We Love Oregon! Part 2

Thanks for tuning in again! My last post had us back at our hotel for a much needed moment to recharge our batteries. I must say I was quite impressed with how our girls handled the heat (it was about 29-31 degrees out) and the trek around the park. It wasn't until 3/4 of the way through that we noticed they offered strollers for rental. They look a lot like bike trailers so it definitely would have accommodated the 2 girls during those my-legs-are-so-tired-they're-about-to-fall-off-moments.

Off to downtown Portland we went, with our tummies hungry for some good grub. We've enjoyed visiting the Deschutes Brewery a couple times before that after a hot day like we had, we couldn't stop thinking about the ice cold beer we'd like to enjoy. Best part? Well there's many, but one of them is the fact that it is a child friendly brewery/pub/restaurant complete with a kids menu and coloring pages.

While we enjoyed our sampler (either our own picks or brewer's pick of 6 different types of beer) and a bowl of beer nuts (seriously addicting and the kids loved them too!) the kids enjoyed their delicious mac 'n' cheese and cheeseburger respectively. Hubs enjoyed the brewery burger which he could not stop raving about and inhaled in about 10 minutes and I ordered the steak and blue cheese Caesar salad. Not that I'm complaining or anything but like, there was a LOT of blue cheese. Almost too much. Almost.

Once our tummies were full, we walked over to Powell's Book Store for a peruse in the many millions of aisles of books they had to offer. Emma finished the first 4 books of a series she got for her birthday and I was more than certain they'd have more to grab there. Seriously can't get over how reasonably priced books were. They each got to pick out 4 books. We threw in 2 extra (the Judy Moody series) for Emma because hey, if they cost $2.50 each, why wouldn't we?

After that lovely visit, what better way to end off our night in Portland than by satisfying our sweet tooth over at Voodoo Donuts!

Hubs ordered the original Voodoo donut, Emma ordered the Double Bubble, Olivia ordered a chocolate frosting and I ordered the apple fritter. Now I'm not one to complain about a dessert per se, but this apple fritter was sooo oily, I could feel my arteries congealing with grease. Can't say that I was impressed.

The children zonked out on the car ride home and that was just fine with us. The more sleep they got tonight, the more energy they'd have to play at the beach the next morning!

We have visited the Oregon coast twice before this visit and both times we were welcomed with mediocre weather. The forecast mentioned we'd be greeted with sunny/cloudy skies with a temperature of 20 but feeling like 24. We have learned from the past that it is best to check the weather the day of before we decide to trek to the coast, but since this was the last leg of our trip and we wanted some sand time, we didn't care too much if the sun was out.

Enter rain. Thankfully only during the drive there. I was stupidly dressed in a bathing suit thinking I'd be optimistically dressed for the weather only to be greeted with a slight breeze and a lot of overcast. Off into the car I went to change out of said outfit and then off we went to the beach. 

The view is really breathtaking; especially of haystack rock. You forget how large it really is! 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Haystack_Rock_Oregon.jpg/1280px-Haystack_Rock_Oregon.jpg

(ok cannot take credit for this picture, we were much further away from haystack rock

and none of my pics did it justice!)

The little town of Cannon Beach is also so charming, complete with plenty of handmade goods and delicious food.

It didn't take very long for us to find a spot to set up camp and play in the sand. We walked closer to the shoreline, only to visit for a short time because the water was frigid! Thankfully we were set up by a tide pool which allowed the girls to get their much needed water to build their sandcastles. 

Even I got my hands dirty and even got ambitious enough to recreate Disneyland in sandcastle form. And then I made my family pretend they were visiting different lands. It's not weird.

We flew our kite and built some more and definitely built up an appetite for lunch. We loaded up the car and then took a quick stroll over to Bruce's Candy Kitchen, because of course who doesn't eat desserts before their main meal? They are very well known for their salt water taffy, so we chose an assortment to take home and enjoy. 

Then, off to lunch! There's an adorable little creperie called Crepe Neptune that the girls adored the last time we visited so it was without hesitation that they agreed to crepes for lunch.

Someone is thoroughly enjoying their nutella, strawberries & whipped cream crepe!

The hubs and I decided to order some pizza from Fultano's (GREAT PIZZA!) that would serve as lunch and dinner for us so we would save ourselves a stop on the long journey home.

Another successful trip to Oregon done! We always have a great time and look forward to our next visit back! 

days of summer...part 2

we kick off part 2 of my days of summer series with

our family's first visit to bowen island, a charming little

island off the coast of vancouver only accessible by ferry.

it was a beautiful august morning when we hopped onto the ferry

and a perfect day to spend on the beach.

we went to the top deck to enjoy the spectacular view..

and after a 20 minute ferry ride, we arrived at sandy beach,

a beautiful little inlet just off the ferry terminal with a big

sandy beach (no kidding) and shallow warm water.

a very cool 'ship-wreck' was not far off from where we set up,

there was lots to explore here.

after soaking up the sun for a few hours, we headed back to the little town that is 

situated just off the ferry terminal. a public market was set up with lovely

hand-made items, we always enjoy a good window shop.

we also stumbled upon a great little gift shop that sells a lot of

marine-type home decor, so we'll definitely be back to pick up a 

few things for our home!

