grady's at the beach

the whole grady family got together in our favorite place in the world last weekend to celebrate our dad's 70th birthday! cannon beach, oregon holds so many memories for all of us. we went as a family every summer since i was 3 or 4 years old, and we all have our own special memories there as adults. cannon beach is the biggest reason why andy and i packed up all our things 9 years ago and moved to portland. being such a short drive from this place was a huge motivator in getting me to oregon!

there is something about the air in this little coastal town that is different from any other coastal town. every single time i've visited cannon beach, i open the car door upon arrival and take a deep breath, and then i'm on vacation. i love everything about this little town.

this past weekend was special b/c we were all together - kyah and dustin flew in with my niece, haven, and it was the first time i've met her! she is SO sweet - so easy and happy. i can't wait to spend more time with her this winter!

i kind of look like i'm going to eat her in this pic - a little freaky i know, but she just looks so beautiful i had to post :)


all the cousins together - just need baby boy grady to get in the pic next march!!


the hillis' walking to town


we stayed at the ecola creek lodge which was perfect for all our little families.  andy and i rented a 2 bdrm that had a big living room and kitchen and the rates were really good. highly recommend this spot! not to mention, if you have kids, they will love the koi pond AND the little bunny rabbits that are always just hopping around the grounds!

wes and tatem loved playing on the floor and couch in our room


over the bridge to the town



we tried to hit low tide one morning but didn't quite make it - so no starfish sightings. but gray mornings on the beach are my fave so we still enjoyed ourselves :)




nana was writing words in the sand for wes and he was taking them down one by one. SAND, BOX, FAST, JUMP, DOT, BED, ELF, etc. he can now pretty much read any word that follows the rules he knows (short vowels, etc) and he is always begging for more words. it is sooo fun!


we spent lots of time in my parents' space eating and playing games. wes and i were enjoying some sweet potato pancakes (thanks izzy!) and watching curious george :)


i asked my friend koren months ago to come out and photograph our family all together so we had pics on saturday afternoon - i will post those when i get them.

every time we took a pic of the kids, all of us adults were singing and dancing trying to get them to look at the camera and maybe even smile. we were mid-song (i think it was "i've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart" for this pic) and i just had to turn around and catch a quick pic on my phone of the singing squad. ha!


koren and i actually met working (and rooming!) together back in '99 at the cannon beach conference center. we've remained great friends since, and it was SO fun to get to spend some time over coffee after the photo shoot. such memories together in that place!! thank you koren for making the trek out to capture such a fun weekend in photos!

...and the weekend ended abruptly for me saturday night when i came down with the stomach flu. ick. i haven't had a flu in soooo long - it was awful! and i had to miss out on the rest of the festivities b/c i was feeling so bad. i'm better now - not 100%, but definitely better. thanks to my man for packing up our hotel room, driving us home, unpacking everything, watching and feeding both kids, etc etc etc so i could lay in bed! and all this with not one complaint. i'm just thankful the worst day was a weekend so i had his help!

i love you, andy.


now i'm looking around my living room and cannot believe that one week from today this house will be totally empty, professionally cleaned and ready for a new family to move in. we have lots of "last's" (playdates, dinners, etc) this week, plus packing, so it will be a busy week. my mom flies in friday night and we will do all the last minute stuff before we drive out monday morning. mixed emotions - so sad to be leaving but looking forward to what's ahead.

xo