to try taking Leah back down to the beach. I will be honest- I did not have high hopes for it.

Thankfully, she was like a completely different baby. As soon as I set her down in the sand, she was grinning like crazy and took off.

She crawled all over that beach and did not cry once. (Whew!)

She was also quite fascinated with eating the sand and made a huge mess. But she was happy, so I didn't care. She could have eaten 10 cups of sand and I wouldn't have stopped her, so long as she was happy.

This picture portrays Leah the last 2 days at the beach: ecstatic- and not a care in the world. (It also portrays how ecstatic (and relieved) we were that she was finally happy on the sand!)

She loved it so much that she would be crawling around and would periodically bow down and put her face in the sand. I think it was her way of praying to the sand gods. Amen to whatever cured her! It was so fun to watch her enjoying herself.

Our first beach baby- boy I wished I looked this cute in a swim suit!

One night we had our traditional bonfire on the beach and roasted hot dogs and smores.

Traditional names and pictures in the sand. Chloe wrote her own this year.

Another fantastic year at the beach! Until next year...