Jalama Beach

We met up with some old friends at Jalama Beach last weekend. They have two girls and the boys had a blast playing with them. The weather was nothing short of amazing for January. Days were spent digging in the sand and climbing the hill to the "cave" behind our campsite.
There is just something about the ocean that breathes life back into my soul.

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

Psalm 42:6-8

There was a great playground at Jalama too. The kids played several hours on the tire swing, and the fire pole. Both of these are hard to find anymore. We watched this playing while we enjoyed "World Famous Jalama Burgers". Yum!

Leaping towards autonomy

Gavin peeled his own tangerine the other day. So I figured his older brothers could do it too. It's our favorite new snack. Sometimes when I'm brave, all three boys get a big boy cup too. Gone is the highchair at the dining room table. Gone is the crib that my 3 babies slept in for the last 5 years. They all walk on their own two feet and I walk with my hands free, or maybe carrying a cup of coffee. It's awesome!

Here are the bunkbeds all refinished. It's chore making them. But they fit nicely, and the boys love them. Vincent insists it's not a bed, it's a bunk. He makes his bed first thing almost every day. The first few weeks he wouldn't even sleep under his covers because he didn't want to mess up his bunk. We tuck him in all cozy and then check on him after everyone fell asleep. He would be laying on top of his comforter with his bed all neatly made.
Gavin's brothers went camping with their dad last weekend. This meant Gavin could play alone, without someone coming along and dumping out whatever he was working on. He piled leaves into his shovel and then into the tractor for a good hour. He seemed to really enjoy some rare alone time.

Road Trip Woo Hooo!!

On George's birthday, we rented an RV and drove up the coast. It was an amazing trip and we had so much fun. The boys loved it, George loved it, I loved it. We got to see old friends and beautiful sights. There were a lot of miles covered on our 5 day journey, most of which was completely unplanned. We were blessed with great weather, fortunate timing and some great food too.
Our first day we spent driving north on the California coast. After the past few weeks of hard rains, the roads were wet and sometimes flooded, but the skies were now clear and the landscape clean. We took Hwy 1 all the way up on winding coastal roads.

Cozy comforts of home, the boys were thrilled.

We pulled off the highway in Trinidad to see the sights. After stopping to look at a lighthouse we spotted a trail to the sea. Hundreds of steps brought us onto our own private beach where we could watch seals, gulls and fishing boats just off shore. The sun shined through the haze of thin clouds to create a surreal beauty spotted with jagged rocks on the water. This was my favorite part of the trip.

Daniel took the steps like he was in a race, we lost him early on going down and back up. Vincent tried to keep up in the muddy steepness.



We pulled over again on the Oregon coast. George napped while the boys and I explored the dunes.
It was fun to watch Gavin keeping up with his big brothers on a long, sandy walk. He was a trooper through out the trip.



Vincent was delighted to find ice everywhere in Washington. Frozen puddles entertained Vincent and Daniel until their hands were frozen through.

Our goal was to reach Portland and visit George's old friend, Jeremiah. Not only did we make it, Jeremiah joined our excursion and we continued north together to see Sheryl. It was serendipitous. I emailed her on the way up to see if she was willing to meet us at her parents as we weren't going to make it all the way to Canada. Sheryl and Frank were already in Castlerock, WA at her parents home. We spent the night there on New Year's Eve, playing Pictionary with some serious gamers.


We all walked down to the Cowlitz River for some fresh air and explorations. Vincent got tired and took a rest in the middle of the road.


After leaving Jeremiah in Portland, we drove south on the 5. Daniel was really hoping to play in the snow and he wasn't disappointed. We pulled off the highway once again to play. Gavin was not a fan of the snow. Vincent had fun for awhile until he got too cold and wet. The younger two waited with Dad in the RV, nice and warm, changing out of their wet clothes while Daniel kept on sledding...in his jeans...with no sled.








We have decided that travelling in an RV is a fantastic way for us to vacation. We loved being able to drive without pit stops and without unpacking The boys loved our home on wheels. We slept in McDonalds, Walmart and Chuck E. Cheese's parking lots with hot coffee and hot showers in the morning. We drove late into the night while the boys were entertained with VeggieTales and Monsters Inc. It was cozy and warm and tons of fun.