Tillamook!

They actually made me take a picture of each of them in the driver's seat.  I'm only posting this one.

I've been wanting to go to Tillamook for a long time and finally we did it!  Of course we went to the cheese factory because that is really why we wanted to go there to begin with.  Tillamook is our favorite cheese.  It was our favorite ice cream until Roy started making his own.  True story: When we first got there a girl was passing out free samples of strawberry ice cream.  K started eating hers and said, "This is so yummy.  It's even better than daddy's!"  Sshhh, don't tell Roy.
So we did the free factory tour.  Which is self guided.  Which is really just looking through a few windows and reading some posters.  It was fun; I'm glad we went.  Truth is the hype over the free tour is really so you walk in the door and then somehow before you walk back out you've spent $100 on lunch, cheese, ice cream and fudge.  Or grandpa and grandma have if you're lucky enough to have them with you!
The kids thought it was pretty cool though.  I'd go back again but I want to do it in the winter.  The factory was crazy packed!  When I asked a worker if this was a normal crowds she said everyday is like that in the summer.  So next time, we go in the winter and maybe we'll actually be able to hear some of the videos explaining how they make cheese and ice cream.
After the factory we went looking for jerky because my favorite jerky also comes from Tillamook area.  Turns out Werner's doesn't have an outlet store so we settled for something 2nd best.
We decided to drive up the coast a bit before heading home.  We ended up stopping in Cannon Beach.  It was such a gorgeous day!  Much better than when we actually planned a trip to the coast last week.  The kids didn't have swim suits or towels or anything to play in the sand with.  But as you can see, that didn't stop them at all!

A is afraid of the ocean.  Luckily there was this water pooled on the beach for her to play in.

K is running into the ocean.  D is the small speck of a person you can barely make out in the distance.  Don't know who the third person (on the right side) is.

Even grandma finally gave into the temptation and took her shoes off to walk in the water and sand.

Did I mention it was a beautiful day?  Probably the best weather day I've ever seen on the Oregon coast.

K spent most of the time running - she'd run from water to sand and back again just for the sheer joy of being alive!

Grandpa took a walk down the beach.  I walked out into the water a ways.  It was warm enough to not make your feet hurt until after you'd been in for about a minute!  Poor daddy missed out.  He stayed home to work today.

Beach at Fort Stevens

 It was a cold and cloudy day on the Oregon Coast.  Much like you'd expect!  Not that the cold stopped the kids.

We spent the day in Astoria before driving on to Fort Stevens.  We had a pleasant day riding the trolley and learning about Astoria.  It really was interesting and I'd definitely recommend riding the trolley if you are ever in Astoria.

Cub Scout Camp 2013

Tonight was the final night of Cub Scout camp for D.  This was his first year and it was awesome!  He had a great time and brought home all sorts of little doodads from the trading post.  Good thing he has his own money to spend!  It was just a day camp so he came home every night dust and dirty but excited to go back.

Tonight the families were invited to come up and the packs all put on skits.  D's pack chose his skit to be the one they performed.  It was awesome in the way only a cub skit can be awesome.  I'm proud that his peers picked his skit to be the one they performed though.

D's Little Johnny Skit (adapted from a joke he heard at school)

Narrator: One day little Johnny was at school and his teacher asked him…

Teacher: “Johnny, please come to school tomorrow prepared to tell us the first 6 letters of the alphabet.”

Narrator: So little Johnny went home and asked his mom who was talking on the phone.

Johnny: “What’s the first letter of the alphabet?”

Mom: “Shush-up I’m on the phone!”

Narrator: Next Little Johnny went to ask his older brother who was talking on the phone with his girlfriend. 

Johnny: “What’s the 2^nd letter of the alphabet?”

Older Brother: “Hey Baby.”

Narrator: Next Little Johnny found his dad who was watching football.

Johnny: “Dad, what’s the 3^rd letter of the alphabet?”

Dad: “49, hit ‘em hard!”

Narrator: After that Little Johnny went outside to the garbage can on the curb and asked,

Johnny: “What’s the 4^th letter of the alphabet?”

Garbage Can: “Garbage. . . . Garbage. . . .”

Narrator: Not to be discouraged, Little Johnny tracked down his big sister who was talking on her phone with her friend. 

Johnny: “What’s the 5^th letter of the alphabet?”

Sister: “What? that jerk?!”

Narrator: Finally little Johnny found his little brother watching Elmo.

Johnny: “What’s the 6^th letter of the alphabet?”

Little Brother: “La la la la, la la la la, Elmo’s World.”

Narrator: The next day at school the teacher asked little Johnny what the first 6 letters of the alphabet are.

Johnny: “Shush-up! I’m on the phone!”

Teacher: “What did you just say?!”

Johnny: “Hey baby.”

Teacher: “How many spankings do you think you need?!”

Johnny: “49, hit ‘em hard!”

Teacher: “What do you think this school is?!”

Johnny: “Garbage. . . . Garbage. . .”

Teacher: “Do you need to go to the principal’s office?!”

Johnny: “What? That jerk?!”

Teacher: “What planet are you from?!”

Johnny: “La la la la, la la la la, Elmo’s World.”

