The Sees: See Fam Vacay 2010

Brace yourself.

You're about to be BOMBARDED with pictures.

Reunioning, a word which here means the act of camping for 5 days with your husband's entire family (aunts, uncles & cousins too!).
We reunioned at Cresap Bay, on Lake Merwin in Washington for 5 days. It was a leisurely NINE hour drive from our house. Seriously, nine hours! :rolls eyes: BUT, it was very beautiful, in spite of it being very chilly.
And, I concede, camping was not as abominable as I had imagined. Don't go thinking, I'm going to turn into an outdoorsy sort of girl, though. I have a reputation to uphold, after all.

Cutest kid on the planet goes camping.
And finds a stick, first thing.
Naturally.

Brock and his Becca:

Be still my momma's heart...

Some of the cousins. There was not enough dock for all of them. Boo for short docks.

Climbing. Fishing. Exploring.

Some of the family...

Three wonderful reasons that make being an auntie fabulous:

Shiny Happy Brock:

Cold day. Cold water. Crazy kids.

Canoeing with daddy at dusk. I LOVE these shots...

The littles going for a ride in Uncle Bob's boat:

The Fourth
Cougar, WA is literally a one road town, flanked on either side, for miles, with RV parks and campgrounds. On the Fourth of July, the town closes down it's glorious two-lane main drag so that campers from all over can gather together and display their illegal fireworks. Seriously, it was like a redneck Fourth of July. I've never seen anything like it before. There were thousands of people armed with their lawn chairs and a town sheriff walking up and down the street with a smile and a hello to all these strangers who may very likely burn down any or all the buildings along the highway with their fireworks. I have to admit, the show was rather spectacular.

Don't ask about the glow stick earrings.
They're puppy ears. Duh.

This is a *tiny* idea of what Fourth of July looked like...

Daddy helps Brock light a firecracker.

Bud-a-Bing...

Bud-a-Boom!

Oooh...

Awwww.....

Patriotism rocks!!!

Cousin DJ helping Brock with a firework.

Spelunking
On our way to the Ape Caves at Mt. St. Helens, we stopped for lunch. The kids took a few bites of their PB&Js and took off into the woods. This is Brock before his accidental run in with that pesky log which later produced a gash down the front of his forehead. :(
Brock the sword fighter:

It was PITCH BLACK in the ape caves and a balmy 40 degrees. BrrrrRRRrrrRRRrrr!

A rather apropos, post ape-cave "Bigfoot" sighting led to this capture...

Tuckered out on the way home from our cave exploring adventures.

Back at camp...
Seriously....ew! The boys had a ball finding lizards at the lake.

DJ and Brock and Mr. Lizard

Brock and Jake playing on Lake Merwin's rocky beach.

Sunset at Lake Merwin

Brock playing ring toss

Would you call this Faseball or Bootball??

My rough and tumble boy:

Becca looks so adorable on her uncle's back...

...and on his shoulders.

Roasting giant marshmallows:

Roasting Starbursts. Mmmmmm....

Clarke extols the virtues of Star Wars Monopoly to an eager crowd...
of children. Hehehe!

This one is for the girls.
Sharla carved a wolf with her pink pocket knife. Team Jacob???

Finally, a warm enough day, and consequently our last full day at the lake.
Sharing a log...

Okay, this is one of those times when I was SO GLAD to be the photographer: The apple game. An apple had to be passed from one person to next, or rather from under one person's chin to the next person's chin without using hands. As you can see, this was both awkward and hilarious!

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid?
Brock and Jake.

Aunt Sharla is a favorite with these two towheads.

Canoe Races

What would a race be without a few tipped canoes???

Brock's bingo prize:

Four nights of tents and campfires earned us the golden opportunity to top off our vacay at our family's favorite spot:

Da Beach...

Every year we head to Seaside, OR. Our suitcases are packed with jeans, hoodies, flip flops and a kite; all Oregon Coast essentials. So, imagine our astonishment when the temperature registered 98 degrees as we pulled into the familiar beach town. Ninety Eight Flippin' Degrees!!!!!! Omigosh!!!!

This meant three things:

1. No air conditioning. In a town and on a beach that was over-capacity due to the unbelievable heat, the restaurants, shops and hotels were feeling the heat too because buildings in Seaside DO NOT HAVE AIR CONDITIONING!!! Why would they?? It never gets above a cloudy 70 degrees!!! EVER! Good times, I tell ya. ;)

2. We lied. Clarke's brother and his family joined us at the beach and as Oregon Coast virgins, we had prepared them for cool and breezy beaches. Not sweltering heat and monstrous crowds. Oh well. I think they had fun anyway. Strike that. I KNOW they had fun, in spite of our blatant fib about cool, cold weather.

3. I had to wear a swimsuit. On the beach. Yeow! I know. I tried not to look for the unassuming victims, running to shield their eyes from my pasty skin, but instinctively, I knew they were there. If my gleaming whiteness didn't frighten them, I'm sure my cellulite did and for this transgression, I apologize profusely.

Nevertheless, we had a blast!!!
Here are some highlights...

Beach trikes for two. Cannon Beach.

Looking tough???
Keep trying, handsome, you'll get it one of these days:

The Tilamook lighthouse:

When you're four, rolling on the sand is FUN STUFF. Just ask Brock!

Cropped, logo-ed & posted. A REAL, untouched sunset at Seaside.
Ooooh-ah!

The crowds flocked to Seaside when the temperature read 98*!

Dads. Kids. Sand Castles. Need I say more???

It really was like taking a dip in a bucket of ice, but spending some time in the Pacific Ocean was a sure-fire way to cool off those burning tootsies, courtesy of the 98* sand. Yeouch!!!
Brock & Daddy:

Brock insisted on wearing his life jacket to the beach. I love my smart boy!!!

Not only is he smart, but he's cute as a button.

Another crowd shot, just to prove my theory about hot weather=crowded beaches.

This shot is AWESOME.
Let me explain. I was taking a picture of Clarke. But it was also a self-portrait of sorts b/c that skinny minnie (I heart Photoshop) with the cool camera is moi. AND it is also a picture of Tobi taking a picture of Anna. How brill is that???? Would you call this a quad-portrait??

If I had a nickel for every picture I've taken of someone taking a picture of me...
...well, I'd probably only have about a dollar. *shrugs*

Chillin' on daddy's shoulders.

Tide pools at low tide. Cannon Beach.

Kissing on the beach. It's not just for lovers..
It's for world's best dad planting a smooch on world's cutest kid.
***Momma Swoons***

Hello little starfish!

That's a decoration for the 4th of July. Not a sword.
But you try telling that to Brock b/c he wouldn't listen to me.

Clarke and his brother, Tobi, bike triking it on Cannon Beach.

I'm not quite sure what Brock's expression means in this one...

...or this one.

Brock and his cousin, Brandon, constructing a sand castle on Cannon Beach.

King of the Sand Castle...

We also had date nights, stayed at the Shiloh Inn Oceanside (the pool is nothing but a wall of windows that looks onto the ocean; the pool alone was worth the price of the room), played frisbee, made a campfire on the beach on a foggy night, roasting Starbursts and Lil Smokies, froze in the water, baked on the sand and stayed up half the first night doing laundry. In other words, it was great fun!!!

Multnomah Falls

We casually commented that we should stop at Multnomah Falls on at least EVERY SINGLE one of our trips to and from the coast. But you know what??? We never did.
Until this last drive home and I'm glad Tobi and Sharla talked us into stopping. Even if it was 102 degrees!!! Because wowwy wow wow, it was stunning!!!!
Proof: