Oregon Visit (week 1)

So because we were in Oregon for 3 weeks, I'm going to break up our trip into three posts. There is just too much to write and and too many pictures to post it all into one post.  So here is first week in Oregon, including our trip there. 

 We left for Oregon on August 4th. We packed up the van and drove to Hays, Kansas to visit with the Allreds. We have missed them terribly since they moved to Kansas, but one of the few perks is that they live right off I-80 so whenever we go on a road trip, we get to see them. 
The kids were so thrilled to see their cousins. And as an added bonus, Uncle David and Aunt Michelle drove over from CO to visit too. And, Aunt Laura was there visiting already. We all arrived between 2 and 3 pm. While the kids ran around like feral animals, the adults got to chat. Then we decided to go for a walk over to the park across the street from Aunt Sarah's house. 

I love this picture of Chris and Benson. It's so sweet. 

The kids loved this park. After being in the car for 7 hours they were ready to stretch their legs and play. They had so much fun playing with their cousins. We hadn't seen the Allreds since the 4th of July and this felt like an eternity to us. 

I love these pictures of Uncle David on the swing with Tanner.

While the kids all played, Uncle Johnny bought everyone "Snowballs". These are like snow cones but instead of fruity flavors, the ice is mixed with soda. 

These were a big hit with everyone. 

After our park date we walked back to Aunt Sarah's house and while the kids played with Aunt Laura and Uncle Johnny. Sarah gave the adults a tour of Fort Hays University and a little tour around the city of Hays as well. It was fun to see where they live and where Uncle Johnny spends the majority of his time. Then Aunt Sarah and Uncle Johnny made dinner for everyone. The kids ate on the back porch so the adults could enjoy a quiet meal together and talk. It was so fun to catch up with everyone. 

Even Grant warmed up to me and gave me some smiles and wanted to snuggle with me. 

Eventually Uncle David and Aunt Michelle left to drive home and we  got kids in bed. We had to get up really early to drive the  next day. We had a very short visit but it was so nice to see the Allreds, Aunt Laura, Uncle David and Aunt Michelle. 

The next day we hit the road around 4:30 am. It was an early start but the kids fell back asleep in the van and sleep for a few hours so it was a good way to start our longest day of the trip. We drove 15 hours and stopped for the night in Twin Falls, ID. The kids were so happy to get out of the car and play at the hotel for a bit. I drove a lot on the drive because Chris was working remotely. He sat in the front next to me and worked on his computer and took zoom calls on his phone on and off all day. 

I had to snag a photo to document it because it's such a weird time right now. Chris works from home full time and has since March 14th. But the ability to work remotely made this trip to Oregon possible and we are just so grateful for the technology that allowed us to keep a job and vacation at the same time. 

The kids, honestly, did so great on the drive. They are usually good travelers but 30 hours is a long time for anybody. We were so impressed with how great they did. 

Benson napped a little on the drive and around 5 pm on the second day he got super grumpy, but once I gave him my phone he cheered up.

On day 3 of our drive we arrive in Oregon around 4 pm. The last hour of the drive was the hardest and the kids were bouncing off the walls with excitement. It was pretty cute. 
We arrived at Mimi and Grandpa's house and unpacked the van.

The kids immediately set out to explore and stretch their legs. Tucker loved helping Mimi pick some veggies from her garden and Benson was all about the apple orchard. 

  

 

We played for a couple of days at Mimi and Grandpa's house. Tanner and the younger boys made up a game called "Apple Schmear" in which they take turns tossing apples at each other and hitting the apples into the field with a bat so the horses can enjoy them. They had so much fun smashing the apples  in the air with the bat  and watching the pieces fly into the field. Tucker was disappointed that Mimi's cherry tree was done producing for the year, so I bought him so cherries from a road side stand on day. He was so excited. 

 

We also celebrated Mimi's birthday together and the kids were introduced to their newest cousin, Naomi. She's the sweetest, calmest  and most loved baby ever. All the cousins are obsessed. It's pretty cute. 

 

On Sunday, August 9th, we headed over to the Oregon coast. The coast weather was drastically different than Arkansas weather and we were a bit shocked. It was much cooler at the coast. I had to run to the store and buy some more jeans for my kids while we were there. 

We arrived at our beach house a little before check-in and decided to play at the beach for a while. The kids loved it. The beach was pretty short and so the waves reached us eventually but it was so fun to be so close to the ocean. 

 

 

Our beach house had an amazing two story deck that overlooked the ocean. It was the best part of the house. 

I really loved doing yoga in the mornings and evenings out here on this porch. I could literally step out of my room onto the porch and it was amazing. 
It's really hard to beat sunset yoga at the beach. 

Eventually, we checked in to our house and got settled. Then we started grilling burgers and everyone arrived. It was so fun to have all the Herbs together.  

  

I love watching all the little cousins together and their friendships grow. Even Benson fell in love with baby Naomi. 

