Enchanting Sea Life

We had fun at the Oregon Coast Aquarium with my bro and his fam.


While we were being entertained by the sea lions, my brother took this beautiful pic of Lexi. Love it!

My enchanting creatures......

Heceta Head Light House.

The stories and history behind light houses are always fascinating to hear about.

While waiting for the rest of the fam to finish at the light house, Rob and the kids explored.

There were a couple of scenic stops we investigated after the light house. This one was at Strawberry Hill.

The rocks were covered with seal lions!

Sea lions may be stinky, but they are fun to watch and get close to!

The Oregon fun continues.........

We had a fun day shopping for souvenirs in Newport with Grandma.



Awww, the beach. Endless hours of fun.

Lexi is a trooper and always becomes part of her daddy's beach creations.

This time Rob's creation was an octopus.

Before Rob could finish Lex started yelping, "Ow, ow, ow! Something's biting my legs!" Darn sand fleas.
So Lexi was rescued and the octopus was no longer.

Anyone up for playing catch with a mud ball?

Dylan attempted with his Uncle Caleb....

We went on a very picturesque hike on the Hobbit Trail.

It is thought that during WWII trenches were dug to be used for coastal defense. Years later, the overgrown trenches and trails have become very lush and vibrant and is known as the Hobbit Trail.

Rob and Dyl with Aunt Mary Allison and cousin Mariah

My little hobbits.

At the end of the trail you are rewarded with this amazing view and fun in the sand.

la de da

Yachats (pronounced yah-hots), comes from a Chinook Indian word, Yahuts, meaning dark water at the foot of the mountain. Yachats is a charming little town just south of Newport.

The Fourth of July brings a fabulous Yachats tradition.

The la de da parade!

This fabulous la de da parade, tops my list for the best parade I've ever been to.

Yes, it's true. This little town knows how to entertain.

The participants aren't what we were used to seeing in a parade.

Take this one for example.

A guy in a guille suit.

Some of you may be asking, "What's a guille suit?"

A guille suit is a type of camouflage clothing that snipers and hunters wear to blend in with their surroundings. Have you seen a guille in a parade?

Bring on the belly dancers! Eck.

This entry had to be my favorite.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a good pic of this fabulous drill team. But trust me, synchronized shopping carts are a must see!

The parade was not only entertaining, but it was short!

The kids had plenty of time to explore more rocks after the parade.

Alexia with cousins Cody, Mariah, and MaKenna.

Dyl was so proud of his discovery of his "swiss cheese rock".


For our 4th of July dinner, we roasted hot dogs over a fire.

What was for dessert? S'mores of course!

My brother-in-law, Caleb, is quite the adventurer. He would scour his coastal surroundings to bring back a tasty treasure to cook up and eat.

This night he happened to roast a clam on the fire. Doesn't it look tasty?

I know, you're jealous.

As if this 4th of July couldn't get any better; an entertaining and short parade, exploring the incredible beach, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows on a fire next to the raging ocean, and fabulous treasured family time..........

The icing on the cake!

This picture definitely does not show the beauty of the fireworks exploding over the magnificent ocean. Trust me it was marvelous.

We are so blessed to be able to live in such a choice land. We enjoy freedom that not everyone gets a taste of. A big thanks to all those brave men and women who fight for our freedom. A special thank you to my brother-in-law, Caleb (yes, the sea creature eater), who serves in the National Guard. YOU are awesome!

Ocean Air

As soon as we got to the coast and could see the ocean, we stopped to soak it all in.


My brother and his family also stopped here. They had gotten there before us and were already enjoying the sea breeze when we got there. We parked our car by them, got out and put on our jackets, and as we started to walk towards the ocean, Parker stops. He sniffs my brother's car, and says "Mom, why does Uncle Nate's car smell like tuna?"

I exploded into laughter and when I got my breath back, I asked Parker, "Do you really think it's the car? Or maybe the ocean?"

He smiled and agreed, the tuna smell was coming from the ocean.



This is the house we stayed in. We loved enjoying the ocean on the balconies.

This was our fabulous view. Yup. Spoiled, I know.

Starr Creek ran on the side of the house we rented and trickled out into the ocean. It was a perfect play spot for the kids. One giant sand box + an endless water supply = hours of fun!

We didn't waste much time before we hit the beach. Who needs sun to enjoy the coast?

The house we stayed in had a good supply of sand toys and this kite which got lots of use.


Dylan and Lexi were quick to start jumping the waves.

This sequence of pictures is really quite comical.

Dylan's falling.....

and falling......

I, of course, being the busy photographer, didn't move very fast to rescue him.

Dyl broke out into tears, was "freezing cold" and was done jumping the waves for the day.

The kids loved exploring the "Pirate Cave" they discovered.

They marked their territory (along with the bunch of other territorial markers inscribed in the sand cliff).

Unfortunately, the sand cliff wasn't the only thing around showing cracks......

We were here......

Beautiful......

Mystical......

Lush and green....

Adventure....

When are we going back?