Va-CRAZY-cation Part 1: Farner Campout

We just might be crazy.

A little over a week ago, we packed up our van and drove out to Lincoln City for the annual Farner Campout at Devil's Lake, played on the beach, spent a rather sleepless night in our tent (sleepless for pretty much everyone in a 50 meter radius, thanks to you-know-who ;), played on the beach again, and drove home only to unpack, do some laundry, sleep (a little more sleep this time), pack up our van again and head out for a two-day drive to Colorado. 

Crazy? Probably.

Worth it? Definitely.

Here are some pictures from our time with my family on the coast. 

Zoë's favorite activity was trying to cover Judah's big toe with sand.

She thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world!

It was super windy the first day. We attempted some kite-flying, and ended up breaking one of the strings. Whoops!

More rolling in the sand. She even got her mommy to join her!

With Oma and Lola

Opa, Daddy and Uncle Judah

Chillaxin' with Uncle Corby in his sweet hammock

S'mores with cousin Rachel, who was her tree-climbing buddy!

Zoë had a blast scootin' around with cousin Anna

Burying herself in sand with the cousins

Our crew

The view

This little girl did not want to leave! She was having SO much fun playing in the sand with Lola. (Fortunately, we have one more beach trip planned for the summer that will giver her another couple days to roll around in the sand. :)

Stay tuned for more pictures from Colorado with Zac's family to come!

Berry Pickin' Besties

Today was a perfect day. Blue skies and sunshine, and we got to spend it with wonderful friends picking berries on Sauvie Island. Rows of flowers, fruit and vegetables went on for miles, with the peaks of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood majestically standing out against the clear blue sky. Zoë and Clara had so much fun together riding in the wagon, "picking" and eating raspberries and blue(green)berries, throwing said raspberries and blue(green)berries (much to our dismay and their delight!), playing hide-n-seek in the bushes, and rolling in the dirt.

Chrysia and I had a fantastic time picking as much fruit as we possibly could while still managing to stuff some in our mouths. Or...maybe it was eating as much fruit as we could while still managing to put some in our buckets for later. :) The raspberries were delicious!

After the ride home, we hoped the girlies would take a nap in the same room - and they DID! It was a miracle! Meanwhile, Chrysia and I made raspberry honey jam, and still had some time left over to sit outside and chat while the girls slept.

And to top it all off, the girls finished the day with some fun in the pool, with a "built-in" waterslide! Coolest thing ever.

This just might be the best Monday in the history of Mondays Zoë and I have had together. Thanks Clara and Chrysia for making it happen!

Two Peas in a Pod

One of the best parts about this spring/summer is that we have been able to spend some time with Zoë's newfound friends. Tonight, we went to "Sunset at the Zoo" with Celicia and her parents, Brooke and Ryan, for a fun evening of music, activities, dancing and a yummy picnic. We had such a great time enjoying Brooke and Ryan's company, but we all spent most of the time watching Zoë and Celicia being best buds.

Dancing to Boka Marimba's lively African music

They even wore the same color shirt! How crazy is that?!

Must be sistas.

 Zoë's first encounter with a hoola-hoop. SO exciting. :)

Riding in their little chariot, eating popcorn.

While Daddy does all the work.

Friends. Picnic. Jazz. Beautiful sunny evening. 

What more could you ask for? :)

Look at that hip action!

After they danced their little hearts out, they took a "nap"...

And got even more silly. ;)

Pretty much the cutest thing ever.

Thanks Celicia, Brooke and Ryan for a fun evening! And, thanks Celicia for being such a great friend to Zoë. And sharing your raccoon. And popcorn. And blanket. And sweatshirt. :)

American Cutie

Family

Fun

 Flags

Food

Fireworks

Freedom

Happy Fourth everyone!

A(nother) Day at the Beach

It always amazes me how much work and energy it takes to go camping - even just for one night and even when sleeping in a yurt instead of a tent. All the prep work, the packing way-more-stuff-than-you-should, the driving, the unloading, the playing, the going-through-a-week's-clothes-in-two-days between playing on the beach and potty accidents, the trying-to-put-an-exhausted-toddler-to-sleep-when-it's-still-light-out, the sleepless night and early morning, then more playing, then there's the packing and loading and cleaning and driving, and unloading and unpacking, and lots and lots of laundry. And sand everywhere.

But it is TOTALLY worth it. I'll do it all again...just give me a couple weeks to recover. :)

Our little family trekked over to the coast for a fun camping trip with Lola, Uncle Judah and Oma. We started out with a visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium - just about one year later than our trip last summer when Zoë could barely walk and was still nursing. This time with a toddler was a whole different experience!

Shark Tunnel

Who wants to look at a sea creature when you can play on one?!

"Why, hello there, fish!"

"That seal is SO big!"

The Aquarium has a fantastic interactive area just for children. SO fun. :)

June on the Oregon Coast is usually pretty windy, cloudy, and rainy. Despite it all, we had a delightful time playing on the beach on Wednesday evening and most of the day on Thursday. Zoë could LIVE at the beach. She thoroughly enjoyed getting as wet and sandy as possible, even though it was chilly. Our little adventurer bravely took on the waves...attempting to do so all on her own (she kept on ripping her hand out of mine and running off!), and wanted to go further and further out into the water.

Uncle Judah and Daddy flying kites

Zoë had a blast jumping waves with Lola and Uncle Judah and running around with Oma. She enjoyed throwing the wet sand (at Lola, especially :), and put her sand bucket kit to good use! Finally, at the end of the afternoon on Wednesday, she started to slow down. I took my sleepy girl from Judah's arms and do you know what she requested me to do? Zoë wanted me to cradle her like a baby and sing her to sleep with lullabies...all while standing in a couple of feet of water with the waves crashing against my legs. She didn't want to leave!! Her little goofy-sleepy-completely-content face was priceless.

Walking with Oma

Thanks Lola, Judah and Oma for a fun time!