We ventured out to the Kite Festival and as it turned out, we really didn’t get to see much. It was extremely windy and foggy so most the kites weren’t even able to fly. We got to see a few, but with it being so windy the sand felt like little needles hitting our skin so we headed back to the trailor to hang out.

A friend told us about the bakery in Long Beach and I woke up early one morning to get the coffee and stopped in for some treats. These cupcakes were a huge hit with the kids, why not with 2 inches of frosting and toys on top!?

Here are the pics from our fun day at the beach…at one point, there was a sea lion that came into the cove and seemed so close! You can see it in the pictures of all 4 kids in the water. We pulled the kids out of the water because it was barking at all the people. Gotta show some respect to the wildlife, but not all were in that mind frame.
The sun was shining, we had Coronas on ice, a perfect lunch of fresh garden veggies, goat cheese (no really, it was yummy!) from the farmer’s market, salami and crackers. We read our books, played in the water, built forts and had a leisurely, perfect day.

king




Dee, Trey, Carlos and I were sleeping in the tent and got up early the first morning. We loaded up the van and went to get coffee (MUCH needed coffee) and on the way back thought we would check out Cape Disappointment State Park. It was really cool. There were campsites and hiking trails to the lighthouse and a jetty that people could drive to and fish for salmon from. If we had only been prepared for that. The best find, though, was Waikiki Beach. It’s the neatest inlet, protected by the jetty so there were huge waves, lots of rocks and driftwood so the kids could build forts and the minute Dee and I saw it we knew we’d be coming back and spending the day there. If you are ever looking for a place to camp, I’d highly recommend Cape Disappointment.

So we started out the vacation by cracking open the three Miller High Life’s that were left in the trailer. They tasted surprisingly good but we looked a tad like white trash, just a tad. But we were camping in this crazy little RV/Campsite called the Sou’wester. You’ve really gotta check out their website, it’s funny. They have a Bed and Bed & (M.Y.O.D.*) Breakfast meaning a Bed and Make Your Own Damn Breakfast.
They have trailer/camping spaces and you can also rent their trailers. Pictured above are theirs…the yellow on is “the slums” with no running water and you have to have your own sleeping bag, it rents for $59 per night, and the one that was next to us we named the “Lap of Luxury” and it was their top of the line and rented for $179 per night. Seriously, ridiculous rates but a fun place to stay. We were A-OK in our tent.
One of the days we ventured to the beach for the kite festival and again embraced our white trashness by using the diaper bag as a cooler for our Coronas. It’s funny, we were in the beer aisle at the local grocery store and there was cooler after cooler of MGD, Pabst, Miller and Budweiser and then half a cooler of “import” beers. I think we were the only people in Long Beach that drank Coronas and by the end of our trip we had bought the last dusty 12 pack.
More pictures to come!

Road trip to Long Beach with the kids (oh yes, camping with all 5 kids plus MayMay and Alice!) and it started out with Carlos getting a bloody nose in the van. The rest of the 5 hour drive was uneventful, the kids slept and watched movies and all were fairly content. Good travelers, they are.
We got the tent set up next to Mary’s trailer and headed down for a beautiful sunset at the ocean. Three of the five kids fell in the water to some extent and got mega sandy but all were so happy to be at the ocean they didn’t care.
More pictures to come…we got some great ones.

We’ve had gardening success this year, with all of Mary’s research we have produced more than ever and it’s so, so tasty! I’m so glad our boys appreciate how great a carrot or tomato is freshly picked. We did have one incident with the deer hopping the fence and enjoying a feast, all of our little crops were chewed down to nothing and we had to start over. Why don’t they eat my mint that goes CRAZY every year? The problem was solved, though, with a coating of invisible fence (STINK’O’RAMA but effective). Hoping to have much more to harvest…even our pumpkins are going nuts at this point. We have big plans for overwintering that should benefit us next year as well.
What are we growing, you ask? Here’s the list:
Tomatoes
Tomatillos
Green Beans
Peas
Raspberries
Strawberries
Cucumbers (regular and lemon)
Acorn Squash
Sunburst Squash
Carrots
Lettuce
Broccoli (not a success)
Lettuce

So the boys are really loving the Wii…this game we have (Wii Sports Resort) has archery, table tennis, sword fighting and so many more that the boys can actually play. They are GOOD, too. At least this way they aren’t sword fighting eachother as much now that they have computer opponents.

We’ve had the heat this summer (record breaking 100+ degree days) and last week we cooled off and actually had a little rain. The boys all have umbrellas hanging up with their coats and couldn’t wait to use them so the minute the drops started to fall they were out on the deck with their bumbershoots in hand. Happy, happy Northwest boys!