Family Reunion Trip

WARNING:LOTS OF PICTURES!! 

June 1-8, 2015

To kick of the summer the Collier side of the family had a reunion at Seabrook, Washington. It was a great time with family and the kids loved all the time with there cousins. Here are a few of the adventures that took place. 

We left early to make the drive not as long. We left early Monday morning and drove to Reno, Nevada. We stayed at the Atlantis Hotel and the kids loved it! The elevators were on the outside and your could see everything as we road up and down. We also had a pretty high room so the view was cool. This also happened to be there favorite pool, which I have to admit was pretty cool. Oakley took off with swimming during this trip and just loves it now! No fear from her like my other kids! We also took the kids to a Planetarium that we could get into for free with our Thanksgiving Point pass. It was a little disappointing, but luckily the trip just keep getting better from there! 

 The next drive was to Grants Pass, Oregon to see Great Grandma Collier.  Since it was basically on the way we decided to make it a pit stop so that Grandma could meet Tate. The drive was beautiful!

 Tate was a trooper the whole time! Cookies helped :) 

Right before arriving at Grandmas we talked about how her old house was so picturesque and beautiful. We were sad not to be pulling up to her cute yellow house. However her new house didn't disappoint! Its so cute! 

We enjoyed two nights and one full day at Grandmas, Denny, and Marjories house. We relaxed, played chalk, swung on swings, watched deer get super close to the house, play frezbe, chatted with Grandma, had yummy food, and even got to do a little archery! It was great and the weather was perfect! We were sad to leave, but knew we had plenty more fun times to come! 

We also couldn't leave without getting our kid picture with Grandma! She sure loved getting to know Tate! 

Early Wednesday morning we headed out. We had planned a few stops along the road to make the trip a little easier since it was about 7 hours in the car. First stop wasn't planned, but still so fun! It was the kids first view of the Ocean and they were freaking out and begging to go play in the water.

Cape Perpetua Lighthouse 

We took the small hike to the lighthouse and took the tour to go inside. The kids loved it! and I didn't  mind since I love lighthouse :) 

 A little ways down the road we stopped at the Visitors Center and completed another Junior Ranger Program. The kids were bummed that we didn't get to see any whales....

 A few more hours down the road we hit the Tillamook Cheese Factory. The tour and cheese tasting was great. We also got lunch and had grilled cheese (not as good as expected) and mac and cheese (amazing!!) We also let the kids choose some ice cream and I got fudge. The service was awful and really rude. We made the best of it though! 

We arrived around 8pm that night and this was our cute little house we would be staying in for the next several days. The next few pictures are not in order, but a glimpse of the different things we did while there. We had a blast with family and the kids were so sad to leave their cousins!

Swimming

We headed down to the beach as a little family on our own walk. It was so cool to be surrounded by fog and not be able to see anything. It was a gorgeous view! Aunt Audrey also gave all the kids bags to put treasures into. 

Took Family pictures.....these are just of my kid, but got some great family shots too! 

After being on the beach and only being able to take pictures the kids were delighted when they were told they were finished and could play...

We decorated Fairy Houses to be placed near a beach front similar to the Kamas Fairy Forest, but near the beach :) Jenny took the kids to place them the morning we left, but I don't have any pictures. 

We convinced some people to join us at a little town down the road for a Kite Flying Festival and the kids ran in the ocean.

Gammie and Potts watched the kids so that we could go hike out on this jet together. It was a blast and a little nerve wrecking with waves crashing around.

The adults did a root beer tasting. Seriously so fun! 

And basically just relaxed and played the rest of the time......

We left early Sunday morning for the long drive (9 hours) to Boise. We didn't plan any stops, but just wanted to get there as fast as possible. We we hit a cute drive in diner on the way and arrived around 6pm. We went swimming when we arrived, had dinner then crashed. 

Enjoying the books too much :)

The next morning we headed to the Discovery Museum of Idaho. This was another one we got for free with our Thanksgiving Point Pass. Mike and Dez had stayed in Boise too so we met there to let the kids play. They had a blast. Afterward Dave headed down memory lane and we saw his old house and elementary. It was fun seeing were he grow up. 

As we headed out we really wanted to hit Maddox, unfortunately its closed on Mondays. So we found another steak restaurant. It was a fun way to end the trip.

Such a fun trip! Looking forward to Mount Rushmore in two years!