finally!

december 26-28, we headed to lincoln city, oregon...a fabulous beach town, to celebrate derek's (well, his name is actually 'Roo' according to me) birthday. we have made a little tradition out of heading to the coast for a couple days when we are up. it was storming like crazy...sideways rain. we had the 6 of us (i must admit, we are all pretty fun people), our 5 dogs, games, books, and a roaring fireplace.

the happy couple pre-engagement

5 dogs waiting for a treat

kels and roo in the cabin the morning of their engagement!

snuggling couch kids

perfectly cheesy, yet somehow adorable picture of sister and brother-in-law. scary part is, i am pretty sure they didn't know the other was making the same expression.

roo bought himself a 'game' on his phone for his birthday...the oregon trail. he proceeded to play for about the next 24