Lott Family Retreat at the Oregon Coast

Over Labor Day weekend, we went down to a beautiful rental house on the Oregon Coast with Phil's side of the family. It was South of Cannon Beach in Netarts, just West of Tillamook, so about a 6 hour drive. I wasn't sure how Hayden would do in the car with Brooklyn if she got fussy or if we needed to stop several times for feeding and diaper changing so he went with Phil's parents in their car. Turns out Brooklyn slept almost the entire way, but I think it was still a good way to do it. Hayden enjoyed the time with his grandparents. His cousin Jude, who turns 7 next month, went with them, too.

The rental house was amazing! Each family had their own room and there was a big living room, dining room, kitchen and game room. I'll let the pictures do the talking:


(See more at http://www.oregon-beachhouse-rental.com)

We arrived on Thursday evening, so after stocking up on the groceries at the local Safeway and having dinner, we mostly just relaxed. On Friday, the weather was decent and the forecast said Friday was going to be the nicest of all the days, so we headed out to the beach to get some portraits done. It was quite the challenge getting all the little ones (AND ADAM!!) to cooperate with all the photos, so I had to do some Photoshop magic on some to get one shot that is good of everyone. Betcha can't even tell!






The kids all had a great time playing in a little stream that fed into the ocean. It was much too cold to really swim in the water, but throwing rocks and sand, building a sand castle and climbing on the rocks and driftwood was sure fun. The big boys (and Jude) also had fun throwing the football around.





The rest of the weekend was supposed to be crummy weather. It was stormy on Saturday morning, but actually cleared up for a little bit for us to get back on the beach for about an hour before lunchtime. Sunday was really windy and raining. Phil wanted to go to some Sand Dunes nearby that had rental ATVs, but he couldn't convince his brothers and dad to brave the weather. Jude and Ethan brought their box of toy trucks, which they nicely shared with Hayden, so he was in heaven with all the Monster Trucks! He probably didn't even care that the weather was too bad to go outside!

On Saturday night, we all went out for dessert at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Their ice cream is the best! I had a 2-scoop dish of chocolate-peanut butter and caramel toffee crunch. YUM! And even Hayden (who normally turns away ice cream) ate quite a few bites.

Phil's mom, Doris, seemed to really enjoy getting to relax and be Grandma. We wouldn't let her do any work in the kitchen (something she's stuck doing every 'vacation' since the boys were born) so she could really enjoy herself. I think Doris got to hold Brooklyn and Madison more than their parents!


Katie, Rachel, and I enjoyed putting together some puzzles during the downtime we weren't in the kitchen or taking care of our kids, while the guys enjoyed watching whatever sports program they could find on the big screen TV and playing pool in the Game Room (yes, they helped with some of the cooking and cleaning too). In the evenings after the kids went to bed, we played games, watched movies, drank some 'adult beverages', and pigged out on junk food (OK, I admit I did most of the pigging out!).

On Sunday, we drove a little further South down the coast to Pacific Beach to meet up with our sister-in-law Katie's family (mom, brother, cousins). We all had lunch at The Pelican Brew Pub, which was right on the beach. It was very windy and the waves were huge, so we were glad to enjoy the view from inside. To make things even more memorable, Brooklyn had a HUGE blowout up her back so we spent a little time in the bathroom getting her all cleaned up, using every last one of our diaper wipes!

The weekend went by way too quickly and I was disappointed the weather didn't allow us more beach time. On the way home, Hayden came with us, and we stopped in Cannon Beach. The weather was gorgeous (of course!) so we had lunch there, went in some shops, and let Hayden play in the sand a lot more.


The drive home was a little more challenging than getting there. I forgot to charge the portable DVD player before we left and the batteries died just a half hour into Hayden's favorite Elmo show. Dang! Of all things to forget! We stopped at Denny's for dinner where BOTH kids required TWO diaper changes! Bathrooms at Denny's in Chehalis are not the greatest. Hayden was pretty cranky, since he only slept for maybe 45 minutes in the car, and Brooklyn was fussy several times but I was able to reach back and pop in her pacifier to keep her quiet. I think my arm is a couple inches longer from reaching to the back seat so many times! ;)

But it was all worth it.

We're already talking about 'next time' so I hope these Lott Family Retreats become a family tradition... at least every couple years or so. I think it will be so good for the kids, too. Lots of memories, and even though we all live so close together, it is not the same as spending all weekend together. Next time, the kids will be older too and maybe we can do more activities with them.

You can view all 227 (edited down from the 500 that were taken!) images here:

LottOregonRetreat

P.S. The blog entries are unfortunately going to be fewer and farther between now that I'm a mom of 2. Brooklyn likes to be held and I don't have much patience for one-handed typing! Friend me on Facebook if you want a better way to keep in the loop. :)