Summer back-log

I've been busy living life this summer and now I'm busy trying to catch up on recording that life we've lived!  Here's the summer so far in case you missed it:

The girls' birthday party
Post party tea-party
Traveling on vacation
Partying in St. George
Baby C: 4 Month update
Independence Day
A's birthday cake
Bloody Foot

And here's an oldie that I've been meaning to post for nearly a year now.  I want it on our family record.  It is a letter that Roy wrote to D's primary teacher after a particularly sweet experience.
Letter to a primary teacher

And just 'cause I can't have a post without a little sweetness:

Blood, Sweat and Tears. But mostly blood.

Today I actually did mommy summer school with the kids like I've been planning. Drops of Awesome people, drops of awesome. Then we headed out for day one of swimming lessons. The girls haven't had lessons since last summer. Their teachers both remembered them though. I just have to say that A did astoundingly great! She tends more to the fearful side of things and I have a hard time getting her to do stuff in the water. Allison, her swim teacher, was able to get A to float on her back (with help) and kick her legs. In fact, I think A did pretty much everything her teacher asked. This is a HUGE leap from last year where grandma had to get in with her just to keep her in the water!
K has become something of a water bug so she did fine. The only reason she isn't in level 3 is because she needs more practice to be able to float and swim longer distances. D is also pretty good and in level 4. However, today they were learning to dive and D refused to do it. "I don't want to learn to dive." Very frustrating.
The rest of the day progressed very normally - playing, eating, playing and playing. This afternoon my mom got my little brother's missionary email of the week. In it, he told them he would be coming home August 13. This is 6 weeks earlier than they expected him. It's all honorable, there's just been some changes in the way they do the transfers and this is how it worked out for him. So now we're looking down the barrel at him being home and thinking about summer plans accordingly.
D and I were looking at the calendar on the wall discussing plans for the summer. Grandma walked over with a knife in her hand. She was trying to be safe with it and carried it down by her side - pointing at the floor. As we talked, D kicked his foot up behind him - directly on the point of the knife. It was a good clean cut that immediately started bleeding which caused D to immediately start freaking. I believe we can rule out "Doctor" as a future career choice. He really hates to see blood, especially his! He is fine but it is sore. We debated taking him in to the doctor but decided not to. As far as we can estimate the blade went in pretty far - perhaps 3/4 of an inch. But like I said, it is a clean smooth cut that bled immediately but stopped after we applied pressure.
While grandma was trying to calm D down (honestly, shock was becoming a bigger concern than the cut), I went back to the stove because we had some food cooking for dinner. I looked out the back window over the sink to see A sitting on the trampoline crying. I figured it had to do with the puppy in the backyard that A is afraid to get near. However, when I hollered out the window to see what was wrong she held up her hand that was bleeding. What?! Turns out she had stuck her finger in the pop can she was holding and cut down between her fingers. People, could we just stop with the injuries?
So tonight everyone is well and sleeping peacefully. I’m glad none of the injuries were worse than they were. It was a bit of tearful chaos around here for a while though!

A little more birthday...

Okay, technically A's birthday is tomorrow but her daddy is leaving for home tomorrow before she wakes up.  I gave A the option to have her cake on her actual birthday or today with her daddy.  She opted for today.  So for all intents and purposes, A's birthday is today because I'm about birthdayed out!
Since I asked K what cake she wanted for her birthday I did the same for A.  A wanted a princess cake.  This is a pretty open category so I went to the best resource on the web, Pinterest.  After much research, this is what we came up with:

Now, I know it isn't much to look at.  There's no fear of me showing up on Cake Boss or quiting my day job as a mom to become a cake decorator.  However, this was what A thought of it:

 So really, that's all that mattered.  She got her princess cake.

 She got dressed this morning in a different shirt.  After a bit I noticed that she had changed so I asked her why.  She replied because it was her birthday!  She obviously knows what that shirt means.

It is really hard to blow candles out with a turret in the way!  She managed and we all enjoyed a piece of A's chocolate birthday cake.  She's a big four year old now!

Happy Independence Day!

We love to be in Delta for the Independence Day celebrations.  There's something special about being in a small town for the holiday.  It is a big deal.  Whereas, when we've stayed in the city for the festivities, it feels more like just an extra day off work.  Here the whole town comes together for a parade and fun in the park. Roy likes the jet fly-over we usually get.  It didn't happen this year because of budget costs and such but we did have a fun fly over by a few locals in their small planes!  The kids like the parade - and the candy that gets thrown.  I like being where I know people.  I like being able to look around and see many familiar faces in the crowd as well as catch up with people I haven't seen all year or longer.

 After the parade there is a community party in the park.  Grandpa bought wrist bands for the kids so they could play in the bouncy houses set up around the park.  He also gave in to buying them snow cones.  Those kids sure know how to work their grandpa!

A probably had the most fun playing on the bouncy houses.  Unfortunately, K was too hot and tired.  She decided she just wanted to go back to the house.  It was time to take the baby home anyway so Roy and I headed out leaving Grandpa and Grandma to watch D and A.
Tonight, D went to the derby with Uncle Justin and Aunt Jessica.  He loves to go watch the cars smash into each other.  Then they watch the city fireworks before coming home for the night.
I hope you all had a happy, patriotic and family filled day too!