As always I got on here to do a not so quick post and I can't help but take just a quick peek at what you have all been up to. So my not so quick post is taking ever so much longer but I am going to type fast and hope for speed to accompany me. These last couple months with Justin gone all week and only home on the weekends have been some of the most trying times of my life. I don't know what it is about him being "gone" that is so much different than him being gone at work all day and only seeing him for that few precious hours before bed. None the less it is harder. My hats off to alllll you army families that go without your spouses for 6-18 months at a time and have children your husbands have never met until their 1st birthday. I applaud you. You are truely a unique kind of people who do this year in and year out alone. HOWEVER, I didn't sign up for this and it has been trying. That's all I'm saying, it's been a long spring. All of this is just backround for why Justin came home from Canada Tuesday to save me from........everything!! Chaos, kids crying, me yelling and frankly just me being exhausted from being with those babies 24/7. We had talked earlier in the evening about the kids just being themselves and how I was fed up with their fighting. The next phonecall I got was from him saying he is on his way home, which was good news but frustrating because it made me feel like I couldn't hack it without him. I felt bad for whining but really, I needed some relief that only a parent of the same children can give. I have generous friends that offered to rescue me on several occassions. That being said I think we just needed our Daddy home for a minute. They are big enough to miss him (and not just when they are sent to time out-though they cry for him a lot then too). SOOOOOooooo We packed ourselves up and headed for the coast. We returned to a place that Justin went lots of summers when he was a kid so he was especially excited. It was a pretty drive and a break from the house and our first family vacation in 5 years. He made some calls and got a little 2 bedroom apt type motel room right on the water, we looked out the windows and saw beautiful oregon coastline complete with the twin rocks. It was a lot of fun and just what we needed. Thursday was beautiful, (prettier than the forecast said- a special blessing just for us I think :) we got wet, made castles, splashed, wrote our names in the sand, Taylor ate sand, we laughed, hugged, talked, watched the waves, took walks and cooked some meals ALL together. it was Heaven on earth.
Here are some pictures of our spontaneous adventure. ENJOY, we sure did.







Then Friday it rained allll day but it was ok cause we took a trip to the Tillamook cheese factory and I got to add a squished penny to my collection which I like. We tasted cheese, saw cheese, had icecream, and bought the kids new favorite thing "squeeky cheese" those weird but fresh cheese curds that weren't my favorite thing but I tried them. Mostly it was a tribute to a memory for Justin. In the gift shop Justin found me a double butter tray and surprised me with it, (I had been looking for one off and on for a while). I got a penny and a present. :) Can't beat that.



After that we stopped at a pre-world war two blimp hanger that was an air museum of one mans very expensive personal collection of old planes and things. It is the largest wood structure in the world still standing. It could fit the Hindenburg inside for length but not gurth, if that tells you how large that dang blimp was. It was like seeing the 8th wonder of the world being in a space that large. the kids enjoyed it and we had a good time being together. Here are some pictures of the cheese factory and air museum. Had I more time I would have made a slide show for you. sorry you have to wade through them this way.




Then when we got back and got the kids some naps we it cleared up just enough for one last walk on the beach. We drew our names in the sand and called her a day!! Yup just what momma needed. To see my family happy all together. soon enough, Justin keeps telling me. Soon enough. He is my lighthouse in this storm always giving me a postive light to see through the darkness. I love you my sweet Justin. Thanks for whisking us away on an adventure. If we were a toasting family we would toast our apple cider glasses to many more adventures as good as this one. Here's to being together as a family. HERE HERE!!