Wiedz Wonder

After we had packed up and helped clean the rental house on Sunday of Cousins Weekend Mr. Wiedz and I took the kids out on Wiedz Wonder to do some more crabbing. I had never been out on the boat so I was excited to spend a couple hours out there. The kids had all had a turn or two but it had been a week or more *gasp* and they were all ready to go!

Mr. Wiedz had to work a lot harder with just us family on the boat as he was the only one who could throw or pull crab pots. I got a lesson on boat driving and I wouldn't say it was easy but I definitely improved...Mr. Wiedz didn't have a choice but to keep letting me try, he can't drive and pull pots!

Of course there are all kinds of science and nature study out on the boat. Everyone watched over the sides to find animals and plants that are living under the surface. There were some spots that were quite shallow as well so you could see the tides affect on the sand of the ocean floor. #1 was working on her oceanography badge for girl scouts so we tried noticing the plants, animals, pollution, tides, water, and other things so she could meet the requirements of her badge.

Everyone had a job when Mr. Wiedz was bringing in the crab. I was driving. #1 was next to me making sure no crab were tossed or loose near her. #2 was in charge of the cooler lid, open for Mr. Wiedz to toss in a legal crab. #3 supervised #2 and Mr. Wiedz making sure they both knew crab were on the boat. #4 sat out of the way. And #5 slept. It was a well-oiled machine.

#2 commented that time on the boat was really nice and that they didn't even fight while on the boat. Everyone did do a fantastic job! It was such a pleasant way to spend the late morning. We also had great weather that day, another Oregon rarity!

We got the boat back to the launch and I left Mr. Wiedz to get everything settled while I fed #5. #1 was a huge help and the boys waited patiently for their turn to get off the boat. We stretched our legs, used the facilities, washed our hands, got out the snacks and headed for home...where the real work began.

The boat trip was fantastic! And it's a good thing that it was because there is so much work involved with taking the boat out like that! We stopped along the way when we saw a deep boat launch and got the boat in enough to run the motor through with fresh river water to flush the salt water out. Then at home we unloaded, scrubbed the boat inside and out and dried the boat!

We were tired but had another delicious crab dinner last night!

Cousins Weekend 2010

Last year Mr. Wiedz's cousins got together for a camping trip. We went to Eastern Oregon on the only raining weekend they had last summer. Both tent awnings Mr. Wiedz's cousin had gotten as wedding presents broke in the wind. We all had a nice time, being with family is always better than the weather, but the boys said they were going to plan the next year.

This year we found a house on the second row of the beach in Pacific City. Small paths through the first row houses led to the beach. I'm usually not a beach person. I grew up going to the coast, all of my family lived at the coast but we never went to the beach. And the beach is so messy. But I decided that this trip would really be about the vacation. I would buck up about the mess and enjoy the journey.

While Mr. Wiedz and some of his cousins were out crabbing and #5 was asleep with another cousin at the house I took the big kids to the beach.

They ran...They built sandcastles...They dug...

They played... I knitted...

#5 woke up so cousin T was done watching him...the kids were ready to be done at the beach anyway so we went back to the house, showered all the sandy bodies and got into new clean clothes. Luckily the house had a washer/dryer so I was able to wash all the sandy clothes there.

After #5's lunch the kids and I headed out to Fat Freddy's for lunch. Fat Freddy's was the restaurant I went to with heather and tina in high school, we were in Pacific City for the fireworks on Forth of July and they'd had gotten hamburgers a this roadside burger joint. As a vegetarian I passed but I was so hungry I decided to have just one bite...until I HAD to have my own. I've always remembered that Fat Freddy's turned me from my vegetarianism (my mother was very happy).

The kids and I had a great lunch, Fat Freddy's would still end any ideas of vegetarianism. And walked back to the house. The big kids watched a movie while #4 found a sandy area next to the house to play. I sat outside knitting while we waited for Mr. Wiedz and the second round of cousins to come back.

The cousins and Mr. Wiedz had had wonderful luck on Wiedz Wonder and Cousins Weekend had a crab feast!

No one counted but we think there were nearly 30 dungeness crab on Saturday. The cousins and Mr. Wiedz had SO MUCH FUN on the boat! They pulled crab pots, watched the cooler get fuller and fuller, and motored around the bay.

After our fabulous crab feast Mr. Wiedz took the kids on a sunset beach walk as he had promised. Many of the cousins joined in. #5 was having his evening nap so I took the opportunity to have some minutes to myself. Some much needed minutes sitting on the couch, watching the sunset from the window, working on my quilt project.

Of course a sunset beach walk meant wading in the ocean, rolling down the dunes, and a new batch of sandy bodies and laundry to be washed. But we did it...got everyone clean and warm and in bed.

The next morning was clean up time and getting everything packed back up to head home. As we worked to get that all done Mr. Wiedz's cousins T and B were cooking up a delicious Sunday breaky!

Thank you everyone for a wonderful Cousins Weekend! Can't wait for next year!

Once in a lifetime

Mr. Wiedz and #1 went to Florence the other day for Daddy/Sissy date camping trip. They drove down the South Jetty and saw orcas (killer whales) swimming in the river. Mr. Wiedz grabbed the camera and was able to take this awesome shot before the orcas disappeared.

Mr. Wiedz contacted some coastal publications (The Siuslaw News and Oregon Coast Magazine) who are publishing the photo!

My grandfather had taken my brother, mother and I on a similar whale hunt when I was little. We also saw the orcas surface right out in front of us. Something we all still remember. #1 will remember this for a long time!

Spring Break Recap

Oh my has it been busy around here!

We enjoyed a family day at Yaquina Head Lighthouse and Interpretive Center. We went to the tide pools and found all sorts of fabulous shells and even saw some rock seals resting on the rocks. We had a second day at the beach with Grandma D at Neskowin. Digging in the sand and making a sandcastle. It didn't rain on us the whole time but #3 got knocked down by a wave and was so drenched we had to go back to the car and changed. By the time we got loaded up and to the car it was raining.

After Yaquina Head we drove down to Florence to visit my cousin and family. #1 and my cousin's oldest were SO excited to see each other. And everyone got to hold the new little. We had dinner and then at bedtime we drove home. It made for a LONG night but everyone slept better in their own beds.

Part of coming home from Florence in the night was that the next day we'd have time to do some of the home projects we'd planned. One of the home projects was shelving in the closets we got during the remodel project. I keep much of my craft supplies in one of the closets and it was quickly becoming unusable as I piled more and more into it without a organization system. The shelves are WONDERFUL! I'm not quite done putting everything away but I've enjoyed being able to move around in there. And get to my stuff...especially my scrapbooking, it was becoming a heap without any hope!

The kids have gotten to get out some of our messier craft supplies as well. Mr. Wiedz found some great watercolor paper on super sale at the University Bookstore the last day of classes before the break. There have been some great masterpieces come out of our dining room table.

We've really enjoyed our Spring Break! We have one last great part to experience. This weekend we're having a party for my brother who will be deployed in May to Iraq. My whole family is getting together at the parents to let the kids play, visit, eat, be together and enjoy our family.

Have a great weekend.