Oregon ho!

We made it away to Oregon again this summer. It is a beautiful place and we are so lucky to have some wonderful people (Nana and Grumpa) invite us to share their place with them. We mostly spent our days relaxing, playing on the beach and driving to nearby places while Rhys was napping in the van.

The Tillamook Cheese Factory was a hit. When we arrived, Craig had his trusty Kindle in hand and told us to enjoy ourselves while he had a little read. Brea did pause to say, when Craig reminded her that Daddy didn't eat cheese or ice cream, "that's SO sad!". Little did he know that we wouldn't return for nearly an hour! We entered and made our way to the cheese sample line that the kids had to go through twice and then upstairs for a view of the factory. Brea and Rhys were fascinated by the going-on of the machines! The cutters, the packagers, the sorters... there was also a very friendly factory worker who kept waving up at the kids in their audience. They would have happily observed forever if I hadn't mentioned the ice cream. Brea made her choice of Rootbeer Float flavour while Rhys and I shared a sampler of: cherry, marionberry pie, and s'mores. So yummy! We would also stop at the Tillamook Country Smoker to pick up some pepperoni snacks to munch on for our drive back. Finally, on our last day, Nana and Grumpa took us to the Pacific Oyster Company in Bay City for some scrumptious chowder and oysters. It was fun for the kids to see the oysters being shucked and the tuna being filleted while we dined. The clam chowder was absolutely divine!

Aside from the eating, we of course loved, loved, LOVED, the scenery. There is nothing to compare the beaches of the Oregon coast to, they are stunning!

She would only let me bury her up to her ankles.

A walk in the mist with Nana.

I finally managed to get one of them to look up.

Rhys's tough guy look.

Shrimp and cocktail sauce, delish!