Another Sunny Beach Day

We spent lots of time at the beach again, digging in the dry sand, playing in the warm tide pools. Tor got chilled early on, as he always does.


Back at the cabin, we finally slowed down long enough to play some UNO and other board games.

Later in the day, we flew kites in the stiff wind. It was pulling so hard, Tor needed some help from Jillian.

Day in Astoria

We decided to take a day off from the beach, and spend the day in Astoria. The kids swam in the Astoria Pool for over an hour, then we had ice cream (and French fries) at Frite & Scoop. For the first time, we rode on the trolley that runs along the waterfront. It was a nice, relaxing trip, lasting about an hour and only costing $1.

Staying in Motion

After the beach, we had a brief relax time at the cabin before having a beach-favorite of make-your-own-pizzas for dinner. Then we expended some more energy by biking to the playground and back. We finished the night with some more s'mores and The Incredibles movie.

Beautiful Beach Day

It was so sunny and warm, and not much wind, at the beach, that we went there just before noon and stayed for more than 3 hours. The tide was WAY out, leaving lots of big, warm tide pools. The kids played in the water for a long time before getting cold, then relaxed in the hot, dry sand.

Evening Dog Walk

After cooking hot dogs and s'mores in the firepit, the kids went with Meagan to walk the dogs at the beach. It was still sunny and clear at 8:00 pm, so the kids got some good run around time on the beach before bedtime.

Sunny Beach

Mommy and the kids came to the beach cabin yesterday and had some fun, and Daddy came in the afternoon today. Meagan, Andy and their dogs were here and Auntie Sheryl, Andy and Karlie arrived in the early evening. We made a beach trip, and the traditional ice cream stop at Adelaide's.

Emmy and Dan's Wedding

The kids had been looking forward to this all summer. They were so happy to have all of their cousins there (see pic), and they enjoyed watching the ceremony. At the reception, they busied themselves with playing outdoor games with the cousins, and then wrapping up the evening with lots of dancing ... Bridget and Tor boogied all over the floor, but Jillian was mostly a wallflower (she only danced with Emmy and Dan).

Brock's Birthday

The kids got to enjoy Brock's birthday party the other night, especially the Star Wars stuff he received.

Evening Fun

This looks like a crazy game of badminton, which it is.  It's guys against gals, cousins and friends.  The guys had Ty, Kyle, Brock, and Tor.  The gals had Jillian, Bridget, and Karley.  The little ones all pick up birdies at random times and serve and the big kids try to keep them in play.  This is their favorite entertainment in the evening until it gets dark.  When the little ones came in the big kids had a rousing competitive game.

New Merry-go-round

Daddy found a new, unused merry-go-round for a playset while at a yard sale. The lady there sold it for $3. It got installed today at the Castle Rock tree fort, and the kids took it for a whirl. They all loved it. Tor needs a little push to go since his legs are too short yet.

Black Bears Game

It was cousin Adam's birthday party, and after cake and ice cream at his house, we joined him for a Black Bears baseball game. We got to see Adam run out on the field at the start, and do a bowling game. The kids enjoyed seeing and meeting the bear mascot and having hot dogs and fries for dinner.

Parade, Fair, Painting

 Jillian and Bridget gave a coat of paint on the new boards at the Spy Fort while Tor took a nap.  Then that evening they got to go to the Castle Rock parade.  They picked a great spot, near the beginning of the parade, being the only kids in that spot, which resulted in a lot of goodies which Aunt Robin put in the hood of her jacket since we didn't bring a bag.

 Here they are showing their dental smiles.  Next we walked to the fairgrounds where they had a multitude of games they could play for a quarter each and win a prize every time.  A boy gave Bridget a live fish that she wanted to keep but she was a good sport on giving it back to the booth for someone else to win.  She already has a pet kitty.

 This morning it was up to the woods to pick blackberries.  Here they are showing their empty cups as the berries weren't ripe yet.  They got to do a lot of hiking around.

Then it was time to decorate the Spy Fort that they painted yesterday.  This was the fun part.  Tor worked hard at his paintings and then he spilled some paint so spent most of the time putting hand prints all over.  Bridget did a lot of drawing, making a picture of Anna and then putting a different picture on each step.  Jillian did a lot of original designs and decorated the poles.  Surprisingly, they didn't get too much paint on themselves except their hands. 

To end the afternoon, Tierney took them to the movies.  They should be tired little puppies.

Bridget's Newsletter

Bridget has been producing a newsletter on Grannie and Papa's computer, describing the day's events and what is coming up. She makes multiple copies and hands it out to everyone. Here are a couple samples from the last few days.

Bonfire

After many rousing games of badminton, they proceeded to the small fire pit to roast marshmallows.  Aunt Julie, Bridget, Jillian, Tor (by Tierney), Brock, Ty and Karley got warm and talked for awhile. Jillian got out a bag of marshmallows and burnt a few while Tor passed them out to everyone.  Bridget had been busy making a newsletter about their activities and passed it out to everyone.  After 10 the little ones came in for ice cream while the others stayed and visited.

The badminton games were wild as it was 3 boys against the 4 girls.  During the game Bridget had to hit one for the girls and Tor had to hit one for the boys.  There was a lot of scrambling and diving to save the little ones hits, for when they hit it the birdie could be hit more than once on a side.
 

Wedding Dress Shopping

Jillian and Bridget helped cousin Meagan shop for a wedding dress on Saturday. When they got back, they refused to talk about the dress with any of the boys (Daddy and Tor).

Late Night Badminton

Tor and Jillian played some evening badminton with cousins Tierney and Cale at Grannie and Papa's house. Bridget was content to just keep score.

The Nature Park

Bridget came up with the name "Nature Park" for the new playground at Willow Grove, since it had nature-like designs on it. We went there on the recommendation of the neighbor girls, and to cool off in the river on such a hot day.

Fireworks at the Lake

We watched the big fireworks at the lake last night in the traditional Petetson-family spot. There was some waiting time until it started, so the kids got to wrestle around with Adam, Meagan and Andy.

Paxton-Time

The kids had been eager to see their new cousin Paxton, since it had been awhile. When they found out Paxton was at Papa Ken's house, they were all over him, and he was very good humored about all the attention.

Go Fourth Parade

The kids and Daddy walked to the parade in the morning (Mommy stayed home and slept after just coming off a graveyard shift). We got to see cousin Adam walking in the parade with his softball team; he came over and gave us a high-five.

Power Jumpers

The big draw for the kids at the Go Fourth celebration at the lake was the "Power Jump", a trampoline and bungee cord ride. When they saw other kids on it, they all begged to do it. None of them were afraid, and Jillian even did flips. Later, Jillian and Bridget went back for a second round.

Swimming and Swimming Again

 Jillian, Bridget, and Tor got to join Ava, Harper, and Rielee at the Gourde's pool around noon.  They had a great time inventing games and Tor was all over the water launcher and squirt pistol-taking aim at the girls.  They swam for a long time, then went home while Rielee's crew had lunch.

 The crew came down and did the slip and slide for awhile, then took a break for ice cream.  They had fun at the Play Fort and all over outside.

Ava and Bridget built this little house and then hid from Rielee in it.  Here Ava is making a back door, too busy for a picture.  One of the games earlier was that Rielee hid from the others and they had to find her.  I believe that here they had Rielee trapped inside.  Then they went back to the pool to swim again.  After all of that they were a tired bunch.