Seven Peaks

The week that we got back from our trip was the last week of summer before school started, so we had to make the most of it.  Ian had Monday off from work, so we decided to brave the Seven Peaks water park for the first and last time of the summer.  Not the last time because we didn't have a blast, but just because it was the end of the season and we didn't have another chance to go as a family before it closed.  Next summer we will go more often for sure.  

We went pretty early and set up shop.  We rented a single and a double tube. We all had such a great time!  The weather was perfect.  Nice and hot and sunny most of the time.  I figured we would last a couple of hours, but we ended up staying for over 4 hours.  Talia especially loved it.  She was the big surprise of the day.  She happily wore her life jacket the whole day.  She loved the big water slides.  She still talks about all the slides she went down and how they were fast and fun.

Talia gets credit for part of the success of the day, and the other credit goes to Beckett for taking an hour long nap in his stroller.  He was such a good baby being hauled around and in and out of water all day long.

Weston loved the water slides too, but his favorite thing was swimming the lazy river.  Davin was nervous about the water so he didn't do as many slides as the other kids, but he seemed content to play in the wave pool and the kiddie area.  Ian and I took turns taking the kids on slides and staying with Beckett, so it was a good balance with that too.  We all had a really fun day.

By the time we left we were starving since we didn't bring any food (I really didn't think we would stay that long).  We decided to go to our favorite place in Provo, Burger Supreme.  It did not disappoint.  I was worried that going out to lunch would be a disaster with four kids who were tired from hours of sun and water, but they all did really well.  It was the nicest family meal we had had in awhile.  Plus they were starving so they ate all of the food!

I am so glad that we decided to go and that everyone had such a fun day.  We will definitely have to go again next summer when everyone is a little older and slightly more independent in the water.  I might even brave taking the kids by myself! :)

Driving-PNW Trip Day 9&10

Saturday morning we got up, packed the van, and started driving.  We didn't leave super early, but we also didn't stick around for long.  We drove to Boise and impressively only stopped once in Pendleton.  We arrived at our hotel in Boise in the late afternoon.  If we didn't already have a paid-for, reserved hotel room I would have voted that we just keep driving until we get home, but it was fine.  

The hotel actually had a really fun pool.  It was huge and had a 2 foot deep kiddie pool attached to it. There was also a spa and a huge screen at the far end of the pool that had Disney Jr. playing on it.  The kids made friends and had a blast swimming.  Talia LOVED that she could walk around and play on her own in the kiddie pool area and Beckett had fun splashing in there too.

After the pool we got dressed and went to dinner at Dickey's BBQ.  Yum.  On the way in Weston told me, "Mom, I feel like I've been eating too much junk.  Chicken sounds really good."  Which would be great except that apparently my seven year old's idea of health food is dino nuggets from a chain BBQ restaurant.  Yikes! :)  It really was hilarious though.

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and went to breakfast at Denny's, which tasted amazing, before hitting the road one last time.  We only stopped once, in Tremonton, before pulling in at home.  It was a long trip with a lot of driving, but the kids did really well in the car and we loved getting to visit with all of our family and do some things on our own as well.  Definitely a fun and memorable family vacation.

Yes, we drove 2,310 miles with four children. Thank goodness for apple devices. And headphones.

Happy Valley-PNW Trip Day 8

Friday was our last day with Jim and Denny.  They took the kids on a walk to feed the ducks again that morning, but I didn't get any pictures.  After Beckett's morning nap we met up with Aly and Ryan and Ella at the aquarium.  It was about the size of our aquarium here in Utah, but they had some different stuff.  It was really fun.  The boys both got to touch the sting rays and even tried feeding them pieces of raw fish.  Talia liked the jelly fish and anywhere she could splash.  

They also had this fun bird area that you could go in and hold a bird.  Weston, Davin, and I did it.  That was probably my favorite part.  Beckett was pretty fascinated by the fish and the animals.  He stared at the bearded dragon for awhile.  It was kind of funny.  I thought the chameleon was neat.

Right at the end Talia hit her wall and had to be carried out of the aquarium screaming.  I just strapped her in her car seat and let her scream while we waited for everyone else to finish up.  Can you tell we were nearing the end of a long vacation? :)

That afternoon while Talia and Beckett were napping Ian and I snuck out for a quick little date-ish outing.  We ran to the dollar store to look for sunglasses and had a blast wandering around and looking at all the kooky stuff you find at the dollar store.  We ended up leaving with 2 pairs of sunglasses and a less kid looking grabber that Ian really thought we needed.  It ended up coming in handy during the drive home.  We also went out for ice cream.

