Astoria, Oregon Vacation

We just got back from a week over on the Oregon Coast.  It was nice to get away, especially from all the smoke here from the awful fires around our area.  Nate's parents came with us so that was fun and mom came to watch our little farm. Thanks Mom! We really appreciate it.

We are on our way!

Lots of naps!  This pup instantly fell asleep every time we got in the truck.  She slept pretty much the entire way!

Daddy's girl already!  Helping him drive. 

These kids loved the ocean.  The weather was fantastic.  They were in the ocean for hours! 

This one loved digging in the sand. 

Middle age bay watch! :) 

Baseball on the beach!

Charlie loved climbing on the ship.

We enjoyed Nate's parents coming along with us.

So tired!

Seaside Aquarium

This was the coolest octopus!  It was white gray when it was sleeping and then it turned red/pink when it woke up and moved around.  

Feeding the sea lions.  Emma dropped some of her fish. 

A few family photos in Seaside.

Spending the night at Nanni and Boppi's cabin in a bunk bed!  So fun!

Nate caught a few crabs with his hands!

The girls!

While catching crabs, the boys also found some sand dollars.  This is the first whole sand dollar we have ever found.

Lots of bike riding in the campground.

We saw sea lions off of the observation deck.

Fort Clapsop

Cooper enjoyed going here after learning about it in the fourth grade.

Bella enjoyed the walks.

And she is done!

Astoria bridge

Coop and Nate went kayaking for a couple hours one morning.

The last day we were there was rainy and it was a perfect day for a drive to Tillamook.

Yum!

The drive was beautiful!

We saw so much wildlife.  This Elk was right in town, but on our drive to the jetty we saw Elk, tons of deer, and baby fawns. 

When you can't have campfires, this is how you make s'mores. :)

Time to go home!

Multnomah Falls

Ready to be out of the truck!

Emma finally fell asleep less than an hour from home. We had a wonderful time!

Fire Season

Well the fire season is in full swing! We have had a busy August so far with multiple fire and ambulance calls.  Here are a few pictures from our fire calls.  

This was a wind driven grass fire that was spreading very quickly caused by fireworks.  

This one was estimated to be about 11 acres as we were headed to scene.  I am not sure what it ended up being.  We got smoked out pretty good putting this one out.  The tractor went over everywhere we put out, but it was all black!

 Worst picture ever and I don't normally take selfies, but this was for my kids who were at home waiting for updates from mom. :) They told me I looked weird.  

This morning as soon as I heard the thunder, I told the kids we were probably going to get toned out.  Sure enough about 15 minutes later the radio went off.  This was from a lightning strike.  There are a ton of fires around our region right now.  

  I love fighting fires from the top of the fire truck.  :) 

Elk Creek Falls

Today we took a family adventure to Elk Creek Falls!  It was a lot of fun!  Lots of hiking, spotting wildlife, swimming, and huckleberry ice cream!

We saw turkeys, baby fawns with their white spots, white tail deer, chipmunks, and fish.  We tried so hard to see a bear like the Meacham's, but we never did. 

 Getting ready to hit the trail!

Everyone has a walking stick.

There was a deer right on the path.

Charlie reading some interesting history to us. 

Lower falls!

Middle falls

Upper falls where the kids got to play in the water.

Brave little girl! 

After hiking a few miles, we drove into Elk River.  First time there since living here almost 11 years!  It happened to be Elk River days.  We stopped in for some homemade huckleberry ice cream.  It was delicious!  A good way to end our day trip.