Still here at the beach and LOVING it! I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I have to go home and not be able to wake up and enjoy this amazing view :)
We were supposed to have family pictures taken on the beach on Tuesday night, so we decided to stick close to home during the day so we could all relax and get ready.
We went down to the beach to play a little, but it was pretty windy and cold (not that the kids noticed at all!) Graham literally just ran up and down the beach over and over again...
and Ellie also had fun playing....
The kids didn't stay long before heading up with Papa and Joel to the "hot pool". Carrie, Jacey, and I went for a nice long walk along the beach - loved it!
We got a call from the photographer saying it looked like it might be too windy to do pictures that night, so we made a change in plans and went out to Georgie's for dinner.
We had a little bit of a wait for our seats, so we found a playground near the restaurant - it was soooo cold and windy out...as you can see, the kids still don't really notice or care!
They weren't able to seat us at the same table (I may have had words with the hostess/manager after dinner about this - don't worry, I was totally respectful and calm!) but we were close by and enjoyed a yummy dinner!
I love Georgie's for a few reasons - it's family friendly (there is a treasure box that kids can pick something from after dinner), the view is pretty awesome, and the food and drink is yummy! Nice and casual...I totally recommend :)
After dinner the kids played a bit and then stayed up to watch the sun set into the ocean. As for the grown-ups....after bedtime we've been either playing cards, soaking in the "hot pool", or just sitting in the living room talking....it's been WONDERFUL!
On Wednesday we decided to go check out the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. In all my years here in Oregon, I've never actually been to one....strange, huh??
It was a little bit of a hike to get there, but the scenery was pretty awesome :) LOTS of chilly wind though - I was glad I had Ellie in the stroller 'cause I think that wind could have knocked her over!
There is a height requirement to climb the steps of the lighthouse, but Graham and Mara both made it in. I volunteered to stay outside with the littles 'cause I wasn't sure I could do the steps myself...I'm a little too scared of tight spaces and heights (total wuss....I know!!)
As a side note - Eleanor did a much better job keeping Jacey happy than I did - while Jacey just batted my hands away and cried when I tried to give her some snack puffs, Ellie had no problem convincing her to settle and have a bite to eat :)
Everyone survived the trek up (and back down!) the lighthouse steps - here's the crew after....
We had lunch at McDonalds (kids loved it!) then went home to put the little ones down for a nap. Mom and I took off for some outlet mall shopping in Lincoln City - FUN! I found some back-to-schoolwork clothes for me, and a few things for the kids too (they insist on growing at an alarming rate)
Everyone was just getting back from the beach when we got back home - let me just take a moment to say how well the kids have been getting along...I went downstairs to check on them expecting the worst, but found this!
We had grilled chicken and pork for dinner and then the bigger kids hit the "hot pool" before bed. The little girls had some fun inside the house :)
drinks with Mommy
not sure what was in Jacey's sippy cup to have her end up like this?! :)
Still haven't had any luck with the weather and family pictures - we're hoping it will work out tonight. We have a few items left on our list of things to do and just a couple more days to do them before we have to return to the real world - we plan to enjoy every minute!
