Thanksgiving in Oregon

We just got back from Thanksgiving in Oregon. We decided to drive rather than fly, and with the recent drop in gas prices, it cost half as much as we thought it would....Thank you Lord!! The boys did pretty good considering. It was 15 hours each way, so we broke up the trip and stayed the night in Coeur D'Alene on the way there and back. Praise the Lord for portable DVD players!!! We went to the coast for a few days with Jon's best friend Vaughn and his family, then went back to McMinnville (Jon's hometown) for a few days. Here are a few pics from our trip:

Caleb is making sure the stuffed cheetah has a heartbeat:
Here's Ethan with Grandpa Gross who he met for the first time on this trip:

Caleb and I with Vaughn and his youngest daughter Ellie, watching the day after Thanksgiving parade down Main st.:

Believe it or not, that's Jon and Caleb up on the bridge at Multnomah Falls:

Jon with the boys at Multnomah:

We went to a small aquarium at Seaside where they had seals that you could feed. Here's Jon and Caleb with the fish:

We caught Caleb in action throwing the fish:

Here's a few of the very happy, well fed seals:

Jon and Caleb at the beach in Seaside:

Caleb and I finding shells in the sand:

Caleb ran at the birds and scared them away:

Caleb's favorite part about the beach - laying down in the sand and playing with sticks: