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?! 

Lately

Wow, I just can't keep up! This summer has been so crazy busy, and there is still more craziness coming up! 

The boys did a technology camp a couple of weeks ago, which they loved! B & A got to build/program lego robots, and P got to build/program a computer. They all 3 loved it, and are already asking to do it again next summer. It was a bit of a drive, but considering how much they loved it...it was probably worth it! It was only a half day camp though, so I had to figure out how to waste a couple of hours each morning in the tiny town that it was in since I didn't really have time to drive home. Hopefully next year they will have some full day options!

In other news, our chickens started laying eggs a few weeks ago! It was a super exciting discovery for the boys, especially since we thought it would be another month or so. AND the first egg was a huge, double-yolk! 

We also did a garage sale - finally. We had been promising the boys we would do one this summer and we just hadnt gotten around to it. Well, the boys were sick of being put off, and decided we needed to do it right away, along with a lemonade stand. I have to say, it feels pretty good to get rid of our junk! Plus the boys made quite a bit with their lemonade stand, and they had tons of fun!

Archer in the tree above the lemonade stand :)

We also fit in another Silverwood trip, and B finally decided to go on the panic plunge - it took him a bit to get up the guts to do it, but he said he liked it!

And, a bike ride on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes in a section we hadn't ridden before along the CDA River:

Plus, even time for some birthday parties, marble-chute-building, the beach, and lots of swimming. No wonder I'm exhausted and my house is a disaster!

(The boys like to build and then take pics on my phone...I end up with a lot of pictures like this!)