Spring Break 2015

 In March of 2015 we were able to go to Washington with Jeff for work, and from there we headed for the Oregon Coast for a Spring Break vacation. On our way we stopped to see Herman the Sturgeon, he's 10 feet long, weights 425 pounds, and is over 60 years old!

We walked around the Bonneville Hatchery for a bit and visited the gift shop before continuing on.

 We had planned on camping along the coast, but the weather was rainy and cold, so we stayed in several beachside motels, each day driving further down the coast and stopping along the way. 

This is Cannon Beach, the first time the boys saw the ocean and played in the waves. Even though it was chilly, they were so excited and fearless as they ran in the water. It was windy, and I had to yell over the sound of that and the waves to keep telling the boys they were too far and to come back. 

 We were able to see the Peter Iredale, a ship that washed ashore in 1906.

 When we stopped in Seaside, the weather was warmer and we spent some time playing in the water. We set up our towels and toys pretty far from the edge of the water, but not much later the tide came in and started washing all of our things away. We had to scramble to gather everything and everyone and move farther away.

 We visited the Tilamook Cheese Factory and sampled all of the yummy cheese, 

and of course the Ice Cream, too!

 We also visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport:

 

 We drove down the coast and stopped at several lighthouses and we were even to watch some whales out in the distance. We also went to some Tide Pools and we were able to climb down and explore, we thought these were just as neat, if not better than, the aquarium. 

There were a lot of Sea Lions not far off, also.

More adventures along the coast:

We had a great time, and I loved watching them see the ocean for the first time. 

We also saw the Devil's Punchbowl and we were able to drive down the beach, which was my favorite part. We found several Sand Dollars, sea shells, crusty dead crabs, and other treasures. 

I also had the best chicken burrito ever at a little dive in Newport. It's the stuff dreams are made of.

I love the ocean and hope we can go back again soon.

Cousin Time!

 Last weekend we had 2 of Jeff's brothers and their families come stay and there were a lot of crazy little monkeys running around!

The Man in the Tortilla Mask

Because this is how you eat a cheese taco.

Box Trolls

 Grandpa & Grandma Stoker came to visit one weekend and we watched The Box Trolls.

So of course, it made sense to make their own Box Troll hideouts, with the help of Grandpa and a roll of packing tape.

For the next few days the boys would leave their boxes all over and randomly pop out, scaring the you-know-what out of me.

Olivia is ONE!

 Olivia's first birthday was Tuesday, February 17th

She is ONE YEAR OLD!

That year honestly just flew by, and it seems like we just brought her home from the hospital. But it also feels like she has always been a part of our family.

She was a bit confused opening her gifts that morning, but she really like the bags and tissue paper!

That evening we had our family over to celebrate.

After dinner it was time for cake and ice cream.

Olivia was so stinkin' adorable while everyone was singing to her, she had this cute little toothless smile on her face the entire time as she looked around and everyone singing:

 She was unsure what to do with the cake.

I think she knew what she wanted to do, but she kept looking at me like she wasn't sure if she should...So I helped her get started and once she tasted the frosting there was no going back!

 

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Happy Valentine's Day! Have a Pizza my Heart!

Each Friday we have pizza and watching movies together as a family, and this year Valentine's Day was on a Friday so the boys each made a heart-shaped pizza and put their choice of toppings on.

 

 

Settling Catan

When Jeff's youngest brother, Brian, and his wife, Sierra

come visit it almost always includes a game (or two, or three...) of Settlers of Catan. If you haven't played that game, run away before it sucks you in. I swear, that game brings out the worst in everyone and no one wants to play nice! 

But it's still fun, which is the crazy part.

We sure love our extended families and enjoy having them come stay, we wish we lived closer to the Stoker side so we could see them more often. But it's always fun when we get together!