Oregon beach is the new Mexico for Mom's

My friend Kelly and I had an awesome trip to Mexico about six years ago and frequently daydream of going together again for another fun 'girl' trip.

With both of us having young ones now, it's probably not going to happen for awhile. The Oregon beach is only an hour away, so while it's not the same (the water is colder!), there is sun and sand, so it'll have to do. A few weeks ago we took a day trip over to Lincoln City with our three young kiddos.

Elias had fun trying to figure out the shovel. 

While Leo had no troubles with the shovel and enjoyed filling my shoes with sand.

Hunter really can't get enough of sand. I'm pretty sure she'd bathe in it if we filled our bathtub in sand.

Leo isn't the same, he's just so-so with the sand.

While Kelly and Eli were snuggling in the sand.

I got some fun shots of seagulls.

                                          

Elias still trying to figure out shovels. 

And I captured this rare moment of Hunter actually sharing the bucket with Leo.

Maybe next time the Dad's will keep the kids and we can spend an afternoon just laying on the sand in the sun and not worrying about anything, that's even closer to our Mexico vacation. :) 

Leo overload

Tonight Leo and I had a little photo shoot in the backyard. Technically, I had the photo shoot and was following him around while he was playing. :)

He's learning to climb the tree fort stairs. He's taken a few spills but still gets back up to try again.

       

 He was blasting off his car on the swing. Little boys and their cars.

These last two photos crack me up. Not sure what he saw through that fence hole.

The best was his stare off with Charlie Florence.

He sure is all over the place and a handful but so fun and adorable.

August Wine Tasting Adventure

We are pretty fortunate to live in wine country and be so close to some of the most amazing Oregon wineries. At least I think so, because I love wine. :)

We like to plan group wine tasting day trips every now and again. It's hard to coordinate a trip with kids and schedules but we finally got a trip together the first weekend of August with a big group of Brandon's family. Aunt Susan's husband Del is a school bus driver so he got us a good deal on a short bus. Yes, a short bus! Del, aka Howling Wolf, was our driver for the day and a big group of us piled into that short bus. Loree Beth, Michael, Payton, Erin, Andy, Lisa Kristi, Brandon, me Mark, Susan, Del.

Our first stop was Domaine Serene in the Dundee Hills. Gorgeous.

It was a cool enough place that people were arriving by helicopter. Seriously.

We continued on our adventure via the short bus though. Short yet fun.

I loved that even though we had the yummiest wines in our bellies, typical Michael needed some Bud Light, so of course a few of us didn't want him to be alone in drinking cheap beer behind the short bus. :)

Brandon, Micheal and Andy...

Brandon and I...

Loree Beth and Micheal...

That was at Erath Winery, where I took a few cool pictures of their vineyards. 

Off to Penner Ash, one of my top 10 wineries with the best view and only about 10 miles from our home. I didn't snap a picture of the view on this trip, we were too busy enjoying our wine and taking fun photos. 

We ended it at Adelsheim Winery, which is yet another favorite of ours.

Can't wait for our next wine tasting adventure!