Absolute joy!
Favorite game: getting close to the water, then running away before the waves touch you.
Creating sandlakes.
We rented these awesome little three-wheeled sand bikes. They were kind of tough to figure out, but so much fun! Until you have to ride them to the other end of the town to return them...
You think campfires in the mountains are fun? Try them on the beach!!! It's the best of both worlds!
CAMP 18 - a cool restaurant that used to be used for logging. It's called Camp 18 because it's located at mile marker 18 off Highway 101. Original, huh?
The Column in Astoria.
Climbing the 5 million steps it takes to get to the top (or back down again). It made my stomach churn looking over the edge.
Our favorite place: the town of Seaside. Shopping, restaurants, a boardwalk, a gigantic arcade, etc. What more could you want?!? The best part was the old fashioned bumper cars and tilt-a-whirl. It got a little vicious in there.
Notice: Kyle's first tacky souvenir of the trip - a Power Rangers mask. More tacky souvenirs to come.
We also rented these 9-person (11 if you count the babies) pedal bikes and rode around seaside. It was hard work and we might've broken some traffic laws, but it was a blast. And just for future reference, I wouldn't actually cram 9 adults on there. Let's just say that some of us weren't completely on board!
We went crabbing in Wheeler. We caught tons and TONS, but no keepers. In fact, they were so small, they could usually climb right out of the net and fall back into the water. The kids thought it was awesome, though.
Do I dare touch it? Do I?
That's one bad dad...and uncle.
My uncle taught us to clam dig on the last morning and we actually caught some! Have you ever seen anything so disgusting? I hadn't. I had no idea a razor clam looked like that. I'm glad we headed home and I didn't have to stick around to eat them! And that's coming from someone who likes seafood!
The beachhouse was right next to these awesome rocks and tidepools. When it was low tide, they were absolutely covered in sea creatures. The awesomest thing ever. The best part? We were at the end of the beach where it was less populated, so we had it all to ourselves! 
Kyle loved touching the sea anenome.
Just practicing for the big waves... Notice: Tacky Souvenir #2 - a Ninja Turtles t-shirt, courtesy of Grandma & Grandpa.
Cousins.
Older cousins.
Grandpa and Grandma. Aren't they cute?
All of the cousins - missing a few.
The older generation - gramps, grams and aunts & uncles.
Fun with grandpa. 
Ahhh, the beach.
I miss it already.We're back from vacation. We had a fabulous trip, but it's been a long day. I don't know what we were thinking, but we decided to take the red-eye and flew all night.
The good news: Kyle slept all night long. Almost 8 hours.
The bad news: I didn't.
The other bad news: Kyle woke up halfway through the flight, threw up, and instantly went back to sleep.
And some more bad news: We lost our DVD player.
Like I said, it was a rough night/day. But we're alive and well and I'll be back with a vengeance tomorrow to tell you all about it!
Well, the movers have come and gone, and we'll just say it was...interesting. The Air Force contracts with a moving company and pays for it all, so I can't really complain. Except that I will. Just a little. On Thursday, they sent a group in to pack up boxes for us. It was three ladies and all I'm going to say about them is that they were COLORFUL and had all lead some pretty interesting lives. I knew that just from conversations I overheard. Luckily, a friend had come to keep me company for the day, so I didn't fear for my safety.
The first thing they said when they walked in the door was, "Do you have any glass?" GLASS? Of course I have glass. Dishes, for one. "We need all of your glass," they said. Apparently it
needs to be packed with extra special care. And apparently it's the bane of their existence, at least while on the job. I did my best to gather picture frames and anything else that was fragile, but apparently I didn't do a good enough job. For the rest of the day, each time they happened upon something fragile, they'd grown and yell, "More GLASS!!!" I'm sure the yell was accompanied by a crusty look in my direction, but maybe I just imagined that.
But the best part was about 2 hours into the packing. One of the ladies walked down the hall and said, "Mrs. Turner? Can I talk to you?"
Me: "Sure."
Scary Lady Missing Half Of Her Teeth: "Um, we were just wondering if we could have some fudgesicles."
Me: (thinking, 'Did they bring fudgesicles with them?!?")
...SILENCE...
Me: "Oh, you mean from me?"
SLMHOHT: "Yeah."
Me: "Do I have any?"
SLMHOHT: "Yes."
Me: "Well, sure. If I have some, you can have them."
Trust me, it wasn't the popsicles I cared about. I just wondered what else they were looking through. (PS: Kevin told me afterwards that it was a good idea to feed them. How was I supposed to know!?!)
The next day a different company came to load our boxes and furniture and ship them out. This time it was two guys (strangely enough, far less scary than the three women the day before). I have no complaints about them, other than the fact that it took 8 hours to load our 800 sq. ft. apartment. How they did it, I have no idea. As one friend put it, "The Elder's Quorum could've had it done in two!" FYI, this time I fed the guys.
And so now our apartment's empty. It consists of two air mattresses, our suitcases and clothes, and this laptop. Some would consider it sad and lonely, but I say it's all just part of the fun.
They say as you get older that birthdays don't really mean that much, but I simply don't believe it. Sure, you're not excited about getting older. And you don't care quite as much about the presents. But there's something to be said for having a special day and hearing from those most near and dear to you. And here are my top five favorite things about my 27th birthday:
1. Having "Happy Birthday" sung to me by my mom, dad, son, husband, dear friend, and grandma (who normally forgets).
2. A birthday party held in my honor by a FABULOUS friend and neighbor.
3. The fabulous friends who attended the party and made me feel so special and loved.
4. Friends who kept me company and watched my "little turkey" of a son while I supervised the move on my birthday.
5. A husband who came home!!! (Okay, so it was a day late, but he was accompanied by gifts and promises of shopping. And he's home!)
Thank you, everybody. I'm definitely the luckiest girl around.
