More Summer Fun . . . At the Beach!

 A couple of weeks ago, we kidnapped my mother-in-law, and all escaped to the beach for the night.

The beach is my happy place.
I love it.
When I'm feeling sad,
When I'm feeling lost,
When I'm confused,
When I'm hurting:
I long for a trip to the sand and sea for peace.

 

 

 

We walked long walks,

 

 

We rode fun rides.
{When I say "we", I don't mean me.  That does *not* constitute "fun" in my mind.  That looks like a nauseous mess waiting to happen.  BUT ~ it's obviously fun to some!}

 

 

Gram and Kam ♥
 

 

The girls found the carousel.  A favorite tradition!

 

 

 

And while the others were on the carousel, Sierra found a space for lease, and was dreaming of opening her bakery there :)

 

 

 

 

Then we hit the sand to collect seashells,
 

and watch seagulls.

 

Tay even found another walking stick.
Remember our last beach trip, and her walking stick??
 

 

And the obligatory group photos ♥

 

 

 

 

 Hopefully the girls and I can make another trip soon.  We miss it already! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Go, Go, Go!

Good Heavens, it's NOVEMBER??

 

My goodness it's been busy around here!!

 

Fall is my busy season with photography

{and, yeah, life too, pretty much}

So, finding a spare moment is nearly impossible.

 

And every day I am asked {by Kam} "how many more days until Christmas??!!"

I am SO excited for the holiday season {my MOST favorite time of the year!}, but a little nervous too, because the countdown is on, y'all, and I am nowhere near ready!

 

So. Anyway. Last month we were able to get away for a couple days.

 

We took a little trip to Central Oregon for some R&R at Eagle Crest Resort

The colors were GORGEOUS.  Gorgeous.  I'm sure I just stared, open-mouthed at the beautiful scenery the entire time.

 

We made a stop in Sisters {appropriate, yes?} for some shopping.
 

And some eats.
 

Story:  We ate at a little restaurant that had the best food.  We don't typically eat at sit-down restaurants, so this was a special treat.  We noticed a sweet gentleman sitting behind us, casting some smiles our way.  There is never a dull moment for us when we're out and about with the four girlies, so I figured he was getting some giggles out of our lively lunch. Eventually he left, and we were ready for our bill.  The waitress came over to tell us that the gentleman had paid for our entire lunch.  And it was a LARGE lunch!  I, of course, teared up.  I couldn't believe the generosity we had witnessed.  What a heart-warming Pay-It-Forward we received!
 

After lunch we explored the area awhile longer,
 

And then we were on our way.
 

We got to spend a couple of nights in the CUTEST cabin at the resort, just relaxing, and gearing up for a busy month ahead.
 

 

 

 Then, just like that, it was time to say goodbye to vacation!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talk To Us Tuesday ~ American Girl, Part 2

 {Okay, so IA said that we could write about whatever we wanted ~ no rules~ and still link up.  Hope I'm not breaking any rules here ;)  And by the way, head on over there to find out what others have on their mind today.}



American Girl, Day Two:

Our second day at American Girl started with a trip to the Doll Hair Salon.

{Yeah, you heard that right}

Meagan and Hanna were in desperate need of new 'dos, don'tcha know.

Meagan chose a side braid.

And Hanna got the half pony braid.  They also both received the full spa treatment.  And let me tell ya, they needed it.  Kenners had also saved her money so that Hanna could get her ears pierced. 

We walked out with several enormous bags that morning.  We then walked around to check out the rest of the mall {much to the girls' dismay}. 

We needed to run off a little energy besides.

And we came across this adorable little bakery.  Ohhhh how we wanted to go in, but alas, it wasn't to be.  Next door to Pinkabella was Godiva chocolates.  I'm not going to tell you about the big poster in the window advertising Godiva chocolate shakes.  With whipped cream.  And chocolate syrup drizzled over the top. 

Time for a few photos.

There was a lady walking by who was kind enough to offer to get a shot of our whole group.  Grandma, Nana, Mama, and all the girly girls!

And before we knew it, it was time to head for dinner.  There were chairs and place settings for each doll.

And yummy drinks and eats. 

Fun story: American Girl was truly an amazing experience.  Each and every employee we came in contact with was over-the-top helpful and just as sweet as can be. At dinner my mom had decided on the salmon.  I think we all expected it might take a little extra time for that particular meal, and didn't think too much of it when we had been waiting awhile.  Our waitress came out and apologized {and apologized} for the wait, and assured us our food would be out soon.  No biggie.  Shortly after, another gal {I'm assuming a manager?} came out and also apologized for the wait, and insisted that we all order desserts on the house because of the extensive wait.  And if that weren't enough {MORE than enough!}, she brought out goodie bags for each of the girls, containing tee shirts for their dolls, balloons, a book, stickers.  It was hands-down, the BEST service I have ever received.  Just a really really great experience.

So you can imagine we were a little sad to be leaving.

Our trip home . . . that is a story all its own. 

Let's just say we took quite the detour. 

Saw some beautiful country. 

 Listened to someone jabber the ENTIRE trip.

And made it home to the boys, all safe and sound, a good many hours later ;)

Isn't that right, Mom?

 

American Girl, Part 1

We're back from our trip to American Girl!

So.  Our trip started out a little something like this:

I'm not going to lie.  It was a long drive for the little ones {and maybe even some of the big ones}.

There was many a bathroom stop.

Which led to issues getting back on the freeway.

Which led to going through Seattle during rush hour.

Which led to . . . a much longer drive than it really needed to be.

But that's okay, because the excitement. Oh the excitement . . . it completely took over.

And us big people got to enjoy the lovely scenery.  {Don't worry.  I wasn't driving ;)  My mom actually did all of the driving, which was heavenly as it freed me up to tend to the littlest passengers.  Have I ever mentioned that I really detest driving?  Fact #1187 about me that y'all may not have known}

The mall was super easy to find.  It was just a few blocks down the road from our hotel.  The actual American Girl store?  Not so easy for us out-of-towners.  We must have driven around a good half an hour looking for the darn thing.  But once we parked, and searched on foot . . . well, that didn't take long at all.  I'm telling you, my girls can sniff out an AG store like nobody's business. 

And then, as you can imagine, a lot of this was going on.

And some pretty intent browsing.

Kam was all about the shaved ice stand.

Sierra and Makenna had decided that the first day would be just for looking.  Then they would spend the rest of the evening making notes as to which items they just HAD to have.  In the end, they gave in a little and purchased a couple of things that night.

And then it was off to get a little ice cream and head to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Come back for Part 2 of our trip!