Jack ‘n Tracie

We’ve been SO busy this summer. Work, kids, events, etc.

August 10th we took Kayla, Katherine, Kevin, and one of Kayla/Katherine’s friends to Rockfest. That was fun. It’s been years since I’ve been to a rock concert and it was their first one.

August 21st Jack and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We spent it in Newport, Oregon this year. We drove down late Friday night (the 19th) after I got off work, and came back Monday (22nd). Friday night we had a late dinner after we arrived in Newport in one of the only restaurants open all night. It was called the Apple Peddlar. Awful food. Awful service. But we were tired and the food was edible at least. The highlight was a Newport, Oregon restaurant publication at our table. We browsed other restaurant ads and found a few ads for local shops. One, called The Sword Shop, advertised they had swords, Lord of the Rings stuff, and… “Copper Twirly Things”. Jack and I got a good laugh out of that. What is a copper twirly thing?? We had to find out. Unfortunately, we left the publication at the restaurant and promptly forgot the name of the shop.

Saturday was spent on the historical bayfront where we visited the Undersea Gardens, The Wax Works, and Ripley?s Believe It or Not!. We also browsed the many local shops. And of course at each shop we asked if they were the ones whom (who?) advertised having “Copper Twirly Things”. Most shop owners/workers looked at us like we were nuts. No matter. By this point it was our mission to find one!

We finished the night with a great dinner at Georgie’s Beachside Grill where the food was superb and the service was awesome.

Sunday we went out on the Oregon Rocket. That was a blast! From the website:

The Oregon Rocket is a 27-foot Rigid-Hull Inflatable (RHIB) - the ultimate search for sea life, scenery and speed on Oregon’s central coast! With seating for 16, the ride features goggles and a warm floatation suit (sizes S-XL) that keep you comfortable while zipping along at 45 miles per hour. Get ready for a Fast, Fun Adventure Ride!!

It turned out we were the only ones not part of the Sea Scout Troop that went out with us that day. But it was all good. The captain singled me out a lot for some reason to tease and ask questions. He knew the Sea Scout Troop (local group) so I guess he had to pick on someone new, hehe.

From there we went across the bridge to the Oregon Aquarium and visited Aquarium Village. Aquarium village is a neat idea. It’s an old storage facility turned into shops. Adorable shops! But half of them were closed and/or just moving in. There weren’t many people there so it seems like it hasn’t caught on yet. But.. it was here that we found, COPPER TWIRLY THINGS! We bought one of course.

Monday we drove a leisurely pace up Highway 101 all the way up to Astoria, then across the scary bridge to take the Washington side home. Such a beautiful drive! We stopped at a few antique shops along the way where I finally found strawberry themed items to add to my kitchen. Did you know it’s really hard to find kitchen items with strawberries on them? Everything is blueberries, grapes, cherries, or apples. Hmph.

Once back in Vancouver, it was a mad dash to fetch the kids from my sister’s house, then get Jack’s kids from their mom so we could begin their last summer visit. Jack has this week off and is spending each day doing something fun with all the kids. (cont.)

And yes, there’s more!

In September it appears every weekend is booked. Next weekend is the last official weekend of summer before school starts. I’ll have my sister’s kids here so she and her husband can enjoy a weekend away. The weekend after that is Jack’s birthday. We’ll be having a Hawaiian themed Birthday party on the 11th. If you can read this, you’re invited! Official invitations will go out soon.

The weekend after that is William Tell, which we won’t be missing. Then.. after that.. possibly a trip to California! Particularly the Los Angeles area. Why? Well, to finally meet the people I’ve worked for, for the last 1.5 years of course. I’m giddy with excitement to finally get to meet face-to-face the co-workers I’ve grown to adore during my employment with Lunarpages.