Tillamook Cheese Factory

My very favorite part of the Cheese factory was the ice cream at the end--it was to die for!! The scoops were huge, creamy and tantalizingly fresh. I tasted fresh peach, caramel pecan, Oregon strawberry, chocolate french silk, and Oregon Boysenberry. YUMMMMY. As you can see, Marissa enjoyed her chocolate ice cream. She is a chocolate girl--and she gets it from both sides! The cheese was good too, and the tour was educational and interesting. The scenic view going home from there was breathtaking. We live in such a beautiful world. God's creations are truly the most majestic things of all.

The Big Blue

There were a few crazy people who actually got IN the freezing cold water. Not MY idea of fun, but to each his own!

Sand and Surf

The beach was FRIGID (maybe I just have thin Florida blood now). The high was like 73degrees, so the water was painfully cold. The kids didn't seem to mind--even when their lips were purplish blue. They especially had fun chasing waves, and being buried in the sand. Some were buried standing up, and some laying down. Marissa loved it, but I think Chandler is clostrophobic, like me. The kids sure had fun burying Uncle Jon--just look at his poor ear. To top it off, Grandpa built a sand castle on top.

Sea Creatures on the Rocks

When the tides would go out enough, we could go explore the life on the rocks. There were gorgeous orange and purple star fish, thousands of barnacles (I think that's what they're called), and these squishy green things. The green things were closed up, but we found some open in puddles. I touched one, and the little green fingers were really sticky. We later found out that if you put your finger in them, they could eat your finger to the bone in 15 minutes--oops. won't touch those again!!

Driftwood on the Beach

There were some amazing pieces of wood and trunks of trees on the beach. The kids had a blast climbing on them and jumping off them. I think the picture of Megan is hilarious--I totally chopped off her head. I didn't expect her to jump that high. Eli started the whole jumping thing. I'm not sure where Chad and Annie were--we missed them in this part.

The Beach House (and the STEEEP driveway)

So, the beach house we went to was awesome. It was huge and had a beautiful view. The only thing about it was the driveway--it was quite the experience. Every time we went up or down it, people would scream and tires would squeal. In the one picture you can see the smoke coming off the tire!! It was crazy steep. I have honestly never seen a driveway that steep in my life. The pictures don't do it justice. I wish I were a better photographer and knew the tricks of good pix.

The Lighthouse

We got to climb up to the very top of a lighthouse that is still used today. There aren't very many left that are still used. It was a gorgeous view from the top. I got quite winded climbing up the several flights of stairs. Outside of the lighthouse really reaked of a fishy smell and the kids were plugging their noses.