Our Trip to Oregon

Some of you may know that we went on a weeks vacation to Cannon Beach, Oregon! It was a absolute blast. It was fun, enjoyable, and relaxing! Cannon beach is a little town on the Oregon coast about an hour from Portland. It was kind of a family reunion for the Kruger clan. I say kind of because most of us still currently live in Salt Lake City. However Tom's older brother and his family (including the only grandkids) live in Indiana. The only downside was the long drive it took to get there.

We drove up to Oregon with Tom's brother Shawn and his fiance Alicia. We decided to split the trip in two days both for the reason of not having to drive for 13 hours straight and so I could see my grandparents in Boise. Grandma and Grandpa Borgolthaus let us all crash at their house for the night. I was able to visit Grandpa Higginson and Uncle Jerry too! It was a lot of fun! I actually learned some new things about my Dad from them that I had never heard before. Later we went to Grandma & Grandpa B's house and had the fun experience of hanging out in hot Boise in a black-out! We were very happy when the electricity came back on and we could turn the fan on! I really enjoyed hanging out with all my grandparents!

The next day we took off for Oregon. The further we got from Utah and Idaho, the more beautiful and green it got! I loved all the green everywhere. Parts of it were definitely beautiful! It took us most of the day to get there, but we were so happy when it happened. Tom's Mom and Dad had rented a little house there that belonged to some women that his Mom knew. It had three bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and fit our needs pretty good! Tom and I got the other queen bedroom.

We were there for a couple of days before Tom's older brother Byron, his wife Kari & their three kids James (4), Michael (2), & Emelie (1). They were a bit of a handful (just because they were kids in a new place around a bunch a people they could only vaguely remember). Overall they were really good kids and were a lot of fun to be around!

I think my 2 most favorite things about Cannon Beach were the shops down the main street & of course the beach! It was usually a daily occurance to go take a walk down the main street (picture a miniature Park City) and walk back on the beach. It was something I really loved doing! There is just something about the beach that I really enjoy. It something about the power, smell & basic feel of the ocean! The ocean part of Cannon Beach is actually what it's known for. There is a gigantic rock right on the beach that is quite well know. I've actually seen it in a number of movies.

We also took a bunch family pictures on the beach! It was a very interesting experience. Especially with 3 little kids that just don't know what it means to sit still and look at the camera all at the same time. I think the pictures that eventually ended up being picked just had all the kids looking in kind of the same direction. It was a bit hilarious! But we all survived.

The kids loved the beach more than anything! They loved the beach and flying their kite on the beach! Because the beach usually had a constant breeze, the kites flew pretty much by themselves. Which worked well for little kids flying the kites. As long as they didn't let go of it, it flew! The water was way too cold to swim in by any sane person, but whoever said a 4 year old was sane obviously has never spent any time with one! The only member of the family that spent any time in the water voluntarily with my 4 year old nephew James & one of him parents to keep him from doing a face plant when he was hit by a wave. He loved it! One time he even lost his pants due to the water making them too heavy to stay on his little hips. It was pretty funny!

We also got to go to the 4th of July parade there in Cannon Beach! This was the first parade the kids had been to that they threw candy at. It was pretty funny watching them first be confused on what to do with the flying candy and then dive into it face fist with full gusto! Most of the time they were too busy eating candy with one had to pick up all the candy around their feet with the other. We had to keep reminding them about it. It's so hard to concentrate when your surrounded by nummy goodness! The funniest thing I saw in the parade that I had never seen before were a group called something like the "Chair Clackers" They were a group of adult people that walked down the street in two rows with foldable chairs. They would stop and they would play some music and they would clack their chairs together along with the music. It was hilarious & very entertaining.

I would totally recommend this to anybody that wants a relaxing enjoyable vacation. Don't count on any swimming on the beach (too cold), but it fun to fly kites, take long walks etc.