Oregon Coast and Reunion

The Oregon Coast... ahhh... nothing is like it.
It captivates you by doing nothing extraordinary than what it does day in and day out... but it's the other things that gets to you. The smell of the saltwater, the ocean lapping at your feet, the call of gulls around you, the crashing of the waves, the sand beneath your feet, and most important this trip was the sun beating down on you... warming you. It's amazing and I love the ocean. I love being able to relax and getting away from all the hussle and bussle of the normal day. I love being able to not have any plans making your day full of things to get checked off... instead you are able to do what you want, when you want, and if something doesn't go as planned, it doesn't matter. :)

Landon LOVED being on the beach. We didn't play in the water the first time we went out on the beach, but we did have fun building a castle, with a moat, and drawbridge! He was so good this trip and really loved playing on the ever-sandy coast. I love how he continually flicked sand everywhere so before I knew what hit me there was a shovel full down my shirt or in my hair. :) But that's the great thing about being there... it doesn't matter!



Yep! You guessed it! NAP TIME! :) I told him he couldn't have the camera anymore and then he plopped himself down just like this and stayed there for over 5 minutes till I went and picked him up. If this wasn't a sign that a nap was in order, I don't know what would have been... but before we could leave we were rolling with laughter at what happened below in the photos.

I had been watching this older couple walking along the beach together (because I've always wanted to grow old with someone and love seeing proof of two people being able to tolerate one another their whole lives to walk hand in hand, wrinkled and old *sigh*) and as they were walking the man stops and because the woman was looking down, she didn't notice he'd stopped till about 15 feet ahead... where she turned around and went back... by that time she'd noticed what had stopped her husband in the middle of their coasting on the beach... a scantily clad couple (woman specifically) had decided to strip down and enjoy the ocean as it should be enjoyed during the summer... o_O but the water was FREEZING and so I found myself staring too and watching the couple of course.


Instead of walking up to him and whacking him while telling him to stop eying the girl, she totally surprised me by standing by his side and staring too! hahaha... it had Sean and I laughing heartily!

Landon took the camera right before we left and took this photo... this is Sean and I. Sean is a dear dear friend... my best friend from the 8th grade. We met at Pattonville Heights while I lived in St. Louis, Missouri, in our Spanish class with Mr. Bimbo. He and I hit it off from there, but I moved away and we fell out of touch... over the next few years we kept tabs on one another and really enjoyed talking and laughing together over the phone. I stopped contact when I was going to be married, due to a misunderstanding (which was stupid in hindsight) and so we didn't contact each other for over 4 years. Then when I was divorced I found him on Facebook. We've been talking nonstop for almost a year now... seeing as November 3rd would be my 1 year anniversary for my D day.


He is my best friend. He knows everything about me... and the only thing that isn't in favor of us being in a relationship is he is not LDS. So we remain friends. And after a decade of not seeing one another, we decided to meet. I was planning a trip to the Oregon Coast, and when I told him and he said he wanted to come, we made the plans! He flew into Spokane and I picked him up, drove him to Quincy to see my family there, then onto Tri-Cities to have dinner with the other half of my family. It was a good (and long) day. We both crashed that night and then headed for the coast the following morning. We stayed 2 nights in Seaside and LOVED the weather we had! Last time I had gone to the Oregon Coast, Tiff and I were met with a blanket of thick fog and drizzly weather... not the makings for a gorgeous time at the beach! But we were in luck because the weather was perfect!



Landon was crazy when I took him to wade in the water. He kept stomping and getting my rolled-up jeans wet! Ugh... but the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eye soon smoothed over any irritation I felt. He's doll and I love him so much. I am so happy that he was able to have so much fun on the beach and enjoy the time together.


Landon serving me his special dinner of toasted football served on cheese and season mixture presented on a rare, vintage shovel! Om nom nom...

This is the sunsets we found ourselves enjoying. hmm... I miss it already!

Whenever I go anywhere I always take all the pictures and because I take those pictures, I am never in them and I don't get to have some of Landon and I interacting.... luckily Sean took the initiative to grab the camera an start taking shots. So I have him to thank for these awesome pictures.

