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.
We made it to Tucson and went to Catalina State Park and tried to do a little hiking. Unfortunately, Breanne wasn't interested in that even a little. And poor little Aliya seemed to be struggling with a tummy ache and just couldn't fall asleep. We did manage a few pictures. 
And Madison & Breanne pointed to the sharp pokies on the cactus. It was our first time to see cactus, they are quite amazing plants! 
Derrick is standing next to the biggest cactus we saw on that hike to give you an idea of just how big it was. After our time there, we met Melissa and followed her to her apartment and had pizza for dinner. I took some cold medicine and was in bed by 8pm.
We left for San Diego on Friday morning and the girls were quite excited for a "road trip." We got about 15 miles outside of Tucson when the van broke down. (It was a KIA, figures...) We were able to make it back to Tucson and exchanged the van for a running one that did us quite well for the duration of the trip. 
As we left Tucson again, Breanne in such good spirits said, "San Diego, take 2!" It was a really pretty drive across Arizona's desert and also California. 
I tried my best to take pictures as we drove, without making Derrick stop 20 times. 
We made it to our hotel north of San Diego just in time to watch a gorgeous sunset at the beach. The beach was just a 10-minute walk from our hotel, so we visited often! The girls immediately loved running along the beach and into the water. 
Breanne loved it so much, she fell in! She was pretty freaked out, but Derrick did well to warm her up in his big sweatshirt. Family pictures were out for that night, but we did get some other great pictures.
We only set our alarms twice during vacation. The day we went to Disneyland was one of those crazy early days! We left the hotel by 6am to be to Disneyland when it opened at 8am. The only California sunrise we took in. That day was fun! The girls loved it and they say that it was one of their favorite things about vacation (probably second to swimming..we'll get to that later.) 
Breanne will tell you that meeting TinkerBell was her favorite part of Disneyland (yes, we stood in line to meet the princesses!) They also got to meet Ariel, Jasmine and Belle. They met Eeyore and Tigger. I also encouraged them to meet Mickey Mouse, but they weren't near as impressed with him (however, he did kiss Madison's arm, it's for sure healed now!) 
We stayed all day and it was soooo cold after the sun went down, but worth it to see everything lit up and let the girls go on even more rides!
We slept in Sunday morning. It was my favorite morning because I got to take a short nap on the beach!!! It was a gorgeous morning at the beach and even felt warm as we sat in the sun. The big girls found it so much fun to look for sea shells and even found some sand dollars on the beach. (We found out that they're purple when you find them because they're alive. After they die, it turns white.) We grilled on our deck for lunch and after a nap for the girls, we headed for Sea World.
Here you can see the girls do their best "afraid face" as we walked through the Shark Encounter. 
We also went to a 4-D Sesame Street Show. The girls liked that a lot! Madison and Breanne put on their glasses early and were making silly faces while we waited for the show to start. 
Aliya spent lots of time in the stroller hanging out and napping. Vacation can be rough on a little baby and I think she liked having this place that was hers.
The evening Shamu Show was Derrick & my favorite part of Sea World. I took probably 200 pictures (I love taking pictures!!) but I'll share just one favorite with you. 
Here Derrick, Madi & Aliya snuggle to stay warm for the evening show.
On Monday, we went back to Sea World to see the rest of the animals. Our favorites were the Beluga Whales, Shamu, and walking under the sharks. (The manatees were pretty cool too.) Madison really liked Shamu and they both loved the kids area: Abby's Sea Star Spin ride and Oscar's Rocking Eel. =) Derrick also talked Madison into going on a roller coaster with him. She said it was "good" but she wasn't interested in doing it again that day.Sea World closed at 5 that night and so we went back to the hotel to make dinner and relax. Here enter the swimming. Madison and Breanne became part fish. It was just above 60 degrees and they couldn't get enough of the pool. Derrick was such a good dad and constantly got in the pool with them to swim. 
This is also when Aliya rolled from her back to her belly for the first time. What a big girl!!
ed the San Diego Zoo. We really liked the Koalas, gorillas and the panda bears (and I love zebras and giraffes). We were impressed by the grizzly bears and mountain lions and were anxious to add that we NEVER want to see them hiking or camping here in Montana! We posed for two pictures after our day at the zoo. In the first one we're all acting tired and silly (it's a lot of walking at the zoo!!) and a nice one too.
On Wednesday morning, we went to the beach one last time. The waves were huge and there were lots of surfers! Then we checked out the Wild Animal Park. It was okay, but probably not the thing to do after you just the entire day prior at the zoo. The highlight was see the agriculture on the drive out there and spotting the fresh strawberries and oranges at a roadside stand! They were sooo yummy!
We saw everything we loved at Sea World one last time and then took a picnic lunch to the beach. A great theory, until you get there and remember there is sand...EVERYWHERE and in EVERYTHING! Oh, well! Good memories. We drove up to La Jolla Cove where a friend told us we would see the seals sunning. It was amazing! Like 100s of seals sunning on the beach, swimming and such. The views were breath-taking as well. 
Friday, we drove back to Tucson. The girls did remarkable on the drive! Here you can see Breanne in her SeaWorld hat (too cute!) And even Madison got wore out in California and had to take a nap! We stopped at a "Rest Area" by the sand dunes. It was the worst ever. 
Derrick and the girls are giving it a thumbs down rating. We were able to go to Craig and Amy's (Derrick's cousin) house for dinner Friday night. 
The girls had soo much fun playing with Sydney. It was terrific to visit with family we haven't seen in so long! We're so glad we got to do this!