Wheeler Farm

 Monday we took advantage of the very last day of summer vacation by visiting Wheeler Farm. 

 Kenzie said, "Here's a nice bench for picture."  It was near a ramp, and Parker and Cameron were too busy racing down the ramp to join her. 

 Cameron was amazed by the pig!

 Parker has always loved the tractors.  He wasn't happy that he had to give it up quite quickly for other kids.  "But I didn't have time to use my imagination!" he complained.

We spent a few minutes at the little park.  Cameron climbed up and would yell, "Ki-zee!  Ki-zee!" until McKenzie escorted him to the slide.  She was a good sport about it.  And just like that, summer vacation was over!

Swimming

 When choosing hotels to stay at, I knew they all had to have a pool.  We actually only swam 4 of the 8 days, but at least the option was always there.  Kenzie wanted me to take these pictures while we hung out at the La Quinta in Grants Pass during Cameron's nap.

 She thought the in-action shots were hilarious.

  I had a hard time documenting her splashes - she was quite proud of the water droplets on the ceiling!

 The pool was on the chilly side, so this is where Parker hung out for the longest time.  I couldn't blame him!

 The pool in Medford was much warmer, so everyone got right in.

This also marked the last time Cameron used his little boat.  (The next night, he kept trying to get out of it.  Then he wanted to jump in like McKenzie!  He sure is a busy kid.) And so ends my trip report.  It was a fun trip, although we were all exhausted when we got back!

Medford

 Saturday we spent some time hanging out at Great-Grandma Hubbard's apartment (yes, her real name is Shirley, but the Hubbard nickname predates me even...).  Kenzie and Parker were so excited to see where she lived. 

Here's Parker using the back-scratcher.

 Cameron wasn't too sure about what was going on, so I had to sit with him for this picture.

 Here he gave his classic cheesy smile, though!

 This is probably the most accurate picture.

Cameron eventually warmed up to his great-grandma, and enjoyed being tickled.   If she stopped, he would complain!

After visiting with Hubbard, we checked into our hotel and realized a small section of Medford was experiencing a power outage.  (Of course, that small section happened to encompass both our hotel and the restaurant we'd planned to eat at!).  The kiddos were so tired and hungry that after we realized the wait to any restaurant was going to be 30-40 minutes just to be seated, we wound up at exciting Burger King!  Since that day was our actual anniversary, Chris and I jokingly sat one table apart and pretended it was romantic.  The kids ate and felt happier, however, and that's all we cared about.

Ocean World

As we left Brookings on Saturday morning, we stopped in Crescent City, CA to visit Ocean World.  It was a little dinkier than I had been hoping, but the kids had fun posing for cheesy pictures just outside the place.

 

 Cameron was being a bit of a stinker that morning, and he didn't appreciate Parker sitting on this jet ski thing.  "Mine, mine!" he was screaming during this picture.

 Once inside, we went on a little tour of the aquarium.  The kids got to touch several different sea stars.  (Cameron was still being a stinker at this point - he managed to toss a rock into the water!)

 Kenzie wanted nothing to do with petting a leopard shark, so she stayed away from this area.  Parker was very shy about it, but eventually with lots of coaxing from Daddy he tried it.  "It was fun!" he admitted afterwards.

 Cameron ran around and was very loud, but he did love this giant jaw for some reason and stopped for a picture.  Then we were off to the seal and sea lion show.

 Before it started, Cameron was still running back and forth.  When the seals started the show, however, he actually stopped!  He stood right against the fence and watched the entire show without moving.  It was worth the admission cost right there!

Here's just a short video showing how the kiddos enjoyed it.  After this we stopped for a quick lunch and then headed back on the winding road to Grants Pass/Medford!

Brookings

 Each morning I thought it was cute to see little Cameron eating his breakfast in the hotel.  He loved having pancakes or "cookies" (muffins) each morning.

 It was pretty foggy Friday morning, but still not too chilly.  We lucked out and it was not windy when we were at the coast.

 I was happy that the cold water deterred Cameron.  I had been worried he would be in the water giving me gray hairs, but he preferred to play in the sand with Daddy.

 Kenzie had a great time, as is evidenced by this big smile.

