Ahh can you smell the ocean air....

So this is where we were heading.....
Is everybody excited and happy??!!!!
Are we there yet??????
I need to go pooootttyyyy!!!!!!
I can't believe I let you talk me into a nine hour car ride....
Somebody's thirsty!
Are we there yeeettt?????
Yet another pit stop......
Everybody out and run around the car 30 times! Can you find Waldo in our stuffed trunk?!
I must say it was a BEAUTIFUL drive...
The line of cars heading to the beach from Portland! It's about 70 miles and took us about 3 hours bumper to bumper pretty much the whole way!!!
AAARRREEE WWEEEE TTTHHEEERRREE YYYEEEEETTT!!!????
YES! We finally made it! Dad even let us have ice cream while we were waiting for our dinner table! AWESOME! Dessert first rocks! Is this what they do in Seaside?
Gotta love the fresh clams!
Puttin' on my best fish face while I wait for my fish dish!
Yea for the beach! Let's play in the sand and dig for shells!
Everybody loved the ocean- even if we couldn't swim in it!
Bogee digging for buried treasure- hillarious!!
Look at those waves!
Say SALTWATER!!!!!!
One worn out pooch:)
Happy 4th of July! We waited almost two hours for a parade to start that wouldn't even start for another hour! Someone told us the wrong start time!!!
Fun with cousins we met up with on the beach:)
What a view...don't look down!
View from our hotel... just a hop, skip, and jump to the beach!
GOONIES!!!!!
Beautfiful sunset on our last night there...thanks for a great trip to
gorgeous Oregon Country!!!! Until next time!

The Surprise Trip was to.......

The Oregon Coast!!!!! Yes, call us crazy, and even more crazy to go 4th of July weekend, but completely unplanned drove to the coast. Being a wife and mother you know it was a little hard to say "OK" to this as we tend to have to plan these trips for weeks or months before going- but for once I said all right let's just wing it! And wing it we did! We threw a tent in the car hoping to camp, but soon found out if you want to camp on the coast that weekend you book your spot at LEAST a YEAR in advance!!! We thought it was kind of funny that the first person laughed at us for asking if they had a spot available, but after 7 people laughed in our face, it got to be a bit frustrating and embarrassing!
Needless to say we learned many things on this trip- that being one of them. We were getting to be a bit scared now, not so much excited to be there when there was NO PLACE for us to stay! Not even a stable! A girl did suggest throwing our tent up on this grassy hill off the highway - "It's totally legal" she said.....mmmmm not thanks:) Finally we found one roachtel..I mean motel to stay at for the night. It was a bit scary and old, but the bathtub in this place was so big that all four of us were swimming in it! Not kidding!
Anyway, after the comfort of knowing we had a place to crash and getting in some good clam chowder since we were starving, the rest of the trip was amazing, even if it flew by super fast. I am so glad we just decided to hop in the car and go and take a fun first family vacation on our own. We danced in the FREEZING ocean, played in the soft warm sand, saw AMAZING ocean views, visited a few of Ben's cousins that happened to be there too, and watched the fireworks right on the beach- however, Ben and I both agree that the Idaho Falls fireworks show cannot be topped!!
Thanks, Dad, for thinking up this great adventure for us and we will definitly be making the trek again- only this time with a bit more planning!!!

Surprise trip for Jadyn's Birthday and the 4th of July....

So after getting home from a six hour car ride from Bear Lake on Thursday, Ben informed me that I needed to unpack the suitcases and re-pack for a few more days. WHAT! He had a surprise adventure planned for us for Jadyn's birthday and the 4th. Needless to say I was not very excited about packing again and getting back into the car for who nows how long of a drive, but we smiled and lef that night about 9pm. Where did we go you may ask???? You will soon find out! But here's alittle taste of our last minute "road trip"!

Happy Birthday To Jadyn!

Jadyn turned 3 last week! We had the fun of celebrating in Bear Lake with cousins, then at home with Dad too who coudln't make it:( I found this really cute Pinata for the kids to bat down and they had a blast! What's better than giving your kids a bat and telling them to hit something as hard as they can- then filling them full of sugar for a week! Sounds aweseom to me! Oh to be a kid again:) Happy birthday my big three year old- love ya lots!

Jadyn's Birthday Present....

A few weeks before her birthday Dad kept asking JAdyn what she wanted for her birthday this year...can you guess what she told him???? Introducing the newest member of our family- Bogee (as in a BOGEY in golf) a 7 week old boxer. Full name Birdie Par Bogey- hmmm I wonder who named this puppy???? Once again I aks myslef the question..what have we gotten ourselves in to!!!! I'm sure I will be posting, or should I say venting lots of future Bogee stories:) He is cute though...for now!

Bear Lake Getaway...

Happy Birthday to Jadyn...still no bangs grown back yet!

The newest cousin- Baby Jack! So nice to finally meet you cutie!

The kids enjoying ice cream....

I mean the KIDS enjoying ice cream:)

Mini Golf!

Haning out nwiht Jadyn in 12 inches of water...exciting!

The three Amigos about to jump in......

SPLASH!!! They did this for hours! Kimball, Macee, and Clara

Sweet Jadyn relaxing in her tube

Mommy and Jadyn finding seashells on the beach- which later spilled all over in the fornt seat of the car...I'm still finding seashells!

Playing in the sand

Building sandcastles

We had a great visit with my family to Bear Lake which we havn't been to in a long time! I loved going here as a kid so I couldn't wait to take my own kids. We got to hang out on the beach, swim in the pools, miniature golf, swim in the pool,eat lots of ice cream, swim in the pool, celebrate Jadyn's Birthday, and did I mention swim in the pool! Yeah! Happy Birthday to my big 3 year old! Holy cow I can't believe she's 3 now:( Here's some pictures of our fun times- thanks Grandma and Grandpa Bennett for inviting us!

Father's Day

We had a nice low key Father's Day this year which was nice. We joined friends for what was supposed to be a relaxing boat ride to a picnic site to have lunch- but the wind mad!

e it a little chilly and hard to keep a hold of our food:) It was fun times though. Then we let Dad come home and have a big nap while we baked a Father's Day treat! Last we met up with the in-laws and Beth for a scrumptious dinner. I asked the girls whta they loved most about their Dad and this was their response:

Macee- he lets me watch TV and sleep on the couch with him and he is a good golfer

Jadyn- he loves me and plays with me

Mommy- he is a great Dad, husband, provider, friend and loves me unconditionally just to name a few:)

Happy Father's Day Dad- we love you!