Over the Memorial Day weekend I challenged myself by ...
being a single mom as Stark attended an annual work retreat
attempting Della's very first true road trip to Oregon to visit her great grandparents
I'd say it was a success.
After 6 hours of driving, including an hour stop in Portland for lunch,
we arrived at the Cooper Mill & Tree Farm tucked quietly away in the Cascade Coast Range.
We started our weekend by stretching our car-bound legs on a walk thru the bone-yard
where I forced Nana and G.G. to pose with our eager little beaver
Then we cut the beaver loose to explore
under our watchful eyes as a bone-yard is full of attractive sharp edges
Some picturesque skeletons ... and an uncooperative toddler
The sawdust pile was a highlight when I was young
we'd roll around until covered in the scratchy sawdust
it appears to hold the same attraction for Della
Back at the house Della entertained her grandparents, her uncle, and herself
it didn't take her long to learn every nook and cranny and claim the house for herself
a favorite toy was grandpa's scooter which is exceptionally convenient for pushing around Bear
Sunday morning we headed out early to beat the crowds to my favorite Oregon Coast attraction
the Oregon Coast Aquarium
it's a bit spendy but I love the well designed facility
the animals love it
and
kids feel comfortable in it
Due to a recent 4-wheeler accident my 93 year old grandpa is moving a little slower these days
so we rented him a scooter which Della was immediately curious about
Once the scooter novelty wore off ... she headed off to explore on her own
watching the sea otters
you'd think dark caves would slow her down
nope
she ran, RAN, right in
without her mama!
and proceeded to view the sea life
and chat up the other visitors
we were on track to explore the whole facility when Della discovered that the pathways were made of
GRAVEL
notice the odd little animal tracks left by my daughter as she scooped up handful after handful of gravel
also notice that the bottom of her pants are soaked
mommy fail
I appeared to be the only parent who neglected to bring rubber baby boots
and Della hit every single puddle, repeatedly
I did bring spare clothes, socks, and shoes
she finally gave up on walking and simply sat down to enjoy the gravel
at which point we moved indoors to the kids area
although she was a little young for the touch-n-feel tide pools
she found plenty to see and do
Although they are not in the pictures, Nana and the grandparents were right there beside us
enjoying watching me chasing Della
as I've said before
it's challenging taking pictures while running after a toddler
We sure were glad to have gotten there before everyone else
this was the line when we left!!
We headed home Monday morning and had a very smooth ride home while Della either slept or entertained herself. I think there will be more road trips in our future.
God Bless those who serve, and have served, our Country