we built up a pretty good appetite lounging at the beach so

we visited a little family owned mexican food joint and watched

boats and ferries come and go at the marina.

the girls had an awesome time and the hubs and i

discovered another awesome little place to bring the family

for a little getaway.

up next, we're roughin' it!

disneyland vol. 3!!!

it's exactly one month

since we visited the happiest place on earth

and even though it has already been a month,

we can't stop talking about our trip!

as with every vacation we've been on

i've created a photo dvd of our disneyland trip

set to music from around the park

and our family favorites as well.

here is only a snapshot of

our magical vacation: believe me, 

there are far too many photos to sort through!

above: the fam getting ready to embark on day 1

of our vacation!

left: flik's flying contraption at a bug's life

right: belle's library at the beast's castle

in the sorceror's workshop

we had the pleasure once again to meet all of the

princesses during our princess lunch at ariel's

grotto! olivia's gotta work on her

picture taking skills...lol

top: the wonderful world of color!! 

top left: both emma and olivia enjoyed this

enormous lollipop, with all of those colorful displays, how can

one resist?!

bottom left: the girls first photo with mickey!

right: the first of many rides on the mad hatter's 

tea cups!

top left: emma and dad walking towards the magic 

kingdom..probably my favorite photo of the whole trip

top right: emma dresses as rapunzel! wig and all!

bottom left: the girls with minnie!

bottom right: the first of many many rides on it's a small world...

top left: daddy and the girls with the ever mischievous

chip and dale

bottom left: a family snapshot on the mark twain river boat

right: the coveted club 33 sign..i'll get a membership one day!

or at least know someone who has one!

left: t-i-double g-er! 

top: the entrance to critter country

middle: the girls with winnie the pooh

bottom: olivia carried this little ariel everywhere she went

including the winnie the pooh ride

right: olivia enjoying a delicious beignet!

top: the hubs most favorite ride..

left: tomorrowland!

middle: one of the many hat changes..

right: captain eo!! probably the best 80's 3D movie lol

top left: emma in the driver's seat!

top right: autopia!

middle left: mommy and olivia driving!

middle right: olivia peeking out of the submarine window

bottom left: finding nemo's submarine  voyage!

bottom right: oh that darla!

top left: a night time view of it's a small world, we were

gearing up for the magic, the memories and you!

top right: what is a visit to disneyland without churros?

middle right: olivia taking a big bite!

bottom left: king arthur's carousel

bottom right: mom and dad having a great time :)

top left: the fam infront of the mickey mouse garden

top right: the queen of hearts!

bottom left: the girls and tinker bell!

bottom right: the girls having a silly time at goofy's house

top: a snapshot of the awesome aladdin performance!

middle left: walt disney's famed quote

bottom left: the beginning of the soundsational parade!

bottom right: emma and olivia with alice!

top left: ariel during the parade

top right: emma clapping along to the parade song

middle left: daddy and olivia enjoying the parade

middle right: princess tiana! was so hoping we'd meet her

this visit but sadly we didnt :(

bottom left: the castle at night

bottom right: mary poppins and bert, my fave!

i think its needless to say that we had

such a fantastic time..the girls were another year older

and just the right age to appreciate all that disneyland has to offer.

myself and the hubs had an amazing time..always fun to be a kid with your

own kids!

as i've said before and will say again: until next time!!!

the countdown to disneyland: preparing the list

well folks, it's t-5 days until we're hopping

onto a plane to the most magical place on earth: disneyland!!!

the entire family is just gushing with excitement and

this time around we want to take the time

to see things that we rushed past the last time we vacationed there.

here are the things on our to-do list:

1. the mark twain riverboat

i think it's safe to say that the last time i went on this boat

was when i was 7 years old. it's charming and explores an area of the park

not visible on land and i think our kids will enjoy being on a boat!

2. main street, usa

there are so many lovely little shops and shows

rich with the history of disneyland's beginnings, the hubs

and i are soo intrigued by how it all got put together!

(did you know that the eucalyptus trees that surround main street, usa

are the ones that existed while disneyland was being built?)

3. aladdin: the musical

we have heard such good things about this show

that we absolutely have to watch it!

4. world of color
although we watched this the last time we were at california
adventure, we are attempting to get our fastpasses for
reserved seating this time!!

5. the magic, memories and you!
seeing as how we are visiting the parks during the week,
we will unfortunately miss out on the evening's festivities
like fantasmic! and the magical! fireworks display.
this will be something fun to take part in when the sun sets!

6. beignets
a visit to new orleans square just isn't complete without
a 1/2 dozen of mickey shaped beignets inspired by the
princess and the frog! we hope to try some gumbo and
get a photo with princess tiana and prince naveen while
we're there!!

i'm contemplating trying one of those turkey legs they so strategically place
around the park that smells like bbq goodness..and of course we can't forget
pineapple soft serve at the enchanted tiki room!

we have a scheduled lunch with the princess on our first day there
and emma's still unsure as to whether or not she'll get transformed
into a princess at the bibbidi bobbidi bootique

we leave this coming sunday...do you have any tips/tricks/favorites you
want to share?

WE CAN'T WAIT!