Most. Amazing. Photo. Ever.

Snow Day (For Everyone Else)

While the rest of the United States is buried in 19 feet of snow and sheets of ice are covering the roads and causing school to be cancelled, here in my little corner of Oregon we have been enjoying the weather, which has been 65 and sunny for the last several days.  So what do we do during that time?  The only thing there is to do arond here: go to the beach.

Noah hasn't been to the beach before at any point when he was mobile, so this was a new experience for all of us.  I assumed that he would get some sand in his mouth, but I didn't expect him to be shoveling it in by the handful.



I guess dad needed to let his inner child play a little too because he needed to do a little bit of digging.  He lost something in the hole though.

Of course, Noah didn't mind one bit.  He was loving being dirty and being buried.  On the other hand, Kennedy was telling Brett, "Don't bury Noah!" or "Don't get sand on me!"  She was also squatting down to avoid actually putting her behind in the sand.  She sounds a lot like me as a kid, wearing pearls to the beach and playing in the sand from a chair.

Although it does seem like the beach is the only outing we ever really have around here, I have to say, it really can be a beautiful one.

Do You Wonder Where We Are? It's Belly Button Beach!

Where tons of hippos stand around in bathing suits too little, because they hope you will admire the button on their middle.

Yes, we had more beach time on Saturday after going out to breakfast and a trip to the farmer's market.  Kennedy really can't get enough of the beach.  As you can see, she has no qualms about the water temperature and getting all the way in.  It seems that the girls walking around in bikinis in 65 degree weather and playing in the water didn't care either.  Personally, I think they're crazy.  Poor Noah was left on the beach to watch all of our shoes.

I didn't want to get him out for too long because I hadn't brought sunscreen for his little baby skin.  So he guarded our belongings while I watched Kennedy and Brett play out in the water.  She really can't help but run around because she loves it so much.

We can hardly keep up with her, and that's why the waves knock her down.  This time, it was face first into the water.  She was soaked, so we decided that we didn't need to keep her clean and dry anymore.  She really enjoyed sitting in the sand and having the waves come and wash up on her.

She was, however, shivering when she got out of the water.  So we took Noah out for a few minutes so that he could get a taste for the beach.

We dipped his feet in the water so he could feel it on his little toes.

As you can see, he was not a fan.  As soon as his toes touched the water, he started screaming.  He must have been under the impression that the water was too cold as well.  We are going to venture up the river for lunch today, where we hear the water is warmer.  Hopefully that's true, because I'd really love to enjoy the water without having to get numb.

A Dinner at Harris Beach

We've been trying to take advantage of the beautiful landscape here in Brookings lately, so last week we had dinner at Harris Beach.  We ate a Brie cheese and herb omelet, salad and cookies and tried our best to keep it away from the seagulls.  We had a gorgeous backdrop for our meal.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and after dinner we went down to play in the water and sand.  Kennedy gets so excited when we go to the beach, she can't help but run around and leave little tiny footprints in the sand.

There really are the most beautiful beaches around here.  The rocks make the views wonderful, but is the water ever cold!  Oh my gosh, I can hardly stay in the water for a minute because my feet start feeling like they are going to freeze off.

Kennedy on the other hand could care less about the water temperature.  She doesn't get out of the water until we pull her kicking, screaming and protesting from it.  She has so much fun playing the in water, but she's still so small that even the smallest waves push her over, so Brett has to stay by her all the time to make sure she doesn't get pulled under.

We love having the beaches so close!  We have yet to venture into the trees or go up river, but I'm sure we'll get to it eventually.

Exodus Part 3: Santaquin to Brookings

We left Santaquin (somewhat) early on Tuesday morning and drove to Reno where we stayed the night. After driving through Nevada, I've decided that there are only 3 things there: casinos, prisons, and long stretches of nothing. We literally only hit about 3 cities on our way through - one right on the border of Utah, one in the middle, and Reno. It was the most boring day of driving we had had. There was nothing to look at, except Beverly Hills (which consisted of a couple of small hills in the middle of flatness and a rundown house) and a voodoo witch doctor shack that was about 30 feet high and built out of antlers. Right before Reno it started getting hilly, but we were thrilled to be out of the car. The kids reprised their throwing up incidents at dinner that night, except Kennedy added a poop and Noah added two.

