Oregon Coast 2008

We stayed in Portland with Jason's fabulous sister, Elizabeth, in her incredible house. The boys had the best time in her backyard the next morning, cutting down bamboo from her bamboo grove (I'm serious) to make the coolest fort ever. They will never be satisfied with my low-tech blanket forts again. Thank you, Elizabeth and Kent! We also stopped by the Portland Saturday Market, where we were quite the spectacle with four children and a bike.

We were so excited to arrive in Newport, where temps ranged from 60-70 degrees. We were happy to leave the high nineties at home for a little sweater weather. The ocean in Oregon is cold, but the kids obviously didn't care. Our beach house was a tiny little walk through the trees to the water. It was gorgeous!

We went on a whale-watching adventure one day, which was incredible. We actually saw a whale! It was my first up-close whale experience (okay, except for Sea World), and it was amazing to be that close to one. I do have photos, but they are the worst photos ever. My camera didn't seem to want to cooperate, so you'll just have to trust that we really saw one.

What trip to Newport would be complete without a trip to Mo's?
Well, Owen didn't seem very impressed.

Jason went surfing on the only cold, rainy day of our trip. What a trooper. He took a lesson to improve his sweet skills. The only problem I can see for his career as a pro surfer is that he got seasick while practicing rolling under the waves in the surf. Uh-oh.
Andy, Lee, Cami, and Tyler went out on a crab boat one day and brought home a gigantic load of crab. I don't know what became of all that crab-meat...

We cooked hot dogs on the beach on the night of this amazing sunset. See if you can find the photo of Andy savoring the splendid scenery.

Note: Seaweed makes excellent Indiana Jones whips!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the most wonderful week! We loved it all!