Sea.... monkeys???

Yesterday was another big adventure day for our family- so we started it off right... by sleeping in!We all piled in our cars and started driving along the Oregon Coast. We stopped and had a picnic on a beautiful beach look out.

Maddie and Ivy have been LOVING spending so much time together. Usually their different napping schedule at home prevents them from spending long periods of time together so being together constantly is a new adventure for them.

(doesn't it look like they are having a wonderful conversation?)

Maddie has also LOVED spending so much time with her Daddy. He has been so busy with work this summer that he hasn't been able to spend as much time with her as he would have liked.
I just realized I lied to all of you. These pictures are actually from 2 different days. We went on road drips both days though.

This is us in front of the "octopus" tree we found at one of our stops.

We also got to stop and visit this fun little light house. It really was a small light house.

We also made a stop at the Tillamook cheese factory where Maddie got to be a cow
And see how all the yummy cheese is made

Just a cool sign we saw along the way
Now these next pictures are actually from yesterday. We went to the Sea Lion Caves where 100's of sea lions have chosen to live. It is amazing how many sea lions (or sea monkeys as Maddie would rather call them) gather in that cave. They were pretty much laying on top of eachother, fighting for a good spot to lounge.

I think there is something wrong with this picture... for some reason I didn't quite fit on the seat.
After the sea "monkeys" we split up into two groups. The adventurous few (Grandma, Karl, Maddie, Ivy and I) went on a Dune Buggy ride while the rest of the group went horse back riding on the beach.

Obviously our dune buggy ride wasn't your typical ride full of fast paced driving and huge thrill hills but we all still were able to get a thrill. It was an hour drive over all the sand dunes and out along the beach.

The girls loved the ride

Ivy blowing in the wind
Daddy, Grandma and Maddie got to sit on the very front row. It was pretty windy, so even though it may not look like Maddie was having fun, she really was.

Look at that hair!


Some how- even with all the bumbs and wind- both girl's managed to fall asleep during the ride.
This dune was 350 feet above sea level and yes we did go cruising right down it.
Our group- three adults and 2 sleeping toddlers.
What a fun adventure... I would highly recommend trying the sand dune adventure sometime if you get the chance.

Still enjoying our vacation

Touring the town

Playing on the beach- flying kites

Maddie not liking to touch the sand or the water

Maddie loving the water... as long as she was being held.

Braving the "dirty" until she had a bite to eat and remembered she didn't like the sand

The beautiful sunset from our room

Ready to go swimming

Deep Sea Fishing

The fishers and their catch- 21 fish and 17-1/2 crabs. Yumm!!!

Finally on vacation-

After many months of waiting and a long journey to get here, we are finally on vacation in Depoe Bay, Oregon. Since I'm not really in the mood to write much I am just going to share some fun pictures of our trip so far (mostly of Madison and Ivy).

Madison, Grandma and I flew to Oregon while the rest of our group had to drive. I guess they figured a rambunctious toddler, pregnant woman and senior citizen would do better in a plane then in the car. They were probably right...

Maddie loves airplanes so I'm sure you can imagine how excited she was to actually get to go on an airplane.

And when we finally made it to Portland, the day after everyone else, Madison could not stop telling everyone about how she got to go on an airplane.
At our condo- our rooms over look the ocean. We can actually see the whales out our windows.

And lots of family time

This is a window between our bedroom and our living room- I'm not so sure what the point is but Madison sure seems to enjoy it.

Madison and Ivy have been having lots of fun too