Say "CHEESE"

What a weekend! The family came up on Saturday night to my apartment and crashed--all 5 + 1 of them. It was so fun and ridiculous--people sprawled all over the floor, the door wide open with the screen shut to keep the air flowage, 7:1= people:bathroom. Of course us girls had to get in our chit-chat in whispers so Mom and Dad could get some rest. On Sunday the family (minus Derek who visited a friend) journeyed out west to Tillamook and on to Oceanside to hang out at the beach. At Tillamook we went to the cheese factory, of course, mostly for the samples of cheese and other goodies. And there were a lot of people with the same idea! We had a rousing pizza lunch and drove out to Cape Meares where there's a cool lighthouse you can go up in and the "Octopus Tree". Dad was so thrilled that we were visiting places of his childhood. We girls had fun taking goofy pictures (most close-ups of our eyeballs) and enjoying the views. At the beach we took naps and Dad had the courage and stamina to charge the frigid ocean waters and boogie board. Of course, we also to travel through the rock tunnel that goes through the cliff to another little beach. There were these little holes in the wall to the outside, big enough for your arm. So when we came out, us girls came first with Dad and mom behind--a perfect opportunity to scare them silly by sticking my arm in the hole from the outside and grabbing them as they went past. Except they didn't come! So I ended up sticking my arm in this hole for probably 15 min, waiting patiently (or not!) while other people passed through with curious looks. Finally I nabbed them unexpectedly as they came past. Mom freaked. SCORE!
We drove home rockin out to Steven Curtis Chapman's "Great Adventure" and grabbed some dinner fixin's to bring home. About a half hour after they left to drive back up north, I got a call from Jess that "the adventure continues"--they had gotten a flat tire in the left lane of the freeway! And the van had been so full with stuff that Dad had to unload just to deal with it. Thank the Lord that they made it to safety to fix the tire and that a state trooper was able to help them out.