The next day was our last day of driving, and it was beautiful. We left from Reno and shortly entered California. It was weird, because that drive in California was nothing like I have ever known as California. This is what our drive looked like through most of it.

Tons and tons of tall snowy trees with interludes of beautiful lakes. In Oregon it was so green, mountainous, and just plain gorgeous. We stopped in Burney, CA for lunch and gas, and Brett ordered this bad boy.

That's a french fry on the top of that tall stick. It's got ham and turkey, bacon, and two types of cheese. It was huge. I don't know how he fit it in his mouth. My chili dog was not as impressive as it was more of a pork and beans dog. We kept driving and made a small stop in Medford, OR to shop at the Harry and David manufacturer's store, since it is headquartered there. Then, with only 2 hours to go, we drove to Brookings. The 199 in California and Oregon is absolutely gorgeous. Waterfalls, trees, rivers - you name it, it's there. Then, as we pulled into Brookings, we could see the ocean.

This beach is about 3 minutes from our apartment. Yes, you should be jealous. The whole place is beach on one side and hills and trees on the other. When I drive back to the 101 (which is the main street where pretty much all of the businesses are) I can see the ocean. When I drive home, I can see hills and trees. It's really beautiful.

It took me a little while to feel at home since I have never lived in such a small town. Between Harbor, Brookings, and the county residents who are outside the city limits there are 14,000 people. Previously I have lived in Orange County, CA, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Boston, and Provo (which might not seem that big, but BYU alone has more than double the amount of students than this place has residents). Obviously, it takes some adjusting. The local restaurants are pretty good and there's a great grocery store that has a home goods section too.

Everybody has been very nice, and we're finally feeling like we are at home. So far, so good with the Coast Guard. We hope it keeps up and they keep sending us to beautiful places like this.

Beach Babe

We've been in Hawaii for almost 2 weeks and I haven't put up any view shots or beach pictures!  So here they are.  This is the view from our hotel room.  The beach is just beyond those trees.  We can see the water, but even though it isn't really a beach view, the grounds are very nice.

There are a few pools to choose from, and Kennedy has enjoyed them all.  She loves the jacuzzi and she also loves the beach.  She thinks it's so fun to have the waves come and hit her feet.  Her little beach outfit is killer cute too.

I love that hat.  And we bought her some Crocs the other day.  Brett tried them on her and when I took them off she got mad.  How could we not buy them?  Plus, they look so cute on her.

I couldn't get any good pictures of Brett and Kennedy just standing there on the beach because Kennedy wouldn't smile and Brett kept trying to get her to smile.  But they look cute nonetheless.

And she just has a blast every time she gets in the water.  She laughs and smiles and could care less that the water is cold sometimes.  She just wants to jump right in!

She always wants to lift her feet up in the water for some reason, so we always have to keep a good hold of her.

We're having a great time here in Hawaii, but we are leaving on Friday evening.  We'll be back in Provo on Saturday morning.  And although it will be sad to leave the beach, it will be nice to be home and to see Lucy again.  Brett will be swearing into the Coast Guard this coming Monday too, which is exciting because then we will know when we will be leaving Utah.  We have some exciting things ahead of us!

Hawaii, Here We Come!

We are leaving for Hawaii on Saturday!  We will be staying on Kauai and going to the beach a lot.  Hopefully, Kennedy will be a little bit happier at the beach than she was back in March, because if not, we will be spending a lot more time at the pool.  We will get to see my aunt, uncle and cousins who live in Beijing, my cousin Daniel who I haven't seen since my wedding, and my mom is getting married, so we have lots of things to look forward too.  We will be gone for 2 weeks, but I am bringing my computer and plan to blog while we're there!  I also wanted to mention that Noelle won the Williams-Sonoma Main Dishes cookbook too!  When we get back from Hawaii I have one more to give away, so somebody had better give Noelle some competition!

Beach Bummer

Apparently Kennedy is not a fan of the beach.  Actually, I'm not positive whether it was the poopy diaper or the sand that actually upset her, but she was not a happy camper.

She was really happy and just being herself before Brett put her feet in the sand.  We didn't even go anywhere near the water.  But she cried.

And then Wyatt started crying because Kennedy was mad.

So they were not going to have any more sand.  Hopefully she'll get over this fear of sand before we go to Hawaii.

Thanks grandpa for such a fun trip!  We all had a blast.