We had dessert with John, Katie, the Sampsons and Grammy and Grandpa and said good-bye to everyone. We took the above picture of the girls, which is reminiscent of past photos... 
After VooDoo, we hung out at Mom and Dad's house while I did a few loads of laundry, then got to Kris's house to spend the night. Kris's brother Darrin had just gotten home from a pioneer trek, so we got to hear about it and make judgments as to whether or not a pioneer trek is necessary for salvation. (I'm against it, just like I'm against mandatory piano lessons to get into heaven.) It sounds like Darrin had a great time and I'm glad their stake had a good experience.
We had a hotdog cookout for lunch, then the Sampsons drove home. Emma woke up at 3 and we drove in to Tillamook for yet more ice cream, souvenir shopping and dinner at McDonalds. We got back to the yurt, I took Lauren down to the ocean for more water and sand fun while Landon and Emma stayed in the yurt and played with their Nintendo DSs. It was a pretty mellow day after the past several busy busy days.
As soon as Mom and Dad left, the Kimballs showed up to go on a 5 mile hike within the state park boundaries, that overlooks the ocean. We had originally wanted to go on the hike with them, but after our little beach walk the night before, we didn't feel like we had anything to prove. We let them go without us! We packed up and went down to the beach and waited for them to meet us there later.
I spent a good amount of time with the kids just letting the water roll over my feet and up to my knees. It's mesmerizing! The water was cold, but at least it wasn't as cold as the winter time! It felt good. The Oregon beach is a lot more unpredictable and wild than the California beach, so the kids could only go up to their knees at the most. No swimming here.
We made our "home base" up near the rocks, but by the end of the day when the tide was in, the waves were hitting our blanket right next to the umbrella. I had a killer sunburn on my shins and feet, and Zoe had a really bad burn on her back. The rest of the bodies were covered well enough with sunscreen to avoid the burns.
John hiked his pants up as far possible to keep them dry, but thanks to our recent explanation of what "plum smuggling" is, the girls found his look to be pretty funny. 
What fun is the beach unless you have sand in every crevice?
After the beach, John and Landon made dutch oven chicken and potatoes for dinner for everyone. Sara had brought over a watermelon, carved into a basket, filled with fruit salad to go with dinner (who does that??), and then the kids made some Jiffy Pop for fun. And then somehow we ended up with all the kids while David and Sara went back to their house to prepare for the Sampson invasion. 
With John and Katie, we drove everyone back to Tillamook to get an ice cream cone, where we met Heidi, Jason, Chloe and Lindsey at the cheese factory. Then we hit the long road to the beach mansion. As soon as we walked into the house, we were blown away by the huge array of treats Sara had just "whipped up" while we were gone. Holy crap...caprese salad, cheese and crackers, homemade guacamole, salsa, cake, brownies, candy, fruit, etc. We ate, played Taboo, ping-pong, cards, watched TV, and did laundry. The LeFevres and younger Kimballs (John and Katie) hit the road back to Cape Lookout at around 11:30. It was super fun. We missed Kristen and Shannon, but with six siblings, you've got to party when you can.
We decided that it would be a good day to drive north to Cannon Beach and Seaside, rather than try to play in the ocean or go on a hike. Grammy and Grandpa met up with both families in Tillamook, and after a brief stop at the Tillamook beef jerky factory outlet store (a FACTORY OUTLET for BEEF!), we hit the 101 north and ate lunch together at Mo's (famous clam chowder/seafood restaurant) in Cannon Beach. After a most delicious meal, Grammy and Grandpa left us to go on their own scenic drive, while the Kimballs and LeFevres drove up to Seaside. 
First stop...The Candyman, where we bought a 2 week supply of saltwater taffy and spun the wheel of fortune.
Second stop...carnival rides! I have a special love for the Tilt-a-Whirl, so Emma and I paired up for a spinnin' good time, while Mason, Max and Phoebe took a car and Zoe and Lauren paired up. Next stop, bumper cars. David rode with Lauren, while Phoebe, Emma, Max and Mason each drove their own cars. (Lauren did NOT want to drive her own car, but giggled non-stop while David bumped the living daylights out of everyone he could.)
The girls decided to buy Oregon Coast hoodie sweatshirts with the spending money they brought with them...
We posed with Lewis and Clark, then hit the beach for a few minutes of getting our feet wet before heading back to Tillamook. We went back to our yurt for a dinner of brie, bread and beef stick and then walked for a couple miles on the beach at Cape Lookout. That was beautiful! I kept asking myself how I ended up living so far from the ocean. I miss it. Grammy and Grandpa met up with the Kimballs and followed them to their beach house and spent the night there with them. John and Katie showed up that evening and stayed in a tent not too far from our yurt. They sat around the campfire with us until around 10 or 11 that night. It was a really fun day spent with lots of family.
After the quick visit to Nanny's, we stopped by Mom and Dad's house to check in, then David's family (the Kimball's) and the LeFevre's caravaned very slowly to Tillamook. First, we made a stop at IKEA for frozen meatballs, gravy packets, frozen mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam for dinner at the Kimball's house later that night. 
While we were at IKEA, I entertained Emma and Lauren in the bathroom by using the children's sink to wash my hands. I tried to use the step stool, but evidently I exceed the weight limit, based on the crack I heard when I put all my weight on it. Next, we stopped by the closest Burgerville we could find for a quick drive-thru lunch (Walla Walla onion rings are in season!!!), then navigated over to a french bakery we discovered 2 years ago (the last time we visited family in Vancouver) to buy rustic bread, chocolate croissants, danishes and cookies. Finally we got on the highway headed for the coast. About 10 minutes later, we all had to use the restroom, so we pulled off and all the girls (that would be 6 between the Kimballs and the LeFevres) used the McDonald's bathroom. Then we spied a fresh fruit stand across the street and went over to buy some Oregon strawberries for the drive. Eventually we made it to the Tillamook Forest Fire education center (or something like that...can't remember the name of it), and took a tour of the museum, the bridge and the fire watch tower. 
This is us posing on the bridge at the museum...near and far. Can't decide which picture I like best.
The kids seemed to enjoy the museum and of course we had to talk Lauren out of spending all her money in the gift shop, before we even made it to the coast!
We stopped by the Tillamook Cheese Factory, watched the workers slaving away making cheese, sampled cheese, and had an ice cream cone. Lauren and Zoe had to have their pictures taken in the cow and farmer cut-outs. 
David's family had rented a nice house in Oceanside, which is only 6 miles from Cape Lookout, where we had reserved a yurt. Unfortunately, the road in between Oceanside and Cape Lookout was closed for construction, so it actually took us an extra 30+ miles and 45 minutes of driving to get to their house! We decided to each go to our own residences and get set up, then meet back at David's house for dinner. During the 45 minute drive to his house, the road was winding and never-ending. I remember saying, "this is the biggest mistake of our lives!!!" But when we finally arrived at Chateau Kimball, it was delightful! Their house was freaking awesome! It was a really fancy, huge, modern, new house with an upstairs deck/porch/balcony that had an amazing ocean view. Sara made the IKEA meatballs meal, plus extra potatoes, salad, baguette with brie, etc. She was quite the hostess. It was really fun. 
When we got back to the yurt, we were so tired! Luckily, a yurt is really much more comfortable than any fancy house. 
