We made a last minute decision to go to Oregon for spring break...I almost thought we wouldn't make it when the day before we were scheduled to leave I found myself seated in the pediatrician's office. Henry had ear/eye infection and he and Braeden were also so suffering from Influenza. We made a couple of trips to the pharmacy and decided we'd still leave on our vacation as planned. (I had to pack a separate bag just for the medications and nebulizer.)We left about 8:45 Thursday morning and arrived at our hotel in Portland at 2:45. The babies traveled SO well - hardly any fussing at all! (I can't say the same for the big kids though...)
Our hotel had an indoor swimming pool which we tried to take advantage of each night.
On our first morning we woke up early and spent the day at the Oregon Zoo. It was rainy and cold - but there was so much to see!
The babies didn't see much except these penguins - they were enthralled!
This one was my favorite picture...Bronwyn and this primate just staring at each ther...it lasted quite awhile.
When we got back to the hotel that night we discovered that Hudson was sick too. Poor babies! We slept in the next morning and got a late start to Newport. But the drive was well worth it. The coastline is just gorgeous there. We didn't have time to get down to the water - but we did take a few pictures along the beachfront.
From the beach we headed to the Aquarium. This was a first for all of us - and it was amazing! Everyone's favorite was the jelly fish. There were teeny, tiny white ones and big colorful ones. 
There was even a petting section in the aquarium where the kids were able to feel a small shark, a ray, starfish, anenome, and clams. That was super cool. Towards the end we walked through "Passages of the Deep" where we found ourselves in tunnels with water above and below...and the water was full of sea life. We stayed a long time looking at the sharks. The next morning we drove to Seaside. Tony and I had been there twice before and we knew the kids would love it. It was super cold and rainy so we stopped and let Julius ride the bumper cars with Tony and then I took the three big kids one the "Tilt-a-Whirl". It was hilarious. Brady was SO scared but he toughed it out and didn't cry one tear. Bronwyn and Julius were a little scared at first but quickly learned that screaming helped them overcome the scary feeling.
From there we headed down to the water. Ahhh. It was so cold and windy but we braved it and got our feet a little wet while Tony stayed far away with the babies.
Here the kids are chasing a seagull.
Brady burying his dolphin in the sand.
Braeden didn't appreciate that his mean mommy made him get his feet wet...so, so sorry Brady boy.
Bronwyn just got right in and enjoyed it.
After we cleaned the sand off we bought a kite, did a little shopping, rode the merry-go-round and then had lunch at one of our favorite seafood places...Norma's. We ended the day with a trip to Tillamook for ice cream cones. Then next morning we packed up and left the hotel. We planned to make a quick stop at IKEA before heading home. Well, no trip to IKEA is quick...I LOVE that store! We didn't get out of there until 2:30 - by that time every spare inch of space in our van was stuffed full.
We made it back home late that night and have had a nice quiet week. I think everyone is on the mend from their sicknesses...and we're already planning our next trip to IKEA, whoops! I mean Oregon...we made some great memories and had fun spending so much time together.
This was our first pattern. It's called Wickedly Easy - the kids helped me pick out the colors...pink from Bronwyn, orange from Julius, and green from Braeden. I chose the multi-colored paisley and the brown. 
My favorite part is the quilting. I traced random and overlapping circles throughout and quilted them by hand. It's now our official "snuggle" blanket. We all love it!