 We took a break for lunch, and Parker and I made a trip to Fred Meyer to get some food.  I looked like a dork taking a picture of the deli case, but I had to document the sign saying "jo jos."  The few times I have asked for jo-jos here in Utah, I've been met with weird looks or blank stares.  "Potato wedges" just isn't as fun to say!

 Grandma Susan arrived and spent the afternoon in the sand with Kenzie and Parker.  Cameron napped, Daddy rested, and I sat on the balcony looking through old photo albums.  It was nice to have a slow-paced day after all our driving!

 McKenzie and Parker were both soaked.  It was a nice afternoon once the sun came out. 

Kenzie and Parker made sand angels (and Cameron found a log and pretended to shoot them with it!).  After this it was bath time!

Seeing the Ocean

 Here was our view from our hotel in Brookings.  It was very nice to sit out on the little balcony and watch the waves.  Cameron liked to watch the seagulls, too.

 After we unpacked, we explored the beach.  There was a little path right from the hotel, which was nice.  I had planned on driving over to Harris Beach, but there was no reason to get sand in the van if we didn't have to!

 Parker had no idea what the ocean would look like.  Each time we passed a lake or a river on our drive, he would pipe up, "Is that the ocean?"  Once we finally were there, I asked him what he thought of the ocean.  Parker exclaimed, "It's bigger than I expected!"

Kenzie was cheering for the ocean in this picture. (Cameron liked the waves until he fell face-first in the wet sand after he lost his balance.  After that he ran away when the waves came in!)

Chris and I debated if this lighthouse was an actual working lighthouse or not.  The light inside corresponded with the lights out on the buoys, so I insisted it must be a real lighthouse.  Either way, however, it was neat to see from our balcony.  Then we were able to fall asleep listening to the surf!

First Day of School

 Here's the difference in personalities of my kids: Exhibit A: Parker was up and ready this morning.  He got dressed, and made himself a piece of cinnamon toast for breakfast.

 Exhibit B: It took 20 minutes for Kenzie to drag herself out of bed!  I got her cereal ready, but still had to keep saying, "Hurry!" so she'd finish it in time.

Wild Card Exhibit C: He's just a nut!

 Parker will be starting 1st grade!  (Today he only met with his teacher for about a half an hour.  Tomorrow's his first official day.)

 Kenzie is starting 4th grade!  She said she was nervous, but she was happy to find some friends this morning in her class.

I hope they enjoy this school year.  I sure felt like summer vacation went by too quickly!

Stout Grove

Cameron is our little outdoorsman.  He loves to be outside.  On our way to the coast, we stopped for a little "hike" (also known as a very short walk) through the redwoods.   We all enjoyed it, but Cameron had an especially good time.  He yelled hi to everyone he passed.

  

I don't remember being too impressed by large trees as a kid, but now that I've lived in the desert for so long, the big trees were amazing.

 Cameron thought so, too!  (Also notice the dirt on his legs!  He was so filthy after this hike!)

 Kenzie and Parker had a good time, too.  They had been excited to see where the Ewoks lived in Star Wars.

 Daddy with the kiddos.  (Cameron said "no!" to a picture and ran off to whack the ferns with a stick he'd picked up.)

I finally caught him and we took this picture with the biggest tree in the grove.  Then it was back to the van.  It took several baby wipes to clean Cameron up, and then we were off to the coast!

Hellgate Jet Boat Anniversary Trip

My cute hubby (of 11 years now!) waiting in line to board the jet boats.  The kiddos got to spend Wednesday evening with Grandma & Grandpa while we celebrated our anniversary with a jet boat ride.

I didn't want to get my cell phone wet, so I only pulled it out for pictures a few times.  Here is one view from our seat in the boat.  I hadn't realized how much I missed the trees!

We stopped for dinner at a perfect time - it was just starting to rain a bit.  (When the boat went really fast, those few raindrops sure stung!)  Thankfully it stopped raining by the time we were done eating.

After eating, we had a few minutes to wander around and enjoy the area.

I managed to get a picture of the deer before some rowdy kids chased them away. 

We made it back down to the river with a few minutes before we needed to board the boat, so we found pretty rocks for Kenzie and took some pictures of us. 

So here I am back at the Rogue River, this time as a tourist!  On the way back we got pretty wet (Chris more than me, as he was sitting on the end of the row), but the driver said he was holding back since it was a cool evening.  It was a fun way to celebrate our anniversary!