Pincock Party

We were able to get together with all of Travis' family for a week and we had so much fun. Makenna and Hadley love, love, love their cousins. Here are some things that we did:

We went to the Clawson family reunion at Lava and watched The Goonies outside. We played the paper bag game. Travis was one of the winners. Way to represent! And we, of course, went swimming. And the best part is that we slept in a teepee with all of the Pincocks.

We had family pictures taken.

We went out to ice cream as many times as possible.

We enjoyed a concert at the park.

Everyone had fun on the big slip n' slide.

We watched the Pioneer Day parade.

Stinky Visitor

After we got home from our trip, Travis was setting up our tent to air it out and saw a little movement in our window well. He looked down there and lo and behold was..... A SKUNK! 

We were afraid he would spray because he was right outside our family room window, so we were really cautious to get close because we didn't want to be smelling skunk for the next year. So the question is, what the heck do you do about a skunk stuck in your window? Who do you call? Do you just reach down there and pull him out. (Don't worry- we never really considered that.) Do you kill it? No, you do not! Don't even think about it- Travis. I know it's a pest and stinky, but still somehow cute and well, a living thing.

Well...we called Fish & Game. They said to put a board down there and he'd climb out. But apparently, this skunk wasn't the brightest because he wouldn't climb up that darn board even with food all along it. And so we named him Steven, the Special Ed Skunk.

Later that day, Travis came and told me he was gone. So, I went to the window well and asked what the black stuff was in his little hole and we realized, that darn skunk was still there!

The Fish and Game officer came out the next morning (completely shocked that he hadn't crawled up the board) and said he had dug a hole because it was cool down there and he didn't feel threatened. What a stupid skunk- he's stuck six feet below ground with no food or water, but doesn't want to come out?  The officer didn't have what he needed to get him out of there and came back the following morning with a plan. He shot moth balls into the skunk's hole (apparently, skunks hate moth balls- just a future reference) and put a covered trap down there. And sure enough, that dumb skunk went in the trap to get away from the moth balls. Then, Travis and the officer pulled up the trap and because he couldn't see what was threatening him, he wouldn't spray. Genius.

And so Skunky was carried away unharmed and still smelling peachy. Whew! Now, we are even more motivated to get our fence put up. I don't know about this country living stuff.

Last Oregon stop

Our last stop on the Oregon coast was at the most northern point called Fort Stevens State Park. It was fun to explore the "famous" towns of the Oregon coast, including Astoria (where Goonies was filmed and yes, it looks just like that) and Seaside. This part of the coast seemed too crowed and touristy (there were 600+ campsites in the area that were all FULL but we scored with a big, private campsite).  We were able to meet up with my good friend Rachel and her adorable baby. Rachel and I were outdoor buddies through college so it was only appropriate that we were together for the monumental event of Will's first camping trip. We had to laugh at how much different our camping experience was, especially with story time and songs around the campfire instead of inappropriate stories. Ha, ha. We visited Astoria and the famous Peter Iredale Ship, or "a tetnus shot waiting to happen" as Rachel called it. Our last stop was Silverton to stay with Rachel. It was the perfect ending to an amazing trip.

Moving on up the coast

Our next stop was heading to the northern coast, which was a really fun area that we spend four days at.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID:

Makenna learned how to CLIMB TREES (in our campsite).

We spent some ROMANTIC TIME on the beach. :) (See picture below.)

I had MY 30TH BIRTHDAY! We spent the day being part of the civilized world shopping at the millions of outlet stores, explored different beaches, went out to Chinese food, and enjoyed a sunset over the ocean. It was PERFECT.

We spent a day at the AQUARIUM and SCIENCE CENTER. They were both impressive and the girls loved them.

Visited YAQUINA LIGHTHOUSE. This lighthouse was unique because it is the only lighthouse with a residence attached.

Saw the YAQUINA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE with the amazing views and spiral staircase.

Loved our CAMPFIRE time. Hadley loved entertaining us. And so did a raccoon that came out to visit.

Enjoyed the BEACH on a warm, foggy day. A think layer of fog just sat on the beach but the sun shined through enough to be warm. Note to self: you can get a sunburn through the fog.

I put together a SCAVENGER HUNT for the girls for a family activity. The girls had to find many things in the campground and then found their prize- their new stylin' sunglasses.

Visited the TILLAMOOK FACTORY. Yum! The ice cream was outstanding.

Stopped for a few hours at OSWALD WEST STATE PARK, which was probably my favorite beach. It was breathtaking, tucked away, and very warm.