4th of July

Seeing as it’s almost August, it seems fitting to post our fourth of July pictures. We’ve had a wonderful month of July–warm sunny weather means lots of time outside and not as much time blogging. Currently we are enjoying a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Helen, both kids are loving the attention and Jeff and I are being spoiled with dinner prepared for us nightly. We love having them here and wish they could stay longer! Yesterday Helen was playing with Max and she reminded him of something they did together last time they were here. He replied, “Was that with you or with Oma? I can’t remember. Well, you do look alike.” We had a good laugh about that because Helen and Cathie definitely don’t look much like, but it was pretty cute how all grandmothers apparently look the same to him.

Here are a few pictures from the fourth. Max’s favorite colors are red and blue, so he loved that we were all wearing them. He wanted to take pictures on the staircase landing since that’s where we took them last year.

Cabin Camping

We spent a couple days last month cabin camping at Cama Beach. It’s part of a state park and they have some tiny cabins that were built in the 1930s. They were out of use for a number of years, and then around 10 years ago the park refurbished them and started renting them out again. They are small and basic but a perfect step up from tent camping. We sprung for the “deluxe” cabin which has a toilet and shower. They also have a microwave and fridge, and a small bedroom with one bed, plus a twin with trundle in the main area. We went with our good friends and got cabins next to each other. We were able to share meals and the kids could go back and forth easily. We lucked out and got wonderful weather–warm and sunny, with just one round of rain overnight on our second night. The cabins are right on the beach, so we spent lots of time walking along the shore. The kids loved throwing rocks in the water and playing on the driftwood. I have fond memories of walking on driftwood logs when visiting this area growing up, so it was very special to see my own kids enjoying that same thing. We are already looking forward to next summer’s return visit!

I took a ton of pictures, and though I did narrow it down for this post, there are still a lot of photos below!

Some of the amazing natural beauty:

The cabins:

Fun by the camp fire. The kids had their first s’mores, which were a hit, though Max preferred to eat just the chocolate and graham cracker components. Angel made a yummy dessert on the campfire with chocolate cake baked inside oranges.


 

Lots and lots of outdoor fun. In addition to plenty of beach time, we hiked, found a small playground, and the guys took the big kids out on a boat one afternoon. Such a great place!