Kite Flying & Driftwood

One of the best things about our summer vacation was the weather.  It was scorching hot for most of Western Washington but on the coast we had some fog that lasted most of the day.  This kept it quite cool.  I loved it.  It was so pleasant and I knew that I wasn't melting at home. 

Brody & Brad looking for some wood to make a fire.

It wasn't very windy so it made it a little more challenging to fly a kite.  I think it was actually more fun because Brody had to run to keep it up. 

Brad's flying the kite and the boys are chasing after him.

A few cute videos of driftwood collecting and kite flying.

SV- Cinnamon Rolls & a Latte

Every morning (when we were at the beach) we drove a few miles away to Pacific Beach for breakfast. We could have very easily had breakfast at the cabin but since Brad has an addiction to Vanilla lattes we had to go get one for him.  (I usually had a chai)  We also enjoyed our warm beverages with a fresh cinnamon roll. 


One morning they were out of cinnamon rolls so we bought white chocolate raspberry scones instead.  These became our new favorites so we had those on the last few mornings.

Colt is always ready to share his food.

Look!  A picture of Mommy and Ollie! 

SV -More Beach Time

We spent a lot of time out on the beach. Brad would take the big boys out to the beach while I finished taking care of Ollie.  I would often go outside to see the boys already close to finished with some type of sand building or sandcastle. (although Brad would also share his frustration with his sandcastles being quickly knocked over by our sweet little Colt)

On Wednesday the boys built a sand wall so they could stop the waves from coming in. 
Brody working on the sand wall.

The sand wall created this nice little spot for puddles.  Colt liked to jump into the water....

sit in the water....

and lay in the water.

And Ollie was as happy as can be checking out the scenery.

We bought an inflatable pool, on a whim, so the boys could have something to do outside at Nanny's house.  We didn't use it as much as we thought when we were there but we did use it at the beach.  The boys would come in and get all the sand off before they came inside. 

A video of Brody explaining what he is doing at the beach.  You can't really hear him but I love watching his gestures while he is talking.
 

Colt playing in the water. 

SV - Part 4 - The BEACH

After our time in Prineville we left for the beach. We drove up on Tuesday morning to Moclips. It was a LONG drive but it was nice to know that we would be at the beach for more than a day. Once we were settled we went out to the beach to check it out.

Colt and Brody were so excited!

Notice in this picture Colt's pants are not rolled up.  We had to roll them up later when he started running through the waves.

Brody running on the beach.

Colt after he got wet and a little sandy.  He doesn't seem to mind.

A few videos of beach exploration.

SV - Part 3 - Pool Time

The day after the 4th we went to visit Uncle Denny  (the boys LOVE Uncle Denny). We spent the entire day at a pool near his house. (This is a great pool...it's actually like a really big wading pool)

Uncle Denny is soaking his feet on the left side of the picture.  Brad is standing in the water and Brody is splashing in the water. 

Brad playing with Brody & Colt.  (I spent a long time playing in the pool earlier in the day.  I could have been in there all day but I was needed by Ollie)

Brody & Colt warming up.  It was pretty warm there but it would get really cold when the wind would blow.   

Brad's cousin and her family came to the pool.  The boys love the girls and they loved holding Ollie.  This is Mesa holding Ollie.

Meggie holding Ollie. 

After dinner by the pool we had dinner.  The kids ordered cookie ice cream bars.  I thought they were going to be similar to the ones you get at the grocery store, but these cookie ice cream bars were SO delicious.

Meggie & Colt eating their dessert.

Mesa & Brody eating their dessert.

More pool time...

A few short videos from the pool.

SV - Part 2 - 4th of July

We were able to experience a small town 4th of July celebration in Prineville. It was a lot of fun! One of the best parts was wandering around and not knowing anyone there. We could truly enjoy the festivities.

Brody playing the fishing game.  They won toys or suckers for each of these kid games.

Colt trying to fish.

Brody whacking a frog.  He was actually pretty good at this (and there is a video later in the post that shows him in full swing).

The local cheerleaders had a dunk tank fundraiser.  Brody was so interested in what would happen that we bought a few balls for the boys to throw at the target.  (they didn't hit the target...but somehow the target got pushed so we could watch the cheerleader fall in)

The boys also got tattoos.  Brody's is USA and Colt's is a firecracker.

This is Brody's 2nd place ribbon for the foot race.  He also competed in the wheelbarrow race and the 3 legged race.

Taking a break with their suckers.

This is what Ollie was doing during most of our time there (although we really weren't there for more than 2 hours)

The boys received tokens for free ice cream from Dairy Queen, so we decided to go there for lunch. 

The boys don't quite have enough accuracy to hit the target for the dunk tank.

Brody and Colt in their foot race.  For some reason Colt never even started.  I finally walked with him to the finish line. 


The wheelbarrow race.  Apparently the other contestant cheated (you can hear some of that on here) because he held his daughter by the waist.  I think Brody did a great job when I held his feet so I wanted him to keep doing it that way.



The 3 legged race.  I had a hard time doing this one because Brody had short quick steps. I felt so slow.


Brody and his whack a frog game.


We finished our 4th of July by lighting off a few fireworks and watching the Prineville fireworks.  We had a great view!  Less than 5 minutes into the show Brody said he wanted to go home and go to bed.  It was definitely past their bedtime but they were troopers and managed to watch the entire show.

Summer Vacation - Part 1

Brad was able to take a week off work so we decided to plan a family vacation.  We were looking forward to going to the beach but couldn't get the cabin until July 5th.  We planned on staying home for the 4th of July weekend.  Thursday night Brad talked about possibly leaving on Friday and heading down to Prineville, Oregon.  On Friday around lunch time we made the final decision to go down and leave town for the 4th of July holiday.

With a little frantic packing and no food for our trip we headed down to Portland on Friday afternoon.  (When we go down to Prineville we usually try to stop in Portland to break up the trip and to see our friends)  We arrived at the Welke's about 9:00 and the boys stayed up a little bit to play with Annika. 

You will have to imagine a picture here of our boys and Annika and Ryker.  (I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of them together. Hopefully they will all see each other soon)

On Saturday we continued our trek to Prineville and made it to Nanny's house.

Brad playing the piano with the boys.

Nanny holding Ollie.  Ollie loved Nanny!  They sat and talked to each other.  (Ollie doesn't usually get that kind of attention) 

As always, Nanny was a great hostess with wonderful meals and a warm, inviting home.