Hay Day

Another haying season has come and gone. For the past 12 years we've reliably gotten our hay from my friend Jessica's aunt. Started out as small square bales and a few years ago we made the jump to large round bales. Then early this year she sold off her land so we knew we'd be searching for a new hay farmer. It didn't help that this seasons hay was scarce with the drought conditions in early spring. I resorted to craigslist after calling everyone on my hay contacts. We found a guy selling giant 1100 pound bales for $75 a bale. We've been buying 800 pound bales in the past years for $25 each so sticker shock was high this year. But the farmer loaded for us so we didn't have to haul out our skid steer into the field like years past which was nice. We only had four trips to the field and it was a nice cool day instead of the normal 105 degrees (and Sean got the air conditioner fixed in the truck! Yay!).

The dump trailer was awesome and we just rolled them off.



The hay is always a hit with the kids. :)

Birthday Boy

Wesley's actual birthday was celebrated on the beach but we promised him a party with his friends when we returned. He got to invite several boys before school was over and all of them showed up which made for a wild time. At times it sounded like a herd of elephants running down the stairs. I've watched these boys grow up over the years and it was fun seeing them together. They had several Nerf wars and a quick but fun silly string explosion in the front yard.

He loves the Razor skates Granny Randi. :)

Oregon Coast part 2

For the remainder of the trip we walked around town and shopped at the quaint little shops and pigged out at the restaurants and ice cream shop (the kids really enjoyed ice cream cones on the beach). The resort was situated south of town and required a good 15 minute walk to get home. Our feet were all pretty sore by the time we dragged our tired rear ends home each night.

The third evening I wanted to try and get some sunset pictures and it turns out pretty much everyone else thought the same idea. It's quite something with the sunset colors and mist around the rocks. We did manage to get a good family picture thanks to Wesley's tripod.

The last full day we were there in Cannon Beach we decided to visit Ecola State Park which is a whopping 2 miles north of town. It was a Saturday and we were a little worried about lines so we got going fairly early (for us) and were at the park before 10. There were two main parking areas with two very different hiking options. The first parking area takes you to Indian Beach with an 8 mile hike and the second parking area takes you to Crescent Beach with a mile and a half hike. Indian Beach lot was full so we opted for Crescent Beach. It's not like we were going to hike 8 miles anyways (at least not with kids). Turned out the mile and a half hike was perfect. It took an hour and wasn't too difficult (there were a few areas that were steep). It opened up into the most beautiful secluded beach that was nearly empty. It was a wonderful day.

We brought a lunch and had a picnic at the top of the trail head that had the most beautiful post card like scenery. It really was something else to see.

It was lovely trip, I highly recommend seeing the Oregon coast.

Oregon Coast part 1

We just returned from a great trip to Oregon. Last year we flew into Seattle and drove down the coast on the 101. We meandered down the coast stopping at little towns along the way and one of the towns that we really loved was Cannon Beach, Oregon. We only stayed a few hours but it was the highlight of the trip last year.

Sean happened to win a sweepstakes at work for some money towards a trip of his choice and it didn't take very long to decide to go back to Cannon Beach. This time for several days. We flew into Portland this time and drove the hour and a half West to the coast.We wanted this trip to be relaxing with very little driving. So we did just that!

Day one was traveling and day two was driving to the beach to celebrate Wesley's birthday. We kidded how much fun it would be to eat cake by the ocean so while we were in Portland we went to a Whole Foods and got a big cake and hauled it out to the beach with us. It was a memorable eleventh birthday for the kid.

The thing about Oregon's beaches is that while it's a beautiful 70 degree day the ocean is freezing. Like if you stand in it up to your ankles you won't be able to feel your feet for several minutes. It's so cold. You'll notice we are all wearing hoodies and jackets which is unheard of at home (since it's 98 degrees) but in Oregon is normal. Such wonderful weather.....as long as swimming in the ocean isn't in your plans (it certainly isn't in my plans).

There was a lot of beach sitting happening that first day at Cannon Beach. We waited until the tide was low and went exploring around Haystack Rock (the beach is famous for it, it's the beach in the film Goonies). Haystack Rock is a protected area and nobody is allowed to climb on or near it but with low tide it formed some beautiful tide pools that had some cool sea life in them. And it made for some beautiful pictures.

We decided to stay in the Hallmark Resort which is directly on the beach right in front of Haystack Rock. It was a beautiful place and I highly recommend it. It was quite something to wake up and see the ocean.

Just celebrated our 17 year anniversary.

