The Beach

So I am really sad today. I am trying not to be, but it is the first day home from vacation and real life has hit hard. I miss my family, I miss Jeremy, and I miss the weather and beauty of Oregon. My solution to this is to continue to blog about the trip. I'm not sure if it will make me feel better or worse, but at least I will get to look through some really cute pictures of Merrick.

On my last post I told you about Funland and how we went there instead of the beach because it was raining. Well, a funny thing happened while we were at Funland. It turned into a beautiful day and we decided that there was still time to head to the beach.

This was Merrick's first time at the beach and playing in the sand and I was not sure how he would respond. He is not crazy about the grass at the park and I thought he might have the same reaction to the sand, but I was wrong. From the first moment I put him down he was off exploring.

First touch


Further Exploration




The water was a little cold and while Merrick did seem to prefer to play in the sand, we did still have fun putting our feet in.


Jeremy and I had fun experiencing this with Merrick




And all the cousins had a great time together






After all the fun we topped off the day with a trip to the park.

Funland

One of our first days at Long Beach we decided to go to the beach. We got all the beach goods ready to go and headed outside only to find out it had started raining...enter Funland. The aptly named Funland was an arcade on Main Street in Long Beach. All the kids loved winning tickets that they could use to by candy and the adults became obsessed with the Deal or No Deal game.

Here are some pictures of Jeremy's first big win of 100 tickets.





This big win inspired a winner take all Deal or No Deal competition that was not quite as successful as one might have hoped.

Merrick also loved riding the rides with anyone who would take him. Here is a picture of his first motorcycle ride with his daddy.



It turns out the Funland is for sale and let me tell you running away to the beach and spending all day everyday at Fundland is pretty tempting.

Washington Coast

Please bare with me as I attempt to post about our vacation. There is so much to report and so little time to do it. I will start by posting some pictures of Vacation Part 1 in Long Beach, Washington. Here are some pictures of the view from our deck.




I must say that sitting in the jacuzzi and looking out at the beach was pretty much heaven.

Finish Line

After a few marathon months of studying we have reached the finish line. Jeremy took the LSAT yesterday and feels that it went well. Now it is a waiting game. It will take about three weeks for his scores to come back. Luckily we will be on vacation for most of that time and have lots of fun ways to distract ourselves.

While he was taking the test I did what I could to keep myself busy. I felt like a 50's housewife spending the day cooking and cleaning so that he could come home to a cleanish house, his favorite dinner, and a homemade apple pie.

It turns out the finish line is very sweet.

Just Like Grandpa

Those of you who know Jeremy's dad, Jeff, know that he loves a good Hawaiian shirt. There have been many birthdays and Father's Days that we have given him Hawaiian shirts and they are a staple of his casual wardrobe.

Last Sunday we were over visiting Grandpa and Lollie and were told that Grandpa had a special present for Merrick. It was the perfect gift from Grandpa, a Hawaiian shirt and an identical one to one that he used to have.

The next day we were taking Merrick swimming and we knew that Grandpa was coming. Despite the fact that this shirt is now the most expensive thing in his wardrobe, we could not help but put him in it to go show Grandpa.

I love these pictures that I took before we left because he has sunscreen in his hair making it look white. It looks like he is channeling Guy Fieri.





After swimming he had fun playing with Kristin's dog and swinging in the hammock with Grandpa.

Merrick's First Swim

Monday was Memorial Day and so Jeremy had the day off work. We decide that it was the perfect day to take Merrick for his first swim, so we went up to Jeremy's Aunt Kristin's house in north Mesa. Our weather has been crazy so the water was a little cold, but we had a great time.

Merrick was unsure of being in the water at first and I thought our first swim might turn out to be a short one, but he slowly got used to the water and eventually started to splash around.




He liked swimming with daddy.



And with his Uncle Jensen and Uncle Garret




He even took a ride on a boogie board.



We had a great time as a family.



One more picture before we got out.



It was a great day.



P.S. Check back in day or two for a post about Merrick's pre and post swimming outfit...too funny!