weekend get-away

Last weekend was a first for us. Dan took us camping. Now by "us" I mean Andrew, Adelaide and I. Forrest, meanwhile, got the royal treatment and stayed with my parents all weekend. It was a little sanity for us not having to think "where's Forrest?" every five seconds and it was a rockin' good visit for him!! My parents took him to the zoo, the airport, rode the max line, and he got to run all around their garden and gigantic yard. We were expecting a lot crying and missing us, but he had SO MUCH FUN when we picked him up he looked at us like, "Ah man! I was just get getting used to this good life!" He he he...A HUGE THANK YOU to Mom and Dad Brown for providing a way for us to venture into the great outdoors with serenity. We're planning on taking him next year, of course :)

Right when we picked him up, Forrest kept talking about the "happy lion" that gave him a hug at the zoo. I was a little puzzled but thought it was just a cute way of saying he had fun, until we got home and I checked my email. "Oh, ok. There's the happy lion!" What a sweetie!

****

So, this was the FIRST time that we went camping as a family. For those of you who don't know, Dan LOVES hiking and camping. Camping at a campground is pretty lame in his book (no offense to those faithful campers out there...it's just that he'd much rather be out hiking in the middle of high mountain country somewhere, camping by some remote glacier lake). And me? The thought of being eaten alive by a bear is a little intimidating. So, its safe to say that I'm not there yet...let's just start with a place with showers and go from there, shall we? :)

We found a fantastic place on the Oregon Coast and had to reserve it a few months ahead of time. Camping is quite the past-time here in the Northwest! The campground is right next to the beach. Its an ideal combination. We could camp in the woods, walk less than a fourth a mile and voila we were at the beach! We were also minutes away from Newport so we could drive into town to see the coastal sights there as well. It was SO FUN!! There was waaay more to do there than we had time for. We got to see some sites though. I even had some of Dan's clam chowder from Georgie's grill. I'm not usually sea food fan (ok, I hate seafood!) but that that soup was really good!

My favorite part overall, was seeing all the exclusive attention that Andrew got from us. He just ate it up!! He asked so many questions and seemed to grow up right before our eyes. He treasured every second Dan gave him. Wow, does he love his daddy! Dan taught him how to build a campfire, they set up the tent together, made a gigantic sandcastle set-up on the beach, flew a kite together, made s'mores, told stories...it was adorable!!

At home, Dan is always really busy! Between work, study, and his church calling...I can't tell you how NICE it was to have his undivided attention. He focused solely on making sure we were all having a great time! And we did!! :)

Andrew loved the Newport aquarium. He kept jumping up and down exclaiming, "I LOVE this place!" He especially loved the touch tank. The staff there even encouraged him to pet a baby shark. Andrew kept looking at me to see if it was ok. I tried to look confident but inside I was thinking, "Pet a shark? eeks!" I said, "Sure, its a nice one!" I guess it worked because he did it. The lady asked if he wanted to do it again and he said, "Uh, no." If you know Andrew, you can hear him say that! :)

We all really liked the shark tank. It was pretty awesome to be surrounded by sharks on all sides.

I was just dying to get a picture of Adelaide and Dan at the beach together! Aren't they cute?! There were sooooo many times on the trip that I forgot our camera or got too caught up in the moment to snap a picture. We really don't have that many pictures, but wow was I happy that I had it then!!


There is something soo refreshing and rejuvenating about that ocean air. It just lightens the soul to hear the waves crash against the sandy shore. :)

You are all such awesome friends to us!! Thanks for checking in!