The hiking around there is just gorgeous!  We pulled off of the highway on a big shoulder and found a hiking trail that was pretty much like walking into a rain forest. It was a nice way to kill and hour while the hotel was getting our room ready.

The hydrangeas in town were so pretty and in every color imaginable.

I have one more post about this vacation that I will post tomorrow.

Bad Boy, Cotton Candy and Guitars

My parents have been dividing up their time between the home near us and the home in the mountains. When they leave this home I go over and keep it mowed so they don't return home to a jungle. This year we traded in the old antique Grasshopper zero turn mower for a much newer Bad Boy zero turn mower. It's freakishly fun to use and I offered to bring it over and mow with it instead of their John Deere. I just needed a small trailer since I didn't want to haul the mower on the cumbersome car hauler. They let us use their little utility trailer which fits it wonderfully. Fun times!

To celebrate the end of VBS I took the kids out to lunch last Friday at the local Olive Garden. They went nuts over the non-alcholic drink menu which had some sour apple cotton candy concoction (say that three times). I said "Sure!" since I usually say no. They brought out these giant drinks topped with layers of cotton candy. I could almost hear the cavities forming. They sure raved about them though.

Every other week the kids and I make the trek into the feed store to feed the hoard of animals we have. To make the experience enjoyable we often stop at the antique mall right next to the feed store. It doesn't look large from the outside but on the inside it's a sprawling building full of little booths with this and that. Some antiques, some new stuff and a lot of junk. It's a lot of fun finding things. Wesley has found some treasures over the years. He found a box with someones rock collection from over the years once, he's a rock lover so that was a great find. This week we wandered around and came across a nice guitar with a strap and stand. He stood there looking at it for awhile and said "Mom I've always wanted to learn to play the guitar." So, $59 later he has a entry level Lyon guitar. We haven't started the hunt for a instructor yet but plan to.

Every year like clock work I usually write something about the koi pond. It's a big project each spring emptying it, blowing out the two tons of wet leaves, filling it and getting the pump going. Each year the reed grass move to take over another portion of the pond, it frustrating. This year Sean offered to help me cut the grass out. The roots grow like a mat of carpet on top of the liner, sometimes a foot deep. It's gross work, standing in sludge while trying to chop out roots as thick as your thumb. We worked most of the day and removed about a 4 foot section. It doesn't sound like much but it opened up a large chunk of pond. Thanks Sean!

VBS

Another year of vacation bible school has come and gone. The church asked me to once again run the arts and crafts station (apparently I did a good enough job last year). It's kind of a crazy week full of fun and the kids have a great time. My mom helped me out again for three days, which I greatly appreciated as I never know if I'll have helpers. The theme this year was Roaring River Rapids and we got to do all sorts of woodsy, camp crafts including compass necklaces, sand art and beaded bracelets.  This is Wesley and Alex's last year of VBS so they will be helpers next year.

Snow Cones

We discovered a local snow cone joint last year and I promised we would go often this summer. School has been out for nearly a month and we've gone at least 5 times. I'm officially burnt out of snow cones but the kids would probably eat them daily (not that I would let them). So many flavors to try, so little time!

Pigs

I could of sworn that I posted about our newest critters but I can't find the post anywhere. Several months ago, I believe it was February, we got a call from a friend saying she knew of two guinea pigs needing a new home. Her friend is pregnant and having issues with allergies and these two little guys needed to go. Wesley had been wanting a guinea pig for about a year. I gave him all of my books about them from when I had pigs growing up. He'd been doing his research and saving money.

The gal giving them away just wanted them to go to a good home and gave all of supplies and pets away for free. It was very sweet of her! They are named Jasper and Ralph and live up in Wesley's room. They get to come out of their main cage and run around the play area for several hours each day and usually once a day the kids cover Wesley's bed with a quilt and let them up that to run and get loved on. They are very loved guinea pigs!

Smushed

Pulling my car into the garage is pretty much done on autopilot these days. I pull the car out of the garage and expect there to be an empty stall for me to pull into when I return.....right? Well last week I pulled the car in and went inside the house without really thinking about anything and Sean pulls his car in a few hours later. He walks in and tells me that I ran over his car charger (he bought a Chevy Volt that plugs in). Sure enough I ran my car completely over his car charger. Oops! It kind of worked but if you moved the cord it would turn on and off, definitely not a safe option for charging the car overnight.

So he got online to find a replacement and discovered they are $390 (ouch!). Boy did I feel bad! Sean decided he would see if he could just fix it, after all it's just a big electric cord. He's repaired many of those over the years. She he spread out his tools on the table and took the whole thing apart. He shortened the cord by a couple of feet but it's now working great. He's sure a handy guy!