Going... Going.. Or-Eh-Gone!

I promised myself earlier this summer that we would make some good family memories before Isaac went to school. And boy did I make good on that promise! This summer has been so filled with activities that I don't know now if I can remember all that we did. I had hoped to give each outing its own post, but since we were so busy, I never had took the time to actually do it. But I really would like to, at least, post about our vacation.

At the end of July we went to Oregon to visit relatives and pick blueberries. We had such an enjoyable time. Jeremiah's mom came with us and we all just had a blast. We stayed with Jeremiah's aunt (who actually isn't his aunt anymore) and she and her husband were so hospitable I wondered if I had died and gone to heaven.

While we were there we toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory where they had yummy cheese and the most incredible ice cream I've ever had. We also went in to Oceanside and played at the beach. That was where Jack thought he had died and gone to heaven. We stripped him down to his diaper and he wallowed in the sand, rolling in it like Ebeneezer Scrooge in his money. Isaac made quick friends with some boys there and they worked on a sand castle. Only Kenley had the courage to brave the water with the adults. She loved it when the water splashed her feet and she ran all over kicking up sand along the way.

After the beach we stopped at little hole in the wall restaurant for dinner. At first I was a little nervous because it was obvious it was an old home, barely renovated enough to be called a restaurant. But the home-style food was delicious and we even got to write our name on the wall, leaving our mark, as it were, on the little diner.

We also got to visit Jeremiah's Great Aunt Georga. We sat out on her deck overlooking Mount Hood and sorted through the berries that we had picked. She spoiled us with a delicious dinner and had little gifts for the children. She showed us some pictures that her kids had put together for her 50th wedding anniversary. It was fun to see her and Jeremiah's grandma as young girls. It was so great to get to visit with Georga.

After dinner at her home we all went to her daughter Kathy's home and had ice cream and an incredibly enjoyable visit with Kathy and her family. Their property includes some woods and the kids loved the charming, old, board swing hanging off the branch of a beautiful, much-coveted maple. We all had such a great time and we spent it with some of the nicest people I've ever known.

We were only there 2 days but we were able to squeeze in enough time to pick about 50 pounds of blueberries . The kids had a blast running around "Blueberry Valley" and eating blueberries while we picked. Kenley took on the responsibility of making sure Jack's mouth never emptied and I wished she were old enough to change the steady line of BLUE diapers that never seemed to empty.

It was a fun trip and our only regret was that it couldn't last longer. Oh, and that we didn't have the tires checked before we left, because it turns out that the front tires were bald and needed replaced. Luckily we found out not long after leaving my brother's home along the way, so we had some place to hang out while Jeremiah headed to the nearest Big-O. It was a bump in the road, but it was preferable to having a blowout in the middle of nowhere!