Oregon Coast

So.  Are you ready to see photos of my most favorite family vacation ever?  Ryan REALLY wanted to go to the Newport Aquarium for his birthday, so we decided to sneak away from the wedding planning and go explore down south on the coast to towns we've never been to.

I did my research online and decided we should check out a place called Cape Perpetua.  We found a random little parking spot and then made our way through these awesome tree tunnels.  Doesn't it look like we're going down the rabbit hole from Alice in Wonderland?  It sure felt that way.

To our complete surprise, this was the view waiting for us on the other side. We had the whole mountain side to ourselves and we spent the entire rest of the day exploring this lava rock shore.

Here's Ry and the girls waiting for the spout to blow...then getting soaked :)

 Our girls are the coolest little girls I know.  They are champs for adventure and have such enthusiasm for exploring.  We dragged them all over this shore line and never once did they complain,

 By the end of our adventure Lydia's little legs couldn't hardly move.

P

 Ry and I have had quite the year.  Thankfully we're more in-love than ever because of it.

Sooooo, this photo here is what inspired us to go to Cape Perpetua.  But guess what, it was no where to be found.  According to google we were right on top of it!  And yet, 3 hours of searching and we still never found it.  But what we did find while we were searching was priceless.

Once I realized we weren't going to find Thor's Well (above photo) we decided to move on to find the Devil's Churn.  We parked.  Crossed this completely charming bridge, and made our way down this perfectly shaped path.  You would think the landscaping was done by some high priced resort...nope, that's just how the North West rolls.  Totally, and completely breathtaking.

I don't know if you are appreciating how beautiful this is.  Really take it all in.

I mean come on.  Look at that!!!

Hi.  Yeah.  Devil's Churn.  Looks like something from Lord of the Rings.  It was a bit disturbing to walk all the way to this edge.  You could feel the ocean "churning" in the cave beneath you and it boomed all the way through to your heart.  If you fell in here, it would be game over, no being rescued.  It sure was fun to see in real life though :)

We ended our night with picking the most crowded restaurant in town to celebrate Ryan's 31st birthday.  I am just coming around to the world of seafood, but this place had the best fish and chips I've ever had.  Then we drove up the coast and found a quaint little hotel.  Had baths.  Put girls to bed.  Watched a movie.  Then fell asleep to the sound of the Ocean.  Seriously.  Seriously.  Can't get better than this.

The next morning Ryan's wish came true and we headed to the Newport Aquarium.  Loved the touch pools, especially since they were all creatures that live in the ocean right outside.

Just in case you were wondering, this is the aquarium that spent 7 MILLION dollars on a tank for Keiko (Free Willy) to return to health.  Bleh.  I am not a fan of saving the whales when there are starving children in this World.  Anyways, moving on.

Isn't this picture awesome?  You know what's fun about being the mom?  You get to always stay behind the camera.  So that way when your kids look back on their childhood, they'll have a ton of great photos with their dad, and your role can kind of be forgotten.  Fun huh?  (I'm laying the sarcasm on pretty thick here)

What I loved best about this trip was discovering new places I've never been.  Especially since the Oregon Coast is so familiar to me.  This was like I was in a whole new state.  We stopped at a real live lighthouse and got a tour of the inside.  We went down to the tide pools, and also saw loads of seals just hanging around, doing their sleepy thing.

Wait for it.....Wait for it....da da da daaaaa!!!!  Cannon Beach.  We made it!  Although the highlight was exploring new beaches, there's nothing like Cannon.  It never changes.  Even when everything else in my life does, Cannon always stays the same.  Nothing goes out of business, the restaurants don't change their menus, and Haystack Rock will forever and always be the symbol of my happy childhood.

Some people have Disneyland, some have Bear Lake, some Lake Powell, but our family's happy place is at Cannon Beach.  The remaining photos pretty much speak for themselves.

We finished off this day with Joining Ryan's brother Greg and his family for a slumber party in the next town over in Seaside.  We had a great fire on the beach and then stayed up until 3a.m. catching up.  This has to be the best 24 hours we've had in a long time, possibly ever.  Possibly.

