i heart the west coast

I am currently sitting in a weird looking hotel room. It's a suite, but a very open one at that - Payt and Jordan are across the room on a bed, facing us, and then two beds on this side with the rest of the gang. We are crashing here in Boise and then we will finish the drive in the morning. Everyone is going a little bit crazy, Davis is yelling at everyone, Ash keeps getting her feelings hurt, people are getting annoyed at the tiniest things. It is time for us to get home, almost. What a fun trip we have had! I am so grateful for such great friends and memories made.

We rented a beach house at Rockaway Beach and the whole week was wonderful. We spent tons of time relaxing at the beach, had bonfires, played games, made yummy food, went to Tillamook for ice cream and cheese curds, stayed up way too late, swam in the ocean, rented wet suits, went whale watching (although we didn't see too many whales) and then some of us threw up from the boat ride, got more ice cream, visited light houses and The Column in Astoria, walked the Seaside Beach strip, and drove way too much for our sanity. Before we hit the beach house, our family stopped in Vancouver to visit Mike and Dayna's family, which was nice. Dayna made us a lot of yummy meals as usual and we visited the local farmer's market and ate yummy fruit. It was nice to see the cousins! It's been a trip to remember and I cherish each of the memories made. I'm so grateful for the friendships we have all because our parents were crazy kids in high school and they decided to stay best friends over all these years. This trip was just what I needed after a busy summer full of working. I went into it feeling ten pounds lighter because I passed my teaching exam on Thursday, August 7th, the night before we left for vacation. Free as a bird I was and still am as I prepare for my next adventure with my two buddies -- CHINA!

Ohh, and my little sister may have gotten engaged, but I'll do a separate post on that.