Camping for the 4th

We had a bunch of extended family up from Utah for the 4th of July and got to do all sorts of fun stuff with them while they were here. First, on June 27th, we had my aunt and uncle, Sheri and Sam, and their 5 kids stay with us overnight. Even though they're my aunt and uncle, they're both more like peers and we're really close with them, and it was so nice to have a house big enough to accomodate their big brood! They used to live in Portland but moved to Utah a few years ago and we miss them terribly!

The next day, we were able to attend the sealing of my other aunt and uncle to their 4 adopted children. That was awesome, especially because it's taken a really long to time for them to finally be able to adopt most of them and it's been a long time coming. They have 6 children plus 4 adopted now! Wow. And their first grandbaby on the way!

After the sealing, we all headed to my parents house for dinner - there were about 50 of us! It was really hot so the kids were playing in the sprinkler to cool off. Here are some adorable pix of Chloe in her little swimsuit. So cute!

Then for the 4th, we all went camping at the beach. We went to Waldport, which is a few miles south of Newport. The campsite was great, and there was a big sand dune hill to jump off of - a very fun and safe thrill ride that even Madison could enjoy. The fireworks were over a beautiful bay just off the ocean, very cool. Here's a pic of the girls with a couple of their cousins. I love the cousin time! They just play like crazy when they've got their cousins around. Actually, they're technically my cousins, so I believe they are Chloe and Madison's first cousins once removed??

After camping two nights at Waldport, we headed north to Newport, just our little family. We hadn't been to this adorable beach town since we had kids, so it was fun to walk along the historic bayfront with them. We got to see a deep sea fishing boat dock and cut up their catch of the day (sounds gruesome, but it was very interesting to watch), and a couple of guys catch some huge crab right off the pier. Then we drove out to both of Newport's lighthouses.

This one is at the south end of Newport Bay, and is not functioning anymore, but you can go in and take a tour - it's all decked out and furnished like it would have been when the family lived there in the 1800's.

I couldn't help but think how lonely it would have been for that family. This was the first building in Newport, so there was no one else around for miles, and it sits on a really high hill overlooking the coastline. Without other people or paved roads, it would have been very isolating. But I'm sure the family had their great times too. Maybe they even enjoyed being away from it all? There's also a legend that this house in haunted. There's a video that runs in the basement about a young woman who went into the house never to return. I remember the story creeping me out as a kid! I managed to distract Maddie before she could watch the ghost story portion of the video, thank goodness.

This is the other lighthouse in Newport, at the north end of the bay:

Chloe had fallen asleep, so I stayed in the car with her while JR and Madison went in. I didn't mind - I was right in the middle of New Moon