Our family has been across the country, from coast to coast since we've been married. From the beaches of the Gulf, Daytona, South Carolina to the Northern Oregon Coast...
3 Passes
Saturday, July 17
Early Saturday morning, we began our trek to the Oregon coast. The plan was to leave early enough to have a mid-morning snack at Wheat Montana…some of the finest pastries and cinnamon rolls as big as your head! Derrick asked Madison if she was going to share hers with him. She looked at the roll, looked and him and just smiled. She decided Breanne could share with Aliya.
We after 11 hours of driving and three mountain passes (Bozeman, Butte and Lookout) , we arrived in TriCities, WA. We tried to hunt for Washington cherries to no avail! We did succeed in a couple of dips in the pool at the Holiday Inn and driving around TriCities three times trying to find the right place to eat. (Note to the family…just don’t let mom decide.)
“So long..”
Sunday, July 18
The drive across Oregon alongside the Columbia River was very interesting to Derrick and me. We enjoyed seeing the agriculture, the bluffs, the wind surfers and amazing view of Mt Hood and Mt. St. Helen’s (volcanoes).
We drove through state parks and national forests through Oregon’s gorge and saw some cool waterfalls and tried to do a little hiking. (As much as the girls would allow…when all they can think about is swimming at the hotel. 
While we were hiking, Madison says, “Is it 4 o’clock yet?” She knew that was check in time at the hotel. We explained that we didn’t need to be there at 4 o’clock exactly. She answered quickly, “Yea, we can get there at 5 o’clock then.”
The big girls couldn’t wait until we made it to the ocean. “Who’s going to see it first?” On the last 50 miles to the coast (that takes forever!) Madison says, “I just can’t wait to see the ocean again! It’s just been so long since we’ve been to the ocean.” Cue mom and dad. “Yea, it’s been like a year and a half….you know Madison mom and dad were 21 and 22 before we ever saw the ocean. And she’s so lucky to have seen the ocean 4 times already…” Man we’re starting to sound like our parents.
Dad beat us all to seeing the ocean first. Aliya was absolutely giddy running around on the beach and I’m sure Breanne was delighted to not fall in this time around. (She had told me that when we went to the beach she was going to wear her swimsuit because then if she fell in like last time, she wouldn’t be cold.)
Sandcastles and kites
Monday, July 19
Ahhh! A day to relax. As much as you can relax with three active kiddos. We’ve had a great day recreating with our girls and the Ottenbachers. Derrick made breakfast this morning (and he let me sleep in!) and then we headed out to the beach to build the sandcastles!
We soon coined Aliya, “The Destroyer.” She loved to cave in the moat and wreck the castles. Clearly it was time for mommy and Aliya to go sea creature hunting. We walked out and found some cool new tide washed treasures. Lots of broken sand dollars, crab shells, seashell fragments, a crab leg and even a jellyfish! Steer Aliya clear, she would most definitely poked her finger right in the middle of that poisonous thing.After lunch, we joined up with our friends and went kite shopping. Madison explained, “I worked long and hard to find us a kite Breanne.” Derrick rolled his eyes, “Madison, I worked long and hard to make the money to buy the kite.” Derrick had fun watching the girls figure out how to fly the kite. We enjoyed lots of time playing in the sand and I even got to do my favorite thing of all…take a nap on the beach!
We even got a glimpse of blue sky for a brief time before heading back to the pool. They even got me in the pool this evening. That’s crazy on like 10 different levels…sixty-five degrees out and swimming. I’ll be in the hot tub!
Hot Chocolate, Macchiato
Tuesday, July 20
Today started out at 100% humidity and misting rain. Delighted to try something new, I got to run on the beach this morning and spied three jellyfish. We packed a lunch and headed down shore to Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park.
In the State Park, we got to experience the Oregon coast forests full of HUGE Sitka spruce trees. Compared to the lodge pole pine in the Beartooths, these trees are wider than our minds can even comprehend. The hike offered some great views of the ocean (after the clouds lifted a bit.) We enjoyed the hike and if we’re lucky, no one will break out with poison ivy.
After a quick lunch, we were disappointed to find only one starfish at the tide pools at Haystack Rock.
Also discouraged that the forecast predicted sunny and 70 and we didn’t break 60 degrees, we were freezing. We headed back into Cannon Beach and found a quaint coffee house and filled up on hot chocolate and macchiatos (so good they took me back to Ethiopia where I first fell in love with them..by the way, CoffeeMate doesn’t do them justice, Gail) Madison and Breanne thought they were the best hot chocolates ever too. Again, disappointed by the Farmer’s Market in Cannon Beach, I will be buying the same cherries at Safeway for $3 a pound, not $5 a pound. Oh well, we headed back to Seaside and enjoyed a game of pool and air hockey. Before bed, it’s a quick dip in the pool for Madison and Breanne and if mom and dad are lucky, a dip in the hot tub after kiddos are fast asleep.
