remember that time...

...that I went to Oregon? Well, I did...back in June. I was there over my birthday for my cousins wedding. I promised a post about it...and then forgot. Luckily I have awesome cousins in Oregon to remind me that I am slacking on my duties. So this one's for you Becky!

First and foremost I have to say that I love, love, loved Oregon! It is such a beautiful place! I am amazed by the stunning landscapes. I loved driving along the Oregon coast and seeing pine trees next to the ocean. It was breathtaking! The first day in Oregon, my awesome cousin took my parents and I to visit the ocean. But before we got there we stopped in a little town called Tillamook, home of the Tillamook Cheese Factory:
I had no thoughts of what to expect at the cheese factory, but I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised! It was awesome to see the cheese making process. Quite intriguing indeed! I was extremely grateful that I did not work at the cheese factory because the thought of people staring at me while I work is not appealing. There is no such thing as laziness or goofing off when the whole world watches your every move. Nonetheless, it was fun to see. We got to sample all sorts of yummy cheese cubes and then we visited the souvenir shop to buy more cheese, a shot glass, a postcard and some of the world's best tasting ice cream. Perhaps my favorite part of the cheese factory tour was the fact that there were several photo ops set up everywhere. Here I am with my father:
Here I am posing with my cousin and my mother...and some cows:
This is me...typical me...being inappropriate, and wishing that my dad would hurry and take a picture before the tourists around me see what I am doing. Honk, honk!
And this is by far my favorite picture because it is so out of my mom's element. She never likes to do fun things for pictures, but for some reason the urge was too strong this day. It was embarrassing for all involved, but sure makes for a great scrapbook page!


After the Tillamook Cheese Factory we drove along the Oregon Coast on our way to Cannon Beach. Mind you, it was freezing cold and rainy that day...not your typical beach going weather. But despite mother nature's fury, it was still a great trip. Here is a picture I snapped out the window of our moving car of some rocks sticking up out of the ocean:
Beautiful right? Once we arrived at the beach it was time to get in the water...or not. Did I mention it was freezing? My mother and I thought we were going to die! We were bundled in our paper thin jackets and wishing the wind would stop blowing. I appear to be being blown over by the wind in this picture, but really I am just uncoordinated and am about to fall over due to lack of equilibrium:
While walking along the beach and wishing for sunshine I came upon this jellyfish. I am pretty sure it was dead, but I had to give it a few good squishes just in case:
And here I am, freezing again, but smiling for a picture of the beautiful rock formations in the ocean. Wish you were here:


What we did with our time after the beach and before the wedding is a blur. Actually, I think the wedding was the day after the beach...so maybe I am not forgetting anything. Regardless, my favorite, favorite experience while in Oregon just happened to take place on my birthday...and was kind of my birthday present from my cousin. You see, the guy she married has a llama, an alpaca and some goats. One of their engagement photos included their woodland friends, which peaked my interest and made me desire some shots with the animals myself. So the morning of my birthday (and the wedding) I was able to visit the animals and feed them. Here they are, anxious to greet us:
The llama was a little cranky at first, and the alpaca was just a scaredy cat, so it was mostly me and my mom feeding the goats. They were pretty much freaks...jumping up and sticking their head out of the gate for FOOD!
Pretty soon my llama friend decided it would be ok to eat out of my bucket, so we got to bond:
We really bonded (and exchanged some besos):
And once the alpaca realized that besos were involved, she ran right over and wanted food out of my bucket too! She/he/it (I am not really sure) was just a little skinny thing, so I tried to push the goats away to make sure the alpaca got some food, or what was left of it.
Yep, my llama/alpaca/goat feeding experience was thrilling...the perfect way to start my birthday...

Later on that day I got to witness my cousin get married. I am not going to post those pictures, but will just say that it was a nice wedding and a beautiful day. It was great spending time with cousins/family I have not seen in a very long time. However, I HAVE to post this picture of my cousin because I think it is hilarious! At one point during the reception we were all given glow necklaces (and for the life of me, I can't remember why). My cousin decided to make some snorkel gear with a combination of the necklaces. Not only did he sport it for a while, he then decided to take a picture, hanging from a tree over the lake. It was comical to say the least...

My family is great...and Oregon was awesome! I can't wait to go back...someday...