Washington 7/17-7/25

SERIOUSLY SO LUCKY...

This year the Hansen gang got to go to Craig's property in Long Beach Washington! LEADBETTER FARMS Pictures don't do justice for this place. It is unlike anything I've ever seen. The property is on some outrageous amount of ocean front property. I think like 1000 acres. The new tower is like a light house that overlooks the ocean and forests. Everything is beyond nice. We got to stay in "Old Glory" which is a old Yacht that has been completely restored. It was perfect for our family - it had a big master sweet with a separate "crews quarters" full of bunk beds for the kids. (Although the kids didn't want to sleep in them, and ended up in my bed every night until Chad got there). Two bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen!
We played hard from morning until late at night!
My very favorite part of the trip was ridding horses on the beach with Chad.
Close seconds:
-Riding 4 wheelers through acres of trails. I didn't see any bears this trip, but while Tracers was riding with Cory they saw 2. Lucky ducks. We rode 4 wheelers for hours everyday. The kids loved it, and the adults couldn't seem to get enough either. The place is so green, and the trails were the perfect combination or turns, hills, bumps, and speed!
-Fishing! Porter would have fished all day in the pond. He learned how to get everything ready by himself. Before Chad got there he would beg Cory, Grandpa, and Shawner to go out with him... Usually he could talk one of them into it. :)
-Crab'n. We went out into the bay to do a little crab'n, and had a blast. We caught 11 keepers, and everyone ate them up when we got home.
-Sturgeon fishing in the Columbia river. They got lucky and caught a nice one. This was Porters highlight! It's suppose to be really yummy, but seemed a little boring to me...
-Playing on the beach! The water was pretty cold, but it didn't stop us from getting wet! The sad is so fine it feels like powder... Perfect for sandcastle. In fact the worlds best Sand Castle tournament was going on while we were there! There were lots of amazing building going on! The kids collected Sand dollars every time we were on the beach, and by the end - had like 81!
-Tree house sleepover with uncle Shawner.
-Bikes and scooters up and down the roads.
-Going on a bear hunt with Grandpa in the back of a custom built jeep.
-Games
-Movies
-Wii
-And don't let me leave out Tillamok ice cream - and lots of it. We had tons of great food, but you can't have Washington without the best ice cream on earth!

My parents just happened to be in Washington the same week, so they made a stop to see the place too! It was fun seeing them on our Vacation.

The drive was long. In fact longer than it seemed. The kids had fun playing in different cars with cousins. Trace and Kenny were inseparable the entire trip, and especially in the cars. We ended up taking two days to get there, and two days to get home. I think it would have been bad if we tried to do it all in one day - but breaking it up made it bearable.