Suicide MarchWednesday, July 21
Onward to Fort Stevens State Park to take in the sights. We saw the site of the Peter Iredale shipwreck, the mouth of the Columbia emptying into the Pacific, and the military batteries that protected the West coast from Japan during WWII.
On our way out of the park, we stopped for a family photo op and Eagle-eyes Jon spotted a whale about 100 yds out from shore. A pair of binoculars in hand, everyone got a chance to watch him swimming in the ocean.
After returning to the resort, we got the girls situated with the Ottenbacher family and Derrick and I headed out for a date! Not every girl would choose to go hiking on a date, but hiking without kids sounds dreamy to me. We drove about 20 miles out of Seaside toward the mountains (where the sun was shining). We hiked to the summit of Saddle Mountain (the highest point in the Coast Mountain Range). The hike was 5 miles round trip and gained almost 1700ft in elevation. Derrick coined it, “the suicide march.” It was tough but an amazing view from the top! From there we went into Cannon Beach for dinner and enjoyed some time walking around Seaside the rest of the evening.
Happy Birthday!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Two years ago today, Madison asked Jesus to be the boss of her life! We had to celebrate. So this evening (after a day of laying low and hanging out at the resort) we went to a Blast from the Past 50’s café for icecream and rootbeer. When we finished, Madison said, “You know what my tummy is telling me? My tummy says we should come back here again!” I think everyone was in agreement.
Ah, now kids are in bed and time for another dip in the hot tub!
Friday, July 23
Birthdays all around! Today is Miss Christy’s birthday. We started our day with our own rendition of Pig ‘N Pancake (a popular restaurant along the Oregon coast) at the resort. After everyone was ready, we started off to Astoria to the Maritime Museum. We were delighted to bask in the warm sunshine there--best weather we’ve had. The kids loved playing on all the ships in the museum (they could’ve stayed for hours) and we also got to climb aboard a Lighthouse ship that was docked on the Columbia River.
We were amazed at the treachery the mouth of the Columbia posed on passing ships and barges, amazed at the saving work of the Coast Guard.
At lunch, we found a big playground park for the kids to run around on before and after a quick sandwich. We set our course to cross the 4.1-mile bridge that crosses the Columbia and head into Washington to Cape Disappointment to check out a lighthouse up close. When deciding which lighthouse we should walk/hike to, Breanne stopped sucking her thumb long enough to say, “We better do the short one or else I’m gonna whine.” We found the North Head Lighthouse on the Pacific.
Back to the resort to swim and have dinner. We were fortunate to have Toby and Karissa join us for the evening so Jon and Christy could go on a date.
We had fun playing Frisbee, playing in the sand and watching our first sunset on the beach. Beautiful!
Gone Fishin'
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Apparently a bad day fishing isn’t necessarily better than a good day at work. Jon and Derrick went fishing on the Columbia today for sturgeon with no luck! The kids, Christy and I had a relaxing day at the resort. Our last night on the beach was commemorated by a campfire and s’mores of which I was the Gestapo making sure no one got sand in the s’more supplies. What a terrific way to say goodbye to the beach! So long Oregon Coast.
Breanne's 5th birthday was a splash! She woke up and opened her presents. She was thrilled to get open her very own camera. (Since then, she's very carefully documented every moment of our lives.) 
She got to open presents from her sisters and grandparents too before having her breakfast of choice: chocolate chip pancakes! Followed by her first Happy Birthday song of the day complete with candles to blow out.
She got lots of birthday phone calls and we even squeezed in a 4th of July pedicure by mom. Her birthday party started at Big Splash waterpark. She had 4 friends who got to join her and they had lots of fun swimming for about an hour until the park got closed because a big windstorm blew in. We had prayed repeatedly that God wouldn't let the thunderstorm come (at least not until later Breanne prayed.) God answered that prayer and we just moved the party to our house. 
They played, had cake and did cannon balls into our backyard pool! 
On Monday, we drove to Cooke City up the Beartooth Highway (which Ben called a rollercoaster you can drive on). Our plan was to hike to Rock Island Lake (6 miles roundtrip, relatively little incline) until the mosquitos were too thick we had to turn back. So, instead we drove back through the mountains and headed home. Oh well, the views were great! 