The next morning the Dads, the older boys and Mimi were supposed to go deep sea fishing. Unfortunately, the ocean was too rough and their charter cancelled their trip. However, this worked out well for us because we were able to spend most of the day with the Mattsons. They were visiting the Oregon coast too and happened to be checking out of their beach house that day. So they checked out and then met us at the most perfect Oregon beach. Most of the time the wind makes the beach really difficult. But this beach was blocked by a cliff that jutted out and so it blocked a lot of the wind. It was so fun. The kids played with the Mattson's kids non stop and they all had so much fun together.  The kids had met previously during spring break last year. We spent the day in Rexburg with the Mattsons and so the kids remembered each other. 

This beach was near the Mattson's beach house and so they knew all the cool places to play. They introduced us to these awesome tide pools. The kids had a blast exploring together. 

 

 

We saw lots of different sea life. I loved the starfish the most. 

 

The boys had a great time harvesting these mussels and they brought home bucketfuls to eat. 

 

Because the water is so cold on the west coast, the kids had no desire to swim. Which  meant the kids just played happily in the sand and the adults were able to just sit and talk and watch the kids play safely in front of us. It was so nice. We chatted for hours and had the best time catching up. 

Benson really loved digging in the sand. 

  

Finally after 5 hours at the beach together with the Mattsons, we decided we should probably head back to our beach house to hang out with the family. So we said goodbye to the Mattsons and drove back to our house.  The rest of the family had gone to a different beach  and after everyone got cleaned up, we cooked up our mussels and made dinner. 
I tried a mussel but seeing where they came from and watching Chris clean them kind of ruined them for me. But the kids loved them. 

 

We made s'mores that night for dessert. Benson needed help to eat his so he didn't have to get his hands dirty. Luckily, Uncle Phillip was there to help.  

 The kids slept in different rooms together. Tanner and Tucker slept in the crow's nest room. They had this little staircase that led up to their room and they loved having their own private access. 

Bailey, Maureen and Paige shared a bedroom and then the other boys shared a room and Benson slept in our closet. On the day we checked in, Chris snagged us the best room. It wasn't the master suite but it was amazing. It had this huge king sized bed, a private bathroom and one wall was just windows that overlooked the ocean. It was gorgeous. 

The next day we took everyone back to the beach where we went with the Mattsons. 
Everyone loved the low wind beach and the kids played happily. 

We even brought a picnic lunch and stuff for s'mores and a beach fire. 
It was a great day at the beach, even Mimi and Grandpa joined us. 

I love these beach babes of mine. 

the cousins had so much fun burying each other in sand and building sand castles together. 

I love this shot of Tucker buried up to his neck in sand. It cracks me up. 

And we took the cousins back over to the tide pools and we caught this massive crab. Tucker loved it. 

I also helped the kids bury Bailey and make her into a mermaid. She loved this. We were all cracking up. 

The dads built us a little beach fire and we all roasted marshmallows. We even popped some popcorn over the fire. 

 

 

 

 

  

Everyone enjoyed the popcorn Uncle Phillip popped. The first bag got burned as he figured out the best way to heat it. But the second bag was much better. 

Brad took Paul and Maureen back to the beach house early with Mimi and Grandpa, but the rest of us stayed and had a blast. The kids could have kept playing to hours. 

But Mimi and Grandpa were preparing a delicious seafood dinner and we didn't want to miss it. So we headed back to the house, got cleaned up and had an amazing dinner. 

Tanner said it was the best meal ever. All my kids love seafood so this meal was a huge hit. 

We sure loves this family of ours. 

That night we hung out, the kids watched a movie and then we put everyone to bed. 
We packed up and checked out of our beautiful beach house.  While the adults were running around like crazy people packing and cleaning, the kids were admiring their favorite baby. 

We had to snag one group shot before leaving. 

I also had to get one of my kids in front of the gorgeous hydrangea bush in front of our house. 
We had so much fun at the coast and this house was perfect for our big group.  

  

After checking out, we drove down to Newport and played at the really fun park. The kids had so much fun with all the balance equipment and the amazing slide. 

 

 

Then we got some clam chowder from our favorite place in Newport, "The Chowder Bowl" and took it to the park to eat. It was delicious. 

After lunch we drove over to the bay and parked and walked to the candy store. This taffy had been calling our names since we arrived at the coast and it didn't disappoint. Neither did the chocolates. They were so good. 

 

You can't tell in this picture but Benson really did enjoy the candy store. He just looks totally unimpressed here. 

From the candy store we walked over to see the sea lions and seals. The kids loved  listening to them bark and talk to each other. 

We had so much fun at the coast. After the fun at the bay front, we drove home munching on salt water taffy the whole way. It was a wonderful trip to the coast and we had the best time. 

After we got home from the coast, we unpacked and did a ton of laundry. I vacuumed a million grains of salt out of the van and we just relaxed for a day around Mimi and Grandpa's house. 
The kids love being at Mimi and Grandpa's farm. They are never bored. 
I love this shot of the kids on the swing. Its always fun for me to see their relationships grow and watch them willingly play together. 

Oh and Mimi and Tucker worked on a puzzle together while we visited and I had to document the cuteness. They were the best little puzzle buddies.

And that marks our first week in Oregon. It was full of fun and adventure. Stay tuned for week two because it was also full of so much fun!