June Randoms

Is there a better way to start off summer than a trip to Perry Ice for a tasty slushie?!  My new favorite combo is tigers blood and lime.  Lexi has been playing exploring her fashion sense.....I'm hoping it isn't quite settled in yet.

We headed to Studio 360 for the girls to get their summer toes!  I don't know what they love more.  The drink and doughnut part or the toenail part!  Memories for sure though.

Caleb wanted a treat one day so I told him to make one.  He picked brookies.  Part brownie, part cookie.  They were delicious!  My girls have cute aprons that they made with grandma Mona and they love any opportunity they get to put them on.

Casey & I told Caleb that if he earned half of the money we would buy him a gun.  Luckily he did a pretty good job helping clean up the netting in promontory earlier in the year that he had enough to get a Ruger 10-22.  He knew exactly what he wanted and is very happy with it!

Father's Day!  We celebrated with Casey a little early because he had to work on Father's day.  His kids sure love him!!  My dad sure loves Easton and I love when he wears his Tom Selleck shirt.  It's pretty bomb.  Caleb tried an O'Douls at Grandpa Carlos's house.  From his facial expression, it looks like it may have been a bit bitter.

Luke is a bug lover.  He found some rolly pollys and said, "You better take my picture and send it to Grammy and Grandma."

Caleb and his bestie Allie.  They are so cute.  I hate that they are growing up!

We had DOWNPOUR one afternoon.  It was crazy!  I wanted to take pictures, but was worried the force going down the gutter would sweep Luke or Lexi off of their feet, so Casey got to go play too.

Halloween costumes for the win!  Always!

Movie time!!

Shadow is such a good cat!  I can't believe that he hasn't left us for some tail.  He has stuck around for 5 years so far and is pretty dang patient with the kids.

We had a ton of cherries when we got home from Oregon.  The kids helped get them all picked, I washed them and picked out the nastiest looking ones and bagged them up for the kids to sell.  Later though, we decided to cut into a bunch of them.....um....worms.  We never spray, probably something we should consider.

Brigham City finally has a splash pad!  Casey took the kids their for some fun there one afternoon.  I actually quit babysitting and started a job at Farmer's Insurance working 25 hours/week.  I hope it works out and helps out my family financially.  These kids are only going to get bigger an more expensive and I sure don't feel ready for it!

Oregon Vacay - Soaking it in

The weather was much better than the previous for our last day of vacay.  Blue skies made for a perfect morning at the beach.  Caleb insisted to be buried in the sand.  Luke, Casey & Dylan had him covered in no time!

I have always enjoyed watching Taylor when we are at a beach.  She seems so in her element!

These little ladies.  Their personalities when they are together are so dang cute!  I love their reflection in the sand.

My mom had purchased the cutest little surfer girl & boy that actually could catch a wave!  Luke and Lexi got quite a kick out of them.

These couple of hours were a highlight of the trip for me.  Everyone exploring, playing some games, relaxing and taking in the ocean breeze.  It was so nice.

Casey found an app for the tide!  So I finally was able to make my tidepool dreams a reality!  I loved it.  The starfish were a HUGE hit.  I loved them so much.  Caleb was fascinated with it all.  He has been fascinated with the ocean and it's creatures for a really long time!

Angela's face is pretty priceless here!

The crab with a missing claw was a big hit with the kids and Taylor loved the little hermit crab.  And look at my sweet Rylee Roo!!

Casey partook in some recreational activity and was taking a long nap so Ashley and Derrick sneaked away for a dinner date while I watched the Bodine children.  I even gave Easton a bath in the kitchen sink, because.....cute!  Angela & my mom soaked up some last minute hot tub time.  Papa Don got in some cuddle time with his favorite baby.

Oregon Vacay - Nature, You pretty

We woke up bright and early and headed to Florence, Oregon to the sand dunes to take a ride on a giant dune buggy!  It took some convincing, but we convinced my mom to come along too.  She was going to sit back with Easton, but with the Geriatric bunch loading on, we convinced her that she and the baby would be just fine.

