McCauley Easter

Things were certainly different at the McCauley Easter Brunch this year. For so long girls dominated the family...but this year most of Jeff's cousins were noticably absent. Kelsey is in Switzerland, Katie is in Colorado, Maryann was hosting her own event. This switch gave the boy cousins rule over the downstairs.

Which meant...they spent the morning tying one another to chairs and laughing hysterically until they fell over. Boys!

Grace wanted to be where the action was, but she wasn't very interested in what the boys were doing. Joe tried to keep her downstairs, but since everyone else was ignoring her she opted to come back upstairs and eat the jellybeans off the tables.

Easter Morning

We're not sure who was up first...but Grace decided it was time for Mom & Dad to wake up bright and early. Since she's such a cuddle bug, we coaxed her into bed with us. The boys followed, probably because they were wondering what took her so long.


Our queen-sized bed was filled to capacity, making for a cozy morning. As much as I loved it, everyone was so crowded we had to make our way downstairs to see what that crazy rabbit had left behind.

Easter Eggs

Miss Tina always makes sure my kiddos aren't denied the childhood ritual of dying Easter eggs. Nothing fancy, just eggs in the cups colored by the tablets and some vinegar if we remember it.

nailed it

I saw a tip on Pinterest this year to use a whisk to help the kids get the eggs in teh dye without coloring their fingers. Bayley figurd it out since the mama's were a little confused by this new contraption.

Next year, we may just do it with the little girls. The boys...are just so boyish. They wanted to mix the colors, leading to that lovely puce shade...and Hayden even decided to sample the dying liquid. Mmm...tasty. Not.

We boiled lots of eggs so there would be no fighting...but I think we went overboard because they wanted to play long before all the eggs had their color bath.

The whole process made Grace and Ava hungry. They decided they needed to eat thhe eggs before the dye was even dry!

No Nos

G - Don't say no to me. No is a bad word.
H - No it isn't
G - Stop saying that
H - No is not a bad word
G - You are a butthead
H - Now that is a bad word

B - Grace, you are being a hyppocrite
G - No I am not

H - You said no!
G - Aaaah!

Zip Lines!

When we arrived at the Treesort Jeff booked in zip lining for him and the boys. I did consider trying to pawn Grace off on one of the other families for a few hours... but instead I took pictures. We'll go back when she's more up for adventure.

They start things out slowly - in fact on the same line that hadt he swing seat we'd played on the day before. Once everyone was up to speed the passes grew in height, length, and speed.

Hayden went first, then Bayley, and Jeff followed. Which mean the boys were on the ground, egging Dad on and critiquing his every move!

And doesn't every mother want to see their kid suspended atop giant trees? It's scarier on the ground!

There is even one platform where you zip from one treehouse base to another! Of course this made the boys decide that when we return, we'll stay in one of those treehouses.


After the first round of lines, there was an advanced course. Since they were all pumped up they had to do that one too.

And then...the Tarzan Swing!

can you even see my baby up that tree?

Still in their harness, they were hooked onto the swing and held onto a rope that was hoisted by a golf cart until they were up a tree! And then...when they let go,  they swing out!

The guides said it was a longer drop than most bungee jumps. Egad.

Treesort

We were so looking forward to Out n about Treesort I worried we'd be let down, but it was even better than we expected -- and that was with mud and drizzle. It would be amazing in the dry summer!

Since there are so many of us, we had to have one of the bigger rooms. And with Grace we figured having our own bathroom would be a good idea as well. So we had a large room attached to the main lodge and the most comfortable beds of the entire trip. Our room had a treehouse with a loft. The boys wanted to sleep out there, but it rained all night...and I mentioned the comfy beds, right?

There was plenty to explore. Bridges connect many of the treehouses and the kids loved it. Not just our kids, all the kids staying there. The place was like summer camp, but with beds, bathrooms, and someone to make breakfast in the morning.

We got to spy some of the other digs that didn't have people in them yet. Each one was so different. Some were very rustic, others more like a bunk house, and some rather dolled up. Something for everyone.

We loved hiking around and playing on the zipline swing, spiderweb, and of course another treehouse.

The boys tried the Tarzan swing and had a great time with it. Little did we know how it works when you'er hooke dup to a zipline harness!

Of course Grace was drawn to the horses. I want to go back when she's old enough to ride. She would love it.

Great Cats World Park

Cave Junction has an animal park devoted to wild cats - including a white tiger (or 6). Since Bayley loves white tigers, we added it to our agenda. All the exhibits are behind cages, which doesn't make for the best pictures, but the kids liked seeing them and learning about the animals.

Hayden had to ask about the bite force of every animal, while Bayley was more interested in the size. Grace was into it for a while, but it seemed after she'd seen the lions she didn't see much point in the smaller cats.

And of course, because we were seeing animals with the Burke Brothers, they were sure to catch the wild beasts doing something funny. Like peeing!

Ocean World

Right by our hotel was a great little aquarium where the kids (even the big one) got to pet a tiger shark. Ocean World is much smaller than the Oregon Coast Aquarium, but we loved it. You have a tour guide who leads you through the exhibits, teaching about the different fish and animals, including stories about where each animal was found.

After so much time spent reading informational posts, the boys were more than happy to let someone else handle the learning bits.

One of the highlights for them was getting to touch a leopard shark. For me, it was later when they told the waitress at dinner how shark skin was once used for sandpaper, and that in one direction sharks feel like felt but in the other direction like sandpaper.

The other peak of the excursion was the sea lion. She did all kinds of things -- catching rings, doing sommersalts, going down a slide, jumping...the boys were mesmerised. I think they would have watched the entire show again if Grace would have stood for it.

Redwoods

The weather was not about to stop us from showing the kids the Redwoods. We decided coats and hoodies would protect us from a little rain and headed off to Trees of Mystery. Paul Bunyon and Babe are in the parking lot, Bigfoot is in the gift shop. Add in hiking and the promise of  a tram ride and the boys were happy as can be. What rain?

The path up to the tram is very educational, sharing the types of trees in the forest as well as some of the amazing phenomena like cathedral trees and trees that root themselves to the branches of others.


The boys loved climbing on and under the trees. It gave them something to do while I read the informational signs to them.

Then it was time for the tram to life us over the tops of the giant Redwoods. Since the rest of the world thought rain and forest exploring weren't a good match, we managed to score extra rides over the tree tops.

 For the hike back down you walk through giant wood carved sculptures that tell the story of Paul Bunyon and the history of the forest. Hayden's fave? The Pooped Logger. By that time on the trail, he was pretty pooped!

Harris Beach

We tried to take the kids to Harris Beach. Jeff had great memories of the tide pools there. But the wind had other ideas.

Bayley wants to go back, they have wonderful rocks for climbing. Hayden tried...and decided he needed Dad to get him back down!