Oregon Day 5

We headed toward Tillamook first thing that day. On the way we went to beautiful Munson Creek Falls. It was the perfect hike for Ezra - only .4 miles! 

Oregon has the biggest juicy slugs we've ever seen! Euw!

Ez told Dad that he'd give him a piggy back ride when he gets tired of carrying Lucy.

Munson Creek Falls.

We drove by a huge air museum but decided not to take time there. Instead, we went right to the cheese factory. The kids were amazed at the giant cheese blocks and we loved the sample area at the end of the self-guided tour. Lucy and me loved the squeaky cheese, and the boys all loved the pepper jack. As a side note, since returning home from Oregon we have eaten a block of pepper jack cheese nearly every week. It turns out that we love it in most all our regular cheese recipes.  We were excited to buy some fudge and ice cream, but after eating lunch we were too full. We had special grilled cheese sandwiches and some fries with squeaky cheese and gravy on top (something we'd never normally eat but it was tasty!). There was no way we could stuff any treats in after that. 

We headed to the coast to see the Cape Meares Lighthouse and the Octopus tree nearby. Afterward, Nolan and me continued on a trail for another half mile while Dad took the others to the car and picked us up at the end of the trail. Talk about a thick forest! We did a little driving around since the kids were worn out. They fell asleep about the same time that Justin and I started craving some ice cream. So we headed back to Tillamook. I ran in and got the goods and the boys stayed asleep while Justin and I enjoyed our sinful treat in the car. We did share with Lucy since she was awake and whining from the long ride. The boys never did find out about what Justin and I called "Tillamook Part II." 

Looking south from the lighthouse.

The Octopus Tree

Lucy was so happy to get down and crawl in the grass. She loves watching tall trees and birds.

Nolan wanted to hold the squirrel. Thankfully it ran off first.

Nolan heading into the woods without Dad... a little scary.

Another icky slug.

Sacked out. The boys had chosen some suckers in Tillamook so we didn't feel too bad about eating ice cream without them.

On the way back, we drove around Cape Lookout area and then back to Pacific City. All day long the boys had begged to just play on the beach with the sand toys. So after dinner we walked to the beach and took some firewood. It was too windy but the boys managed to build a cool castle that they called "Bob the Straub," after all the jokes we had made about the Bob Straub park. Lucy and me went back early to have a nice hot shower. The boys were excited to get to bed and enjoy another movie while falling asleep. Their favorite was Escape to Witch Mountain. 

 Sorry about the camera angle. But Justin does have a nice bum.

Oregon Day 4

We woke up early (it gets light at like 5 a.m. there) and headed to a small grocery story. Yikes, we paid $5.60 for a small box of cereal. I was deciding to get the bare minimum and asked for some chicken. She referred me to a different grocery story for that. If only I had started there; it was cheaper... but still painfully expensive. I was still worried about my lost wallet and figured that it had been stolen at the water park. The people there had told us that it wasn't turned in or found. We were just about to start cancelling some credit cards so we decided to say one last prayer. About two minutes later, the water park called back and said it had been found! What a relief! Now I'd just have to wait for 4 days to pick it up on our way back to Portland. After a little relaxing time and some lunch, we went on a bike trailer. We were thrilled with the bike trailer that the owner had bought just for us, after I inquired if they had one. We rode for 8 miles north on the coastal highway and back through a wooded area and by a small lake. Nolan didn't love the bike he was using, called "Tropical Splash." He especially didn't like when we teased him about its name! He was a trooper going up some big hills and Lucy got tired of the trailer but was happy to snuggle with Ezra.

 The evidence is right there: she's been eating sand. She loved it on the beach.

 The reason we come to the beach: to scream and run away from the waves.

We were lucky to have beautiful weather. It was around 65 degrees and sunny. There was some mist rolling off the waves. 

Not a person for miles!

 I had cleaned off her face but apparently she went back for more!

 My best little buddy. We look just a little alike here, don't we?

Justin's favorite spot in the beach house. What a surprise when one of the kids flipped it on and it vibrated!

The bunk bed joy never ended during our 5 night stay. While relaxing for a while, we enjoyed our first bowl of Tillamook ice cream. Divine! It'll be hard to ever buy another kind again.

That evening, we drove south to see what we could see. We happened upon this farm and Ezra said they were giant marshmallows. After that, we saw giant marshmallows (really just hay wrapped in plastic) all over and we called them marshmallow farms. 

We also checked out Bob Straub State Park (and joked about that name the rest of the trip) and Nestucca Wildlife Refuge. We drove back to Cape Kiwanda (right by Pacific City) and climbed the giant sand hill to watch the sunset. It was a breezy evening and it turns out there were lots of clouds blocking the sun. It was still neat to see the cliffs and let the boys run down the hill.

Here's the view looking back toward Pacific City and our beach house is on that beach about a mile away.

That night, the boys were excited to watch a movie in bed while Justin and I had fun pouring over our new floor plan book. It's our silly new hobby (so fun to dream!).