Saturday, August 14, 2010

I Love That Smile

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What a cutie pie - I'm going to miss my little buddy when she goes to Kindergarten. )o:

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Favorite Beach Shots . . .

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Every once in a while, when you play on the beach, a sneaker wave comes in much farther than the rest and you can't tell until it's too late! This happened several times this day. Rarely do you happen to catch the event in pictures because they are so random. I was definitely lucky on this Friday the 13th. So while this may not be beautiful composition or lighting, this is definitely a favorite! Mo's* cell phone almost didn't survive this surprise!

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Mark defying gravity and leaping over the sun! Wow!

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Awww - so cute.

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The flowers at the beach are so beautiful. These remind me of little ballerinas.

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Our attempted photo shoot on the beach was very disappointing. The timing of when we actually could make it was at the worst time for lighting - noon. The wind was blowing our hair all over the place and we really had to hike around to find a pretty spot on this beach. There was a ton of ocean debris (seaweed/kelp) along most of it. This was not on Bella Beach, but down the street. From the highway it looked pretty. We had to really hike to get here and oh yeah, it was FREEZING at the time I took this so the girls were whining about taking their jackets off. So all that trucking around with my tripod was not worth it. We'll have to try again another time...

Friday, August 13, 2010

Another Day at the Beach

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I just noticed that this day was Friday the 13th! Well, it was definitely not unlucky by any stretch of the imagination!

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Here are a couple pictures inside our cute house - I loved the colors and decor, it felt so happy.

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This was in our front yard. Natalie trying to catch a squirrel. It wasn't even a close competition. He was way too fast.

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A random thing that made me laugh. I don't know who or why someone put this Barbie in one of the walls near the parking of some other beach houses, but it cracked me up. Maybe she is to scare away anyone who tried to park there.

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We visited the OHSU Hatfield Marine Science Center on this day. We love it here. For you locals, it is a GREAT alternative to the Newport Aquarium, which costs about $15/person. The HMSC just has a suggested donation of $5/person or $20/family. A lot more affordable. However, the Aquarium is pretty incredible and much bigger. We love both.

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We thought this "mama and baby" starfish were adorable "snuggling" together. (O: Awwww.

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Sarah swimming with the jellyfish!

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Natalie and the Newport bridge.

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In the HMSC indoor tidepools - I love getting a close look at the fish there. Fish have always fascinated me. Once upon a time I wanted to be a marine biologist.

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One of our favorite coastal restaurant chains! Pancakes sounded good for lunch. (O:

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Natalie waiting for her food.

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We love to visit the kite store in Newport. And surprise, surprise - we walked out with a new kite! Wallace* go to try it out later that night, but the wind wasn't strong enough to drag him down the beach like her likes to do. (o: We'll have to come back on a windy day.

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I could watch the girls play in the water for hours. I think I did.

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They look like they are on an adventure.

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Best friends. (O: These three are such good buddies, I love to watch them play together with limited fights! The beach puts everyone in good moods. I wish we could continue the magic at home!

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Such a beautiful sunny day on the Oregon coast - it doesn't get any better . . .

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"The seas were angry that day my friend." Anyone know the source of that quote?

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Hey! Look who it is! Mark and Michelle came to play with us!

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We got one more girl to come play and be crazy on the beach!

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What a beautiful night.

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Mark and Michelle joined us for dinner at our house and some playing on the beach. They happened to be staying just down the road. I am so happy that it worked out to see them while vacationing, what a fun memory.

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The four musketeers.

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Catching Up!

Click on the title above to see one of my favorite posts.

One of the reasons why I want to get caught up on my blogging is because when I post things waaay later than when they happened people miss out on seeing some really fantastic pictures! (o:

These ones make me smile!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Ahoy Matey!

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Our first day on the coast, we thought it would be fun to take a boat ride on the ocean from Newport. We've been on this boat twice before and they do a great job, so we knew we wouldn't be disappointed.

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Natalie starts out with a smile!

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The beautiful Newport bridge.

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Okay, so we are huge Deadliest Catch fans. This crabbing part of the boat ride was a highlight for sure! It was on a MUCH smaller scale than our beloved show, but it was still fun for Sarah to give crabbing a try! I think Frank* was so proud. He was wearing his Cornelia Marie shirt on the ride. (One of the names of the boats on Deadliest Catch - he got it in honor of Captain Phil - who passed away this year on the show. )o: )

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Sarah putting the bait in! Yummy! The crew even challenged the kids to kiss the fish for good luck like the real fishermen do. Sarah actually thought about it, but decided not to.

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When we left the bay and got out in the ocean, Natalie's smile faded. She was very nervous and thought we were going to drown. Poor thing. I showed her lots of things to help her feel better - the smiles on the crews' faces (meaning even though the waves seemed big to us, they were used to it and it was normal), the life boats just in case anything happened, etc. This helped her feel a little better, but she was also a little seasick. She seems to get motion sickness the easiest out of my kiddos. Poor thing. Luckily, the crew had this herbal remedy that you could rub behind your ears to help. It seemed to really help Nat and I even tried some too. I don't usually get sea sick, but when you are dealing with a sea sick child I think it can get contageous thinking about it.

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Sarah and Angela on the other hand, loved the ride. Although the cold got to Angela by the end.

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Sea Lions playing by a buoy. I lucked out and got one jumping!

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Sarah loved being right at the tip of the bough! That was the craziest ride - going up and down over the waves. As you can see, I think she liked it! She was hooping and hollaring and cheering and cracking everyone up around us. I've got to give it to her - she's got enthusiasm!

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A little picture of the contrast between my two girls' experience.

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Angela was pretty happy on the boat!

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When we got back in the bay, Natalie was relieved! She got into helping pull back in the crab pots!

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Here's what we caught!

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The captain let the girls drive the boat. Sarah got to do some real driving and turned us all the way around!

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Not the greatest pictures of me, but the girls look cute!

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I will hang on to this one to prove to Natalie that she did have fun on some of the boat ride.

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What better thing to do after a seasick boat ride than to buy some candy at a big candy store! We must be on vacation!