Coastin'

i love cobs sun-imposed-monocle, and my hair you GUYS. but isn't little gracie the CUTEST?

I know I know, I'm double posting today. I just couldn't wait! So here we go. Let me start by saying, this was my most favorite day of the trip and I'm sticking to it. The second we got to Richard and Stacys' home Coby was SO happy. And when I say happy, I really mean weird. He and Richard were hilarious to watch -- talking crazily, lots of bro punches, making fun of each other, just little cousins reunited at last. Like so weird. After Coby read some books to Gracie (melt my heart wontcha') we were off to the Tillamook factory!  First of all, Oregon is BEAUTIFUL. The trees, and the open fields, and the greens and the yellows and the farms and ohmygoodness sensory overload. Couple that with the best strawberry ice cream from Tillamook and there ya go. I can feel my dad's jealousy about that last little bit as my mom reads that last line to him (hint hint, right mom?). Then we hit the coast! Goonies, good vibes, and a tender walk on the beach. It was such a nice day out there. I loved it I loved it I loved it. We returned to chips and salsa and dinner with strawberry shortcake included. We all watched the movie Spirit and tried to get Tooley the cat to snuggle with us.

May I just stop here to talk about Stacy for a bit? Hi Stacy, how are there not any pictures of you? And I stalked your blog and you are the best crafter. And it was her birthday that week! And I usually feel weird posting pictures of other peoples children but oh my goodness Grace is just too cute. Stacy, thank you for such a fun day.

The next morning the boys played frisbee in the park while us girls sat in the shade. Richard and Stacy sent us off with sack lunches (so nice) and played a little "guess what's on this cracker whilst blindfolded" before we headed back downtown. After people watching at the farmers market we said goodbye to some of Coby's family at Niketown and homeward bound we went.

Now to close with a somewhat mushy summary. This trip was amazing, I loved each and every day. It was so nice to get out of Provo and the routine of things. I am now a believer of staying with family, everyone was so kind and generous to open up their homes. And because I'm all about keeping things real, Coby and I learned so much more about each other and grew heaps on this trip. We hit some lows but they were so necessary. I may or may not have had the hardest couple days of my life post-trip that included a lack of appetite for two days and then diving right into the nutella the next. I know Coby and I are only dating, but regardless of what our future holds, I am so happy to have spent my birthday week with him in my new favorite city. That's all she wrote.

And scene.

Oh, and did you know that the fourth of July is my favorite holiday?! Cause it is! Have a happy fourth!