Marilyn's Visit

At the beginning of March my sister-in-law Marilyn called and mentioned she'd love to drive to Portland and visit sometime at the end of the month. Her daughter Eliza was getting married on the 7th and she wanted to plan something fun for after the wedding.

That's why I was surprised when she called just two days after the wedding and said she was coming that week. She brought her five youngest kids (she has nine) and drove up to visit Mark and Malinda, then Emily before heading out to see me. She had mentioned wanted to go to the coast, so we decided to rent a beach house near Cannon Beach, our favorite place.

I met Marilyn and Emily one afternoon at Camp 18, our favorite "cinnamon rolls the size of your face" place. Then the kids played near the river behind the restaurant while we got some time to chat and catch up. My brother won the lottery when he married Marilyn. She is one of the best people I know and I love spending time with her.

The beach house we rented was in Manzanita, a pretty town south of Cannon Beach. It was really cute and quaint and had a really fun layout. There was a large room upstairs for the adults to visit in and a game room with bunk beds downstairs for the kids. One thing I didn't like though was that there was a wood burning stove that I was terrified Teddy was going to touch and burn his hands on, so he had to constantly be watched. Then there were the stairs he kept trying to go down, so we had to keep a chair in front of them as well as all the little game pieces he put in his mouth and... let's just put it this way: Teddy is so busy he finds trouble wherever he is. So busy baby aside, the house was great.

Emily and Paul in front of beach house on Sunday before church

I should mention that all the husbands were absent- Ben was home working on his website, Darren had to work, and David took the four older kids to Goblin Valley. So it was just us three women with 11 kids under the age of 12. Was it crazy? Absolutely. But a really good kind of crazy.

The weather wasn't great but we still ventured out to Neahkahnie beach when arrived on Friday.

This kid and his facial expressions. He just kills me.

 She could play in sand all day and be absolutely content. 

His first taste of sand. I think his face says it all.

 Selfie with Marilyn

 We three women with Owen at Marilyn's feet. We had so much fun together!

Saturday we drove into Cannon Beach and explored. Our first stop was Crepe Neptune, a dessert place that a few friends had recommended to me.

 Delicious!

 This girl is the cutest thing. She is so fun and well-natured... I just love having her as my little buddy.

 After crepes, Emily had the genius idea of putting all the kids in her car with a movie on and having Paul watch them. It was great! That way we were able to freely peruse the shops, something I had never done. We had a lot of fun together.

That night we got pizza for take-out, talked about mom-life and the end of the world, and enjoyed a fire in the stove. We stayed up late then woke up early on Sunday to go to church in Seaside. I always love going to church in the area where we are traveling- it's so fun to see the Saints in the other places. 

After church Emily headed home for Hermiston and Marilyn drove to our home in Wilsonville. Ben was so excited when we arrived, and since it was a stormy Sunday, I made soup and french bread for dinner. We had seven kids and three adults in our little apartment, so it was a little cramped, but we loved it and ate together as best we could. At that point we felt we needed to get out, so we walked to a local park and, although everything was soaked, we had a great time chatting and the kids had a great time playing and getting wet.

That night, after the kids were in bed, Ben and I visited with Marilyn. It was wonderful to get time to chat with her- we have never really lived near David and Marilyn and so Ben has never really gotten to know Marilyn well. Talking until late was a great chance for Ben to get to know her and me to pick her brain on a myriad of subjects.

The next day Marilyn and her kids headed home, and I was left with a happy feeling that they came. Living far from family makes every visit that much more special, and the visit from Marilyn was a really special one.