It was pretty chilly the closer we got to the ocean.  The amount of sand was unreal!  The picture of Luke & Caleb is one of my favorites from the whole trip!

It ended up being a much calmer ride than I had anticipated.  But it managed to make my mother scream, and swear.  And with our little people it was just what we needed.  I want to go back one year and ride one of the smaller, faster dune buggies.

After the sand dunes, just a few miles away, there was America's largest sea lion caves! I love seals and sea lions so I had to stop.  There was an elevator ride that took us quite a ways down where there was a view of inside the caves, some videos to watch and a neat view of the Heceta Head Lighthouse.  

So, of course, with the lighthouse just up the road.  That was our next destination.  This was on my mom's bucket list of things to do also so it all worked out great!

It is one of the most visited light houses in the United States.  It was pretty cute!  

And such a photogenic little lighthouse.

It was pretty overcast for the day, but the views were still so pretty!

We stopped at a restaurant that was recommended on our way back to our rental home.  I wasn't super impressed.  And Taylor & Rylee were disgusted with Papa Don's oyster appetizer.  The restaurant had a pretty stained glass orca in the front door and I had to get Caleb's picture.  I wonder if a killer whale will be Caleb's first tattoo?

We all made it safely back to the home and gathered up some necessities and headed to the beach to make smores.  It was a busy day, but a lot of fun!  A little fire on the beach was a perfect ending.

I love to look at this picture.  It is pretty perfect.  The sunset.  The bare feet.  The father/son cuteness of it.  I actually think Caleb had just asked Casey which direction was Russia.  That kid cracks me up.

Oregon Vacay - Tourists

Casey started this morning with a hike in nature.  He found some pretty creepy creatures!

We headed to a lighthouse, Cape Mears.  The scenery was beautiful and the little walk was a fabulous reminder of how out of shape I am in! 

There was a weird tree called the Octopus Tree.  We got a pretty cute family picture there! The tree measures more than 14 feet across at its base and has no central trunk.  Instead, limbs extend horizontally as much as 30 feet before turning upward. It is 105 tall and is estimated to be around 250 years old.

A group picture!! I sure wish Jordon & Griffen could've joined us.

We are tourists.  We got sucked into a MAJOR tourist trap.  I can say I have been to Tillamook factory, and I can say that I will probably not go ever again! So many people. So underwhelming! I must say it did bring 2 of my very favorite pictures though.  My dad thought everyone (EVERYONE, not just his group) was ridiculous with all of the picture taking.  When he was throwing something away he looked at me and said, "Look....look....take my picture throwing away my trash."  While in line waiting for our sample cup there were signs that said, ONLY 1 PER PERSON.  Dylan was across the way from me totally filling up 2 cups!  I got my camera ready and then called him out...his face cracks me up in this picture so much!

Most of us took a turn in the Tillamook van.

After the drive back to the house, I wanted to go find some tide pools that weren't too far from our place.  Again...no tide pools - but I did find a tide pool app and I refuse to quit!!  I want to find some starfish!  The kids wrote their names in the sand and Casey & I got a dang cute selfie.

The sunset was beyond perfect.  I often wonder if I lived by the ocean if I would take it for granted. (or granite as most people say)  I would hope that I would marvel in it's beauty every day!  Luke is out on the rock with Casey.  That Luke is NON STOP.  He has so many questions, is always into something and on the go go go.  He is genuinely inquisitive and absolutely adorable. 

Oregon Vacay - Relax & Explore

After 2 days in the car, we just took a day to just explore Lincoln City.  Casey started his morning with a jog on the beach and came across some awesome tide pools! 

There happened to be a Farmers Market going on and the kids made sand art and we got some fabulous fruit!  It was so delicious.  The strawberries were almost sweeter than candy.