But then I took over again and found that this was my favorite picture of the trip. I love it.

And you can't go without the self-portraits... those are a staple! :)

The trip was so much fun! Landon was very well behaved, which I was worried about coming back from his dad's just 2 nights before, but except for the tantrum in the sand... he did amazing. Sean and I were able to catch up and realize that we really do enjoy one anothers company and both have a love for the ocean... even though Sean thought I was crazy for wading in it... he followed my lead finally and got the full experience of the ocean by standing in it with his bare feet. :)

I miss my friend already and wanted to thank him for flying over to see me even after all this time.

Blankies

I know this is a small thing, but it hit me pretty good... so I decided to share:

Landon has always had a blue blanket and a green blanket that is silky on one side and furry on the other... he has had these in his possession since before he was born. He loves the silky side of the blanket and LOVES to go to sleep with his blanket even though he can sleep without it, he does enjoy having it with him.

The other night after returning from his dad's not too long ago I was reading him a story when he stopped me mid-sentence and said, "Where's my blanket mom?!?!?" To which I told him I had just washed them and they were in the dryer. I got up and got one of them and went back to the bedroom.

The first thing that happened is he hugs his blanket against his little body and says so sincerely that it made me laugh and hug him, "I love you blankie!"

I guess we have a second generation in my family (me being the first) that loves the silky feeling of blankets... But I still smile and giggle when I think about how he said it. I've missed him and glad he's with me again.

Mr. Magoo in Action

I have always called Landon, my son, Mr. Magoo from an early age. This was dawned because of his many, many, many close calls with accidents... and that's just the ones that were close... not the ones that he actually had. He is accident prone, just like me. But since he's come home from the few weeks he spend with his dad in Seattle, he's gone to great extremes.

Just to paint a picture I will tell you what happened 2 nights ago....

It was the first night back from the Oregon Coast (which will be blogged about this week), and I was getting Landon ready for bed. He seems to have a hour long burst of energy that is higher than normal since returning home from his dad's. I understand he's excited to be home and see me and be in his bedroom with his things... but it gets a little wearing when you are trying to read him books and he keeps jumping up and down on the bed at random intervals.... yeah.... like I was saying... *clears throat*

I had gone in and told Landon to lay down about 5-7 times and each time he was either on the other side of the room messing around on my bed with toys, or in the bathroom eating toothpaste, or writing on the dresser with a pen... yeah... just the kind of thing you want to catch your little boy doing when he's supposed to be the sweet sleeping little one that looks so peaceful, instead of the full of energy monster that can't sit still, let alone go to sleep!

So after going in there countless times I finally heard... nothing.
Didn't think that quiet could sound so good.... that was until I went into my bedroom.

I went in and got ready for bed, put out my clothes, and as I was pulling back the covers to my bed, I realized that there was something wet... NO! I thought to myself! He went to the bathroom twice before bedtime! Ugh! *scowl* but I found myself smelling the wet spot... and it wasn't pee.

Yeah... if the can of SPF 35 Coppertone Continuous Spray Sunscreen wasn't laying right next to Mr. Magoo I wouldn't have been able to figure out what that smell was. You guessed it!

Mr. Magoo had gone all out and decided my bed could use some Sunscreen protection. :)

As I had just found this out, my roommate and good friend, Tiffany, called me into the bathroom and pointed to something on the counter and asked, "What's this?!?!?" You see it was a black circle like thing drawn onto the counter in what appeared to be permanent marker. Black permanent marker on a white and gold counter top. Tiffany, being the best roommate and friend one could have, immediately put on her mommy cap and grabbed a rag with hairspray and dowsed the area in hairspray and scrubbed afterwards with the rag... repeating time and time again.

After the bathroom was cleaned up and satisfactory... I thought I would show her what other mischievous things Mr. Magoo had undertaken when sleep should have overcome him.

Lets just say we both had a good quiet, muffled giggle and after placing a towel under Mr. Magoo and I, I was finally able to retire for the night.