Oregon!

John had a couple of days scheduled off from work to make a trip to South Dakota - we were going to go to Mt. Rushmore and whatever else we could find to do. But when it came down to it, we didn't really want to drive 13+ hours one way, and we were tentatively planning a trip to Oregon in a few weeks anyway, which would mean another 8 hours one way in the car...so we decided to scrap the SD trip and make a longer Oregon trip.

I happened to find a last minute reservation for a yurt at a state park along the coast (which seriously never happens! You have to plan a yurt trip months in advance!) and after visiting family for a few days, we went to the coast. The yurt was super fun - kids loved it, and I loved that we didn't have to set up/tear down a tent, plus the mattresses were actually pretty comfy...and bonus: there was electricity. It was a super short trail to the beach, and if it hadn't been so windy, we would've spent our entire time ON the beach. As it was, we still spent quite a few hours there, so no complaints except that I was cold the entire time. It's kind of a shock to go from 90-100 degrees to high temps in the 60's or low 70's! 

Now we are home. I don't even want to look at the house or the mountains of laundry! The kids are already fighting and beating each other. But it feels good to be home!

Smoky sunset as we were driving to OR. I don't know if you can tell from the pic, but the sun was actually setting behind a gigantic wall of smoke!

Whale watching center at Depoe Bay...we didn't see any (real) whales though.

On the beach with friends

Inside the yurt at bedtime

Trying to keep warm in the morning...brrrrrrrr!

Everyone uses a machete for that, right?!