Like clockwork

 

You always know two years have passed

when you see a post about Oregon Coast.

 

It's a fun tradition to gather and play

in such a beautiful place with some of our favorite people.

This year's beach house

 

 

Tide pools everywhere

Cooking, chatting

Dancing

Playing

Goofing around, getting attention from fun uncles



Posing with the whole crew (minus my hubby behind the camera)



No explanation needed

Daddy and his daughters

The men

The grandkids

 

Uncle Justin, a.k.a. The May pole

Windy much?

Stephen and a cutie-pie



Eli in the waves

Uncle Jason & Benito

Millie trying to skip rocks
(although it looks like she could use some practice)

The ocean makes me happy

The chitlins in Newport

 

Chase and Millie having some sand time

Now this girl knows how to enjoy the sand!



Pizza monster and cousin Ethan

Sunsets

Writing missionary letters to Brett and Shemaina



Los hombres



Lovely ladies

S'mores every night?

Yes, please!

Rather than take the usual I-5 route home,

we decided to take 101 and see the coastline.

Just-across-the-CA-border redwoods
(and a whole lot of dead windshield bugs)

Southern Oregon coastline views

Pretty, pretty

World of Comp

Last fall Bennett played on a soccer team with a great coach.  We liked him enough to seriously consider his invitation for B to join a new competitive team.  Our, no my, original instinct was a big, fat NO.  I felt like Benito was too young--that he would burn out sooner than he should, I felt like we as a family weren't ready for that kind of commitment, and I felt like comp soccer was for fanatical parents who don't know when to stop pushing their kids.

Stephen was definitely more open to competitive soccer.  He felt like B had the interest, the talent, the drive to really make it worth it, and I think he recognized the benefits of a more challenging team and league.  Most of the family we consulted on the matter seemed to agree with Stephen: if it's Bennett's passion and he's good at, we should give him a chance. 

We took the plunge.  We had a few unplanned hiccups along the way that resulted in Benito playing on TWO teams this spring, one fledgling comp team that had a very losing season and one regular rec team that had a nearly undefeated season.  He got to experience both sides of the competitive coin, you might say, and we got to experience a whole lot of soccer.  Two games per Saturday, three practices per week, one husband assistant-coaching both teams.  If we could survive this, we could survive anything, right?  And if B not only survived that much soccer but still loved it come June, maybe it'd be a good indicator regarding competitive.

 

 

He did love it.  He still loves it.  He lives for it.  So we as a family are crossing over to the dark side and joining all the other crazy comp clones out there who let their lives revolve around their kid's sport.  Judge us, criticize us, defriend us if needs be, but at least you'll always know where to find us. :)

Memory Lane

We tried to hit all the old haunts:

 

UW (pronounced "U-dub")

or University of Washington



Campus

Next to newly-remodeled Husky Stadium at the edge of Lake Washington

The kids had fun seeing the sailboats, canoes, kayaks, etc.

Eli found a few little fish that he wanted to take home

Lake Washington

 

Now on the north end of Lake Washington,
where I grew up and have a ton of memories.

Like waterskiing by moonlight
(man, we were dumb)

And Log Boom Park, which is a whole lot cooler now, and Burke Gilman Trail



 

Horizon View

 

I grew up in a neighborhood on top of a hill.

Our three-story house is barely recognizable now with its yard full of overgrown trees,

but it was fun to show the kids the elementary school I walked to,

the friends' houses I played in,

the neighbor houses I babysat for, 

the long hills I sledded down,

the streets I trick-or-treated on,

the wild blackberry bushes I snacked from,

the "black forest" I biked past

(heart pumping full force, of course),

the cemetery I lived close to,

the little store/arcade I used to bike to for candy and video games.

 

My grandma's grave

Grandma Marshall has a special place in my heart

and is a big reason we picked the name Millie for our daughter

This cemetery is less than a block from the house I grew up in

I used to peer out of my parents' third-story window at night just to see this statue and its lights


 

Back at Granddad and Connie's house,

the kids lived it up in the backyard with Kendra.

 

We had so much fun spending time with them

and vowed to get back up here a lot more often.

 

 



Homemade water slide

Who needs a pool when you have a hose?

Flags, Ferries & Fireworks

Lucky us, we got to be with family on the 4th.

Hooray!!

 

In the morning, we hit the Edmonds Parade:

 

 

Waiting for the parade to start.
(Stephen deserves ALL credit for all photos on this trip.  He documented like a champ!)
 

Benito checking out what's coming next

Millie waving her flag

Gotta love small town parades

Vikings unite
 

Even Star Wars made an appearance



My kids got their first-ever ferry ride

when we took the

Edmonds ferry over to Kingston.

 

View from the front

The whole group minus Kendra, who was busy having a "King of the World" moment

Granddad and Millie, BFFs who like to hug

Sundaes and chatting

We headed home for naps and grilled steak dinner.
(Connie spoiled us with AMAZING food all week long!)

Then back to Edmonds for a firework show.

 

How did I forget how long it stays light in the northwest?

It honestly wasn't dark until almost ten thirty.

Insane.

Miss Kendra Leigh getting cozy



Millie scooted her chair up to be right next to her bestie.
So dang cute, these two.

Good call on the glow sticks, Connie!

They kept the "kids" busy