The day ended with a fun outing with everyone.  We met up at Godfather's Pizza for dinner.  It was really yummy and they had the soda machine that has like 200 options, so we had fun experimenting with that.  The boys also discovered the Foosball game where you win the "ball" which is a gumball.  Between that and the coloring pages and crayons they were entertained.

After dinner we decided to go play at a nearby park.  It was really fun and relaxing.  The kids loved getting to run around and play Frisbee and catch.  We put the babies in the swing together.  It was pretty much the cutest thing ever even though Beckett wasn't too happy about it after 30 seconds.  

We took group pictures then hugged and said goodbye to Grandma and Aly, Ryan, and Ella.  It was so fun to spend time with them!

Happy Valley-PNW Trip Day 7

Thursday was a nice, relaxing day.  The boys were still at Aunt Aly's, so Grandma and Papa took Talia on her own walk to feed the ducks.  She loved it and the dogs probably enjoyed their outing as well.  Ian and I took a slow morning.  

After their walk we all headed out to Mike's Drive In for lunch.  They have really good burgers.  We had driven by several times and decided we had better eat there before we left. Afterwards we ran to Lowe's to pick up some stuff for Ian and Jim's afternoon project.  They drilled new holes to hide all the cables from the wall mounted TV down to the entertainment center.

That afternoon Grandma Bowles brought the boys back from Aly's house.  The boys had a blast sleeping over at Aunt Aly's house.  They got to play Wii, have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, go to the dollar store to pick out candy, play at the park, see the movie Turbo, and play in Aly and Ryan's ginormous jacuzzi tub!  Thanks for showing these goofy boys a great time Aly and Ryan!

Unfortunately Ella and Ryan were both sick that day, so our plans for a double date with Aly and Ryan that night were cancelled.  We still made use of Aly's babysitter though.  After dinner we got the kiddos ready for bed then left them with Kimberly for the evening while the adults went to see Red 2.  It was a really fun movie and extra fun to see with Grandma and Jim and Denny.  I'm so glad we did that because it was a long trip for me with the kids and I needed the break!

Seaside/Tillamook-PNW Trip Day 6

 We have had so much fun in Seaside in the past that we thought it might be fun to stay overnight and be there for two days.  I don't know if I would do it again with the kids.  It would be a really fun getaway with Ian, but we really didn't stay long enough the second day for it to feel like a whole other Seaside day.  It was still a really good time.  I LOVED our hotel.  It was right on the beach with a comfortable, cute vibe.  

I didn't go to the pool, but Ian said it was pretty nice.  The beds were super comfy and we were all tired, so everyone got a good night's sleep.  The kids were up bright and early.  The continental breakfast didn't start until later, so we got everyone into some clothes (really appreciated having new sweatshirts!) and went for a morning walk on the beach.  It was cold and misty.  The tide was all the way out too.  We walked a little ways down the boardwalk to a swing set, then headed out to the water.

Most of the walk was on the hard wet sand, so that was nice for Talia.  She wanted to get right in the water but we convinced her it was too cold.  We dipped our toes in a little, but mostly just ran around and found sand dollars and shells.  We even found this big crab in a little tide pool spot trying to hide in the sand.  It was a very quiet, peaceful walk.

That is our hotel we are walking back to.

When we got back to the hotel we ate breakfast, then the kids wanted to go out and dig for awhile.  Ian took them out to play while I stayed with Beck.  He napped and I showered and gathered up our stuff.  When the kids got back they got bathed and showered and we packed up the car.  Before we headed out the clouds were starting to burn off, so Ian gave flying his kite one last shot.  There still just wasn't enough wind.

We grabbed some lunch on our way out of town and took a scenic drive down the coast to Tillamook.  The drive was amazing.  Just gorgeous.  The kids all slept the whole way so it was quiet and Ian and I had a nice visit as we fantasized about retiring to one of these cute beachfront towns.

The Tillamook cheese factory was a bit of a letdown.  It was crowded and there really wasn't much to do.  We looked into the viewing windows and watched the big machines and people making the cheese and wrapping it for about 15 minutes.  Then we got ice cream, which was delicious.  The kids were crabby though and we didn't stay longer to check anything else out.  We got back in the car and drove the rest of the way back to Happy Valley.

We got back at dinner time and had a nice dinner with all of the family, including Grandma Bowles who came up from Grants Pass!  Aly took Weston and Davin home with her for a sleepover that night!