A Day at the Beach

Thanks to the excellent recommendation of Auntie Erin, we were lucky to escape a Portland heatwave and find gorgeous accommodations at the beach. The house we rented in Pacific City was great - family friendly, pet friendly and gorgeous. Did I mention it was really nice? Visiting the beach is always refreshing for me (of course, being 40 degrees cooler helps, too). We had a great time doing all the things we normally do - beachwalking, tidepooling, aquarium visiting, brew pub sampling and spending some time together. Here's a little sample of our trip.

Also, did want to mention our excellent karma experience. While we were wandering into the Aquarium, a nice woman offered to use her pass to get as many of us in for free as possible. How nice is that? Gotta love Oregon! I'm definitely going to pass it on the next time I'm at the zoo.

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Here a Cousin, There a Cousin ...

... Everywhere a cousin! And, a couple of aunts, too.

First, Emily and Kelly came by for a visit. As you can see, the boys didn't like Emily at all. Gee, do you think the elementary school librarian vibe was apparent to the boys? It was great to see them both - it had been too long!

Then, Beth and Jan appeared for a couple of overnight visits. Don't let the word get around, but apparently the trundle is quite comfy. So happy to have Beth (and Patrick) back in the Northwest. And, for the boys, there's little that beats an early morning sidewalk art project while still in jammies. Quite the treat (thanks to Jocelyn and family for the sidewalk paint ... although I'm wondering when the paint might fade).

Celebration!

Here's a look at Ry's birthday party. Yes, I know it was at the end of July. I'm getting caught up! By the way, he's pretty sure he's three.

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Summer's Bounty

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Happy, Happy Hair

Lately, Ben has been trying out a new vocabulary. Not Spanish, and not grownup words (thankfully), just his own creations to describe everyday things. I've been jotting them down and decided to share the latest.

First, the next time someone goes to New Seasons, Ben would really like it if they could pick up some more goose-goose salad from the deli. The curry kind was especially good.

The other day, a fly got into the house (perhaps through the gash in the screen door caused by repeatedly being hit by a ball?) and Ben urged me to "Quick, get the flyswapper!"

Ben would really like to return to Yellowstone because that's where we see the most chickmunks.

Instead of my usual "great, big, huge" descriptive, I mixed it up with "big ol' hole" to describe the dip in the road. Ben heard "beagle hole!" and forever more, that is what they are.

Tonight, he was rubbing a balloon on his head, trying to get his hair to stand on end. He asked, "Mama, is my hair ecstatic?" Why yes, yes it is.

Home Grown Goodness

Although it's been a long-time coming, we finally have enough stuff from the garden to make dinner (almost - we don't grow onions). There's some yummy green beans (note to self: plant lots more next year), two different kinds of beets (roasted) and the beet greens sauteed with onion and garlic. The boys ate it all and eagerly asked for seconds. When they asked for thirds, though, they were out of luck. Just give it a couple of days ...

Reaching New Heights!

The kids from Ben's school have the coolest parties - swim centers, clowns and now rock climbing. Totally awesome. Ben was very brave and made it almost to the top (second highest of anyone there). Super cool!

The Rest of the Trip

Alright, so I know you're all tired of the pics from a month ago (well at least my loyal reader is), so it's time to summarize the rest of the trip and get things wrapped up. Lots of other stuff to talk about since then anyway! So, here's some misc stuff.

New Hampshire

Ants Attack!

Downtown Portsmouth
Silly boy!
Pretty bridge

Belfast, Maine (really, really pretty)
And they had some yummy root beer.
Seafood doesn't get much fresher than this ... thanks Nuvi.
Moosepoint State Park (there were no moose).
Fun in the sea at Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

Uncle Pat finally got to drive ...
Nothing beats ribs (if you're Ry)
Bah Hahbah, Maine (aka Bar Harbor)
Awww ...

Hostess with the Mostest!

Tiffy and Pat have met a wonderful family in Maine. Not only do they have cutie pie Chloe (with the coolest toys in and around Bangor), but Courtney knows a thing or two about cooking up the seafood. And, Mike knows just a little bit about the lobster (thanks to his certainly soon to be awarded PhD). Courtney treated us to a feast and Mike gave some valuable instructions on the proper technique for eating a lobster. This time, it was so, so good. Oh, the shrimp cocktail, the breaded shrimp, the scallops and the clams were pretty good, too (if you like that kind of thing - Ry no like lobster).

Told you she was a cutie pie!

And, a computer where no one tells you not to push the buttons - Ry was pretty stoked.

Yes, this was the soon to be eaten lobster.

Ry wasn't so sure about the lobster ...

But he warmed up to it ...

Ben soaked up all the info Mike had to share - especially how to get to the good stuff!

While Ben was proud of his lobster, Ry was also eager to show off his bread.

Acadia National Park

This was a little bit different national park experience than we're used to. There were no bison causing traffic jams (certainly no moose) and no snow. Instead, there was a beautiful beach, aptly named Sand Beach. This is where we spent the bulk of our time. The boys seemed to enjoy it, just a little bit. We also enjoyed the view from the top of the Cadillac Mountain.

Arrgh! Mini Golf in Maine

Ben was pretty excited that we got to play some mini golf on our way to Acadia National Park. As you can tell, he really got into the swing of things. No groaning, that was some good funny.

Uncle P had his own approach ...
Yes, this is him - stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Ry had his own technique.
It kept him happy!

This is what happens when you don't laugh at my jokes.