Oregon Visit Part 2

Part 2 of our Trip was no less fun filled or exciting. We went to church on Sunday and then hung out around the farm. I love watching my babies on the farm. They are so interested in everything. They helped Grandpa corral the horses, feed the chicken, gather eggs. It was pretty cute. 

Then the kids helped Grandpa clean up his old carriage. 

And they helped Mimi pick cherries for a pie. 

Then Uncle Brad got the horses saddled and took the kids for a ride.  

Tucker was a little too scared to ride alone, so Bailey rode with him. 

But then he got brave and rode all by himself!

Maureen even took Benson for a ride. Benson wasn't a huge fan. 

Grandpa asked Stephanie to make t-shirts for all the kids. 

How cute are all these cousins in their matching shirts? 

Then Grandpa took all the cousins for a ride on his horse-drawn carriage 

 

These three girls are so cute. They have to stick together since they are so outnumbered. 

Then it was time for family pictures. We had all the kids wear their shirts for pics with Mimi and Grandpa. 

Grandkids- Nine grandkids ages 9 and under. 

Here is the lineup. Each shirt has their age and their name written in their own handwriting. 

And one with Mimi and Grandpa. So cute!

Then we took extended family pics. This picture was incredibly hard and I was so relieved to have it done. 

We also snagged one of Don & Deveney with their boys. 

Here is one of our family pics. 

Oh and a few more of these cute girl cousins. 

LOVE THEM!

On Monday we woke up and hit the road to drive over to the coast for the day. 

We were all excited for some clam chowder and beach bumming. 

The kids had never had west coast clam chowder and they were all big fans. 

The Chowder Bowl is a Herb family favorite. 

After lunch at the Chowder Bowl, we walked down to the beach and played for hours. 

Mimi happily sat and watched Benson for us while we walked around the beach. 

Tanner enjoyed collecting shells. 

While Tucker enjoyed taking buckets of water back and forth to his sand fort. 

Bailey loved digging holes and running in the surf. 

The kids were shocked at how cold the water was. The Oregon coast is much cooler than what we are use to so it took some adjusting. 

But they loved running back and forth chasing the waves. 

Benson loved crawling in the sand and doing his best to eat handfuls at a time. 

How gorgeous are these big blue skies and ocean views. 

These two boys are pretty cute too!

Love them!

Chase and Tanner worked really hard to dig a tunnel. They are so cute. 

Sure love this sandy boy. 

After our time at the beach, we rinsed off and changed. Then we explored along the bay.
The sea lions weren't playing so we skipped that and went to the candy store. The kids enjoyed picking out a special treat and some salt water taffy. 

Then the kids fell asleep on me on the drive home. I sure love these sweet, fun kiddos. 

Tuesday we played in the morning at Aunt Stephanie's house and then went to a Rodeo in St. Paul, Oregon. 

Chris has been wanting to take our kids to the St. Paul Rodeo for years. We were happy to make it happen on this trip. We had a great time eating fair food and watching the rodeo. 

Benson was a huge fan of the foot long corn dogs and so was Tucker. 

Tanner also had the foot long corn dog and Bailey had a pizza bomb. 

Then we hung out for a bit while we waited for everyone to finish eating.
I just love all the cousin time. 

Chase and Mimi took turns walking Benson around. 

Benson loves Mimi!

And everyone loves Benson. He was constantly the center of attention and the older cousins were so cute with him!

Cute Bailey and Tuck

And Paige joined the mix for a couple pics too. 

Then it was time for the rodeo to start. The kids loved it. We really loved the bull riding. The buzzer was a little loud of Benson, but he did really good with all the noise. 

Bailey immediately noticed the cotton candy and so we had to get some. 

She also fell in love with Paige's obnoxious cowgirl hat. 

So many selfies at the rodeo. 

I sure love this girl of mine She's my favorite girl in the world. 

How awesome is this original Rodeo sign? We had to get a picture in front of it. 

And one last full family selfie before driving home that night. 

The rodeo was so fun and I'm so glad we went!

The next day was Wednesday and the 4th of July. We had a low key day planned.
The weather was amazingly cool so our water plans were out.
The high was only 64 degrees. So stinking amazing. 

Chris and I got to go on a four wheeler ride together. We explored all over the Herbs' new property and had a blast. 

LOVE this man of mine. 

Tanner  loved helping Grandpa at the ranch. 

That night we partied hard with the cousins. 

First we went to the fireworks stand and bought everything that looked fun. 

When we got back from the firework stand, we started some day time fireworks.
Sparklers were a hit with everyone. 

The dads had more fun than anyone. Blowing things up and lighting things on fire. 

This little boy is becoming more like his pyro Dad. 

Benson enjoyed the fireworks from his Daddy's arms. 

Until dinner was ready, the cousins all played outside together. Benson enjoyed snagging snacks and stomping/crawling all over the yard. 

 

Paige and Tucker picked more cherries. 

Tucker is going to miss this cherry tree when we go home. 

Love these watermelon girls!

Dinner was finger-licking good. Ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, water melon and cherry pie. 

Even Benson enjoyed it!

He crawled around scavenging everyone's plates and eating their leftovers. 

These cute cousins- only 3 months apart in age. Love them!

Tanner was a big fan of Mimi's cherry pie and the most delicious homemade vanilla ice cream ever!

Then we attempted to get a picture of all the cousins. You can imagine how that went. 

Eventually we pulled it together. 

Then Grandpa took the kids around to the front of the house to do some more fireworks.

It was then that we discovered where the dad's got their love for blowing things up. 

He was tossing bottle rockets into a bucket of water and laughing the whole time. It was so funny. 

Then we did more sparklers. I love sparkler pictures!

How awesome are these pics of Tanner? I love them!

Uncle Brad bought some big fireworks in Idaho on his way to Oregon and so we got to set those off too. Look at this cute crew watching the display!

After fireworks, we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. 

We had a wonderful fourth of July in Oregon!!!

Literally the coolest 4th of July of my life. I will never forget the amazing weather we enjoyed.
It has spoiled my summer because Arkansas summers are no where near that cool!

Happy 4th from the Herbs

The next day, July 5th, we left to fly home. The kids did great on the flight. We flew back into Colorado and then got a hotel for the night. We drove the 11 hours home on Friday and the kids were happy to be home, but missing our Oregon family. 

We had such a wonderful visit. It was seriously the best visit we have ever had and we really love visiting during the summer. We made so many wonderful memories and I'm so glad my kids had so much time with their cousins.