Julie's Wedding

We went to Oregon for 10 days to celebrate with Julie and Scott for their happiest of weddings. The night before the big day they had a fabulous BBQ out at Scott's parent's house.  We enjoyed good food, family and getting to know Julie's friends.

 

 Ummmmm, is it just me or do you totally want to make out with this guy?  I love this picture of Bundy.

 The Big Day arrived and we all enjoyed a beautiful Temple Sealing.  I was their photographer and had fun introducing Scott to my bossy ways.

Ryan's parents, Margo and Clay, who I AB-SO-LUTE-LY A-DORE!  I just love these two people!

Ryan and 4 of his 5 siblings

The men in his family (the one on the far right is his brother Greg who we always speak highly of)

The women.  

 Not sure if you knew this, but the Portland Temple's beauty can't be rivaled.

 The happy couple

The reception was absolutely gorgeous.  Julie and pinterest did such a great job planning everything and then executing it as well.  These photos don't do justice to the details and beauty.  This collage does show a glimpse into how good the Bundy cousins are to my little girls.

Sooooooo....the reception was held at a beautiful barn. Yeah.  Between the horses and the hay our sweet little Emma turned into a Walking Dead extra and we had to high tail it early to get her to some bennadryl.

We ended our night with an hour visit out to the Lakes, it was all they could squeeze us in for in their busy schedule, but we're glad we got to see them :)

I am so happy for Julie and Scott.  Julie has been a best friend of mine every since high school.  I have seen her date a lot of frogs and I am so happy that she and Scott have finally found each other!

JULY

 This summer has been the best summer that I have ever had with my little girls.  We have dazzled them all day, every day.  I took the above photo when we went to Lagoon with Emma.  Best. Day. Ever!!!  I love spending time with my kids like I would spend time with my friends.  I know things can and are a little patchy some times in life, but by golly, we're going to make sure our kids have a great childhood to give them the emotional stability they'll need to face the real world.  I know my wonderful childhood has seen me through some rough times as an adult, and I am so thankful to my parents for that priceless gift they gave me of a happy childhood.

For the Fourth Of July we had a wonderful breakfast at my parent's house with all of my Logan family members.

Then we headed to SLC to enjoy a nice private pool.  Loved playing games, eating pinterest inspired food, and just spending the day with family.

 Afterwards we went with Kylee and Brody for the best little fireworks show in Utah, up in good old Liberty.  I loved having alone time with them and I LOVE the American Spirit up in Liberty.

My parent's "bought" back an old wave runner that I first rode on when I was 10!  That means it's 21 years old!  Sayyyy whaaaat?!  It's actually still quite fun and perfect for taking the kids on a ride around the lake.

We went to many, many pools this month.  Here we are at my mom's cousin's pool.  Pretty sweet trampoline to jump into the water eh?

In a last minute decision we decided to bring Ryan's niece Chloe back from Oregon with us.  She stayed two whole weeks and we definitely showed her a good time.  Ryan took the girls on top of Ben Lomond for an adventure to check out the wild goats.  The views and wildlife kept them buzzing for days....especially Ryan.

Frequenting the Logan pool.

Collecting peacock feathers and visiting a fully functioning farm.

Selling Lemonade from the stand that my dad just "whipped up" for Emma one day.

We set up shop on the corner in my aunt's neighborhood.  The girls made $30!  Granted Emma sang songs and recited the Pre-Amble so that earned her some extra money as well, but still, that's a good chunk of change for a wee girl.

At the end of the month Emma went up to Bear Lake and spent the night with Addi for her birthday party.  Carrie is an inspiration to me and always keeps me on my toes.  I'm so glad Emma has a friend like Addi and I have a friend like Carrie.

Well, it's been a jam packed month, and I don't have nearly the photos to show for the memories we created and adventures we had.  But at least this is a glimpse of the fun that took place in July.