Oregon 2021 - Day 5: Ice Cream, Mingus Park, & S'mores

After the beach we had some lunch and then headed into town for some ice cream at the new Face Rock Creamery.  Josh was very happy he felt better so he could have ice cream.  We normally get Face Rock ice cream in Bandon, so we were super excited to enjoy this yummy treat in Coos Bay.  Kevin and his family came and joined us too, which made it even better.

After eating we went to Mingus Park.  It is a pretty and fun park to walk around.  It also has great places to take family pictures.  The kids always love taking pictures, he he.  

That evening we all got together at the warehouse for a fire and some yummy smores. It is such a familiar feeling to be sitting around the fire outside the warehouse.  Even though we can't go into Grandpa Clark's house (because of the renters) it is so nice to be able to use the property. 

Oregon 2021 - Day 5: Beach Fun at Bastendorff

We spent the morning exploring the beach.  Josh was feeling much better this morning and was able to come out and walk around the beach with the other kids.  We can't get enough of this beach!

Oregon 2021 - Day 4: Shore Acres State Park

After eating some lunch and checking on Josh (who still was really sick) we went to Shore Acres State Park. This is also very close to our cottages, so we could get back to Josh quickly if we needed to.  Thankfully we did not need to leave early and Josh got in some good naps.

We love Shore Acres and go there every year.  We love the rose gardens and all the other places to explore.  We always see wildlife and have a great time soaking in all the beautiful sites. 

Oregon 2021 - Day 4: Hike over Bastendorff Beach

Poor Josh woke up this morning with a sick tummy.  He ended up throwing up a couple times and we decided that he should stay home and rest instead of going on the morning hike with us.  Luckily the hike we went on was really close to where we were staying.  We just walked up the road from the RV resort to the beginning on the trail.  

It is funny that we had never been on this trail before.  It's amazing how much there still is for us to explore in Coos Bay/Charleston.  The trail was an easy one but the views were amazing.  It took us up above Bastendorff Beach where we go all the time.  We had to be careful because some of the trails went right to the end of the cliff.  We had a good time exploring and taking lots of pictures.

Oregon 2021 - Day 3: Portland to Coos Bay

We were so happy to leave the heat of Portland.  We got to the coast quickly and enjoyed that it was already a little cooler there.  We wanted to show the kids the fun things that Tony and I found on our trip to the coast last year.  We took them to Thor's Well and the surrounding attractions.  Allie was a little nervous to go out too far on the rocks to see the water spout out, but she eventually settled down and enjoyed playing on the rocks.  The other kids loved it the whole time.  It was a beautiful day to explore the coast.

After we were all done we drove to Coos Bay.  We stopped at Walmart before we checked into our cottage that way we didn't have to drive back to get our food for the week.  After we got into our cottage we got all unpacked before walking down to the beach.  The weather was perfect and the skies were clear.  After exploring the beach we went back for some dinner and relaxation for the evening.

Oregon 2021 - Day 2: Boise to Portland

After breakfast and packing back into the car we headed towards Portland.  We didn't have any traffic problems this day, so we were thankful for that.  It was mostly just so hot.  We wanted to see the waterfall that was right off the freeway as we got into Portland.  They closed the entrance that we needed to get into the parking lot, so we had to drive way down the road and turn around.  But we did finally get into the parking lot and found a spot.  

We then walked over to the falls and enjoyed the views and slight mist we could feel off the water.  They were selling some ice cream so we went to get some, but it was super expensive so we told the kids we would get them some ice cream when we went to Costco in Portland to get gas.

We then drove to the Costco that was by our hotel and they ended up not having ice cream available, so that was a major bummer.  We then checked into our very large hotel (9 floors) and found out that their pool was open, but it was by reservation only and all the spots were already full for the day.  WHAT!  Another missed swimming opportunity.  It was so hot in Portland, like 108 degrees and we really wanted to cool down.  But, we couldn't.

Our room was on the top floor of the hotel and it was so hot in our room.  Portland doesn't normally get that hot, so there air conditioning just wasn't keeping up.  I probably should have asked if all the rooms were that hot, but I assumed they all were and didn't want to be a bother.  So we suffered in our hot room all night.  But they had a good breakfast the next morning so that helped the situation a little before we checked out.

Oregon 2021 - Day 1: SLC to Boise

We started our morning off with Tony taking my parents to the airport.  He had to go into the Murray Cannery that morning and then he got my parents to the airport where they flew into Oregon.  After he got back we were able to load up the van and then head out towards Boise.

We stopped and got some lunch in some random town and we were able to find a fun sit down restaurant to enjoy lunch.  They had a green dinosaur outside the restaurant that they kids enjoyed checking out.  

It was a good thing we had a good lunch because we ended up in a huge traffic jam because of an accident.  We sat on the freeway for a long time without moving and then when we finally did, it was very slowly.  It put us back about an hour but we were thankful that we were not in the accident and that we were only driving to Boise that day.  

When we got to our hotel outside of Boise (in Caldwell) we found out that their pool was closed because of an incident earlier in the day but should be reopened the next day.  We were pretty bummed because we love swimming and that's half the reason to go to a hotel.  But we decided to go out to dinner instead.  Tony found us a fun pizza place to go and enjoy.  The restaurant was nice and the food was good.

On our way to the restaurant we saw a sign that said that the local college was having a baseball game that night.  Tony looked into it and saw that they still had plenty of seats.  The younger three kids didn't want to go to the game, so Tony took us back to the hotel before taking Tyler to the game.  He said that they had a good time and enjoyed the game (and the crazy local drunks).  So that was a fun unexpected activity that they were able to do, so I was happy about that.  Me and the kids hung out in our cool hotel room.  We had a huge bathtub that the girls enjoyed swimming in with their goggles and some swim toys.  It was the next best thing to the pool.  So over all the first day of our vacation was eventful and fun.

Allie and her Summer Silliness

There have been a few times lately that I will come home in the evening to sweet chalk art by Allie.  They always say that she loves mom (sometimes Allie includes dad) and hearts.  I love these sweet love notes and think it's pretty special that she leaves them for me.  I am a lucky mama.

The other day Allie asked me if she could watch a movie in the front room.  I turned on the show and then she got out all of her stuff animals and dolls and had them all enjoy the movie with her.  Then she decided she wanted to play her computer whilst she watched her movie.  It was just way too cute not to take a picture of.  I love that she still has a great imagination and uses it daily to play with her toys.  She likes to make huge messes, but she is getting better about picking it up without too much drama.  It is fun watching her grow and mature, but I am glad she still likes to do little girl things

Amy came for a visit, and we loved going to lunch together.  She is a sweet and fun sister-in-law, and we always have a good time when we are together.