I heard about a beach nearby that had tide pools, I was quite disappointed with the LACK of tide pools.  It was fun to explore though.  Caleb LOVES anything to do with the ocean.  The rocks were covered in mussels (I think that is what they were).  

I was digging my toes in the sand and something started moving!!  I FREAKED OUT!  There were these creepy craps hibernating a few inches underneath the sand.  Luke thought there were awesome and we even put some in a sand-pail to take back to the house to show everyone.  I think the are called sand crabs or mole crabs.

We then took naps and chilled at the house.  Angela was almost always with some friends in the hot tub.  Blake & Dylan got some HUGE & DELICIOUS cake from My Petite Sweet.  I shared my otter pop with Easton....actually, he pretty much ate my otter pop.  He's the cutest.  The other littles had fun getting smacked around with giant pillows by Papa Don.

That evening we went on a tiny stroll down the road to a public garden.  We were a little late for some flowers and a bit too early for others, but there was still some beautiful colors!  The hydrangeas were my very favorite.

 Say cheese!

 Holding this tiny while he fell asleep was one of the best parts of the day.  Babies are seriously one of my very favorite things.

Oregon Bound!

Anderson Family Vacation 2019 is underway!  We loaded up Blue Steel and hit the road.  Our first stop was Twin Falls, Idaho.  We had to get to Shoshone Falls again.  When we went before it was in the fall time and the water falls were pretty much non existent.  Beginning of summer is more like it!  The rainbow was so pretty too!

The kids thought it was awesome.  It was the perfect first stop to stretch our legs and take in some amazing nature.  It was so loud!

Not to sound self centered, but we look good in blue!

I know that it probably sheer coincidence, but the fact that Taylor & Rylee are posed the same really struck me as interesting.  I was even watching to see if Taylor was inspecting Rylee to see how she was posed and she wasn't!  I know that on a couple of vacations I would pose like Angela and it would tick her off.  The boys just flex and they are good to go!

If you take the road past the falls and go up the hill, there is a pretty park.  We saw some R O U S's and enjoyed our lunch.  We made the mistake of tossing some geese some crackers.  Holy flock of geese!  Rylee ended up getting chased a bit by one and I am pretty certain she is scarred for life.

After that we traveled to Pendelton, Oregon.  I saw an Elk traveling through a meadow just before we go there and I thought it was such a pretty sight.  One of MANY things I did to try to keep the kids somewhat entertained on the ride was some tape on the roof of the car with different cities.  That way the would watch for road signs and move the little Lamborghini that Caleb made along the way.

Pendelton was a tiny town, but the hotel was pretty decent.  There was only an outdoor swimming pool and Casey & I thought it was too cold, but kids sure don't seem to notice!  We found a restaurant to grab some dinner and Taylor (our most daring child) was brave and tried Tabasco sauce.  She didn't like it.

 The next morning we were off to our final destination!  We stopped just outside of Portland for some lunch and Taylor & Caleb showed us how talented they are!

 WE MADE IT!  They house was huge and the Freeze group ended up getting the basement bedrooms.  Casey, Caleb, Luke & I shared one room and Taylor, Rylee & Alexa go the other room.  One of the things the kids liked most was the arcade game!

 We unloaded the van and then walked down to the beach.  Is there anything better?  I love how kids always out stretch their arms while running towards the ocean.  This was Luke & Alexa's first time to the ocean and they loved it.  It was FREEZING, but still such an amazing sight no matter what.

 I love taking a step back and watching my family.  They are cute and I made Casey stay close to Lexi because I had several nightmares before we left that the waves were going to suck her back in.  I can only imagine he thinks I am crazy.

 There happened to be fireworks going off the evening of our arrival.  Fireworks on the beach!? Two of my absolute favorite things.

 Angela, Blake & Dylan enjoyed the hot tub.  Dylan tested the massage chair.  The girls all got darling mermaid pajamas.  Luke & Jackson flew around in their capes.  It was a pretty perfect evening after a couple of LONG traveling days.  What a blessing it is that we all made it safely!