Camping at Beverly Beach

We finished our last trip for the summer with five days of camping at Beverly Beach. It rained the first day but after that it was dry. We packed in as much as we could while we were there.

We visited the Hatfield Science Center where we watched an octopus for a while, petted some skates and explored underwater vents.

The next day we got up early and went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The boys wanted to go through the tunnel aquarium first so we went straight to it and had it all to ourselves for over 15 minutes, and then an aquarium worker talked with us about the different sharks and rays we were watching. She even went and got the jaws of a Bat Ray to show us how they eat (they grind their food with gums that look like rattlesnake skin).

On Thursday we went up to Depoe Bay to go on a charter boat to watch Gray Whales. Holly had a GREAT time and really enjoyed it (she even saw the Gray Whale's tail). Joey threw up. So did Tim (a little bit). Steve thought he was going to pass out he was so queasy. If anyone wants to go whale watching please contact Holly directly.

In between all the trips we went down to the beach and had tons of fun. We played some beach golf, Joey and Steve even made some smaller "putt putt" courses. If you would like to join the BGA (Beach Golf Association) we are currently accepting members. The boys went skim boarding and other than that it was just a lot of digging and playing.

On Friday we had the best weather yet (the wind wasn't as fierce), but we had to pack up everything and head home. It was a great trip (except for the horrid boat ride) and fun "end of summer" vacation.

For those who'd like to see some more pictures we posted them on our Picasa site.

-Steve

Butterfly Exhibit at the Zoo

Steve and the boys went to the zoo last week with Grandma Denniston and saw the Butterfly Exhibit. We also saw the bats (Tim's favorite), polar bears (Joe's favorite), the sloth (Steve's favorite), and lots of other animals (Grandma didn't tell us what her favorite animal was). The butterflies were from South America and we had to shake, jump, and be inspected before they let us out. We couldn't let any "hitchhikers" out of the exhibit. The boys took lots of pictures inside the exhibit, but the ones below were much funnier looking than anything inside. -Steve

Our Dam Trip

Today we (Steve and the boys) went to Bonneville Dam and did all the touristy things you can do there. We watched the fish swimming up the fish ladder, learned how ships go through the locks and watched a barge exiting, and a few other odds and ends of dam stuff. Then we went to the fish ponds and looked at the huge sturgeon. They have one great big viewing pond and several smaller ones too. We watched the fish swim around a while, fed some of the trout, and had a picnic in the shade. The boys loved it all. These pictures are all from the big viewing pond. -Steve

Right on Target

The boys are taking an archery class at the community center. They are having a great time (despite the serious looks in the picture) and keep trying to convince us we can set up a shooting range in the back yard. Hmmmm, we're not convinced quite yet. And yes, they do get to use arrows, just not when they're pointing bows at me for a picture.
-Steve