Astoria

We spent last weekend camping in Astoria with Jim's brother and his family. Our little family loves Astoria. I'm not really sure why, as I can't list a hundred things to do there, but it's a fun little getaway not too far away. 

We started out crashing at the BIL/SIL's house for a night and then all heading up to camp together. Jim got this crazy idea that he was going to get our youngest niece riding her bike without training wheels before her dad came home from work. He provided incentive using both the "show-your-dad-how-awesome-you-are" and "we'll give you a cupcake" tactics. The goal was to ride once around the loop of their street without stopping.

It worked. Tori got her cupcake, and then we learned that she's actually ridden her bike that far before. Ignore that the satellite dish is centered on the helmet. I promise she's not an alien.

When we made it to the campground in near Astoria, the first thing the kids discovered was a playground. They made this their second home and spent literally hours each day there playing. They would disappear after one meal only to reappear when it was time for another.

Ellie and the cousins really liked this little carousel, but it made Aeryn dizzy so she usually stayed away from it.

The boys struggled to set up the awning to which I just kept laughing. Of course, there were pieces missing so they had to improvise, but it was humorous.

The cousins all decided that roasted starbursts are awesome. I quite agree and was happy they were well received. We used the berry blast ones, and every flavor was downright amazing when hot and bubbly. The experiment below, however, did not yield as satisfactory of results. Cookie dough is just too soft for such a venture, but the kids kept having to try it anyway.

We headed back to the Astoria column to throw airplanes. I'm not sure why it's so much fun, but it really is. After climbing to the top (something like 164 stairs) and back down, I was amazed to realize that it was much harder this year (pregnant) than last year (not pregnant). Shocking, I know. I still sometimes think I should be completely unaffected by it.

From the top you can watch the airplanes catch air currents and see the patterns in where they land. After making our way back down, the kids started gathering all they could. Jim headed into the trees and returned with quite the handful. Several of the kids made the trek back up again to throw some more.

Ben & Kristi brought their dog, Baxter, and Aeryn really loved it. The kids all did, but I know inside she was beaming a little bit getting to hang out with a fuzzy one.

Our campsite was riddled with mole holes. Uncle Ben showed the kids how to dig up the dirt covering the hole and reach their arms inside. I'm sure there was a point to reaching in, but I can't remember what it was.

Perhaps the point was just to trap all the children and see how dirty they'd let themselves get.

After tearing down camp we headed to the beach to see one of our favorite things: the Peter Iredale shipwreck. The water was C-O-L-D even by Oregon Coast standards so our crazy littles wouldn't get themselves wet. This marks the first time we've headed to the water and no one had to change out of wet clothes. Weird.

Last year when we came the water was at high tide and we had to strategically run between waves to even touch the metal. This year, we were there at low tide and it was a completely different experience.

I've never stood in the belly of a ship before, decaying or not.

That was it. No Goonies house, National Park, or ice cream, yet it was a great weekend to end our summer all together.