Our Ultimate Life: Rose Family Reunion

Last week we spent time up in WA and OR with Justin's family. We drove to Pendleton last Saturday and stayed in a hotel. We drove the remaining five hours to Puyallup on Sunday and enjoyed some one-on-one time with Justin's parents. Covid is quite rampant up in Pierce county so we were happy to stay at Jon and Judy's for the most part, aside from ordering our favorite Indian food takeout Monday night.

Justin 3D printed this game for his mom for Christmas one year and he's continued to expand it for her. It is seriously amazing - all of those pieces magnetically connect together. If Justin had the itch he could totally sell these!

Emmett helped Grandma make cookies, mac n cheese, and pigs in a blanket

Tuesday was Emmett's birthday! Grandma totally spoiled him with the most amazing birthday cake in history, and he was showered with gifts from his cousins and grandparents. Judy had a bunch of birthday activities for the grandkids. They went on a dinosaur egg hunt and played dinosaur bingo.

digging for birthday treasures

Jon made this for his birthday dinner! Amazing

cute birthday banner which Clara helped Grandma make

This cake!

Wednesday morning we had family pictures taken. I can't wait to see how they turn out! After that everyone packed and we headed down to the Oregon coast. We stayed in a beach house we've used before in Warrenton. Bonnie brought kites for the kids, so once we were all settled and made our way to the beach, the kids had a total blast running around with those things. My phone died and Justin's camera is shot, but I tried to capture Emmett's uncanny skill with his kite. That kid made it look totally effortless to get the kite up and stay up. It was pure joy watching everyone run around. After dinner we played games (Chase and Rachel's version of apples to apples was a hit) and that night we watched The Visit - that movie is SO scary and SO funny. M. Night Shyamalan strikes again!

Thursday was our big beach day. We headed south to Hug Point which was an excellent place to spend the afternoon. There are cliffs and caves and the tide was low so we were able to explore around a bunch. There was a convenient spot where the cliff met the ocean and it was really deep so I thought I'd round up anyone who wanted to jump in with me. Nobody else was keen to get in, so we found a spot where I could jump in without any fear of hitting any rocks and also swim a short distance to the beach. BRRR the water was way colder than I thought it would be. I was thinking Redfish lake cold but no, this was worse. But now I can say I did it and I don't have to ever again. HA! We could NOT have asked for better weather. After dinner we played Sardines - Justin and I were the only ones that took turns hiding. He hid in a closet that looked like it was locked so we took forever to finally open it, and I hid under a sink in one of the bathrooms. We had s'mores around the fire that night. We let James and Bonnie use our pack n play for their baby so we ended up putting Logan to sleep in one of the closets on the floor both nights 🤣 He did pretty well and wasn't TOO grumpy despite missing his naps but that is debatable 😉

trying not to fall asleep

humongous fish washed up on the beach

love the outtakes

our family two years ago

our family now

I had already washed my hair so I put on a shower cap so it didn't smell smoky

Friday we made our way back up to Washington. We stopped at shipwreck beach in Fort Stevens to see the ocean one last time. We did lunch in Astoria at Bowpicker Fish and Chips and man that was some good fried fish. We relaxed at Jon's until dinner at Pap Jon and Judy's. We FINALLY got our nine-square game out and played at the elementary school playground while the kids rode bikes and played on the playground. After that it was time for dessert and good-byes. The week flew by so fast. We hope to visit again in the fall, so we'll see.

kid picture two years ago

kid picture this year

Justin holding baby Nathan

We left Saturday morning at 4:30 and got home right around 5:00. It was one of the "better" drives of that long trek, so no complaints. I'd like to thank Paw Patrol for making the trip enjoyable for my children (I checked out every DVD I could find at our library). When we got home I pulled out both car seats and vacuumed out the car, took my cleaning glove to the car seats, and also washed the outside of the car. I did all our laundry from the trip and Justin weed wacked and mowed the entire yard. We CRASHED that night and I might try to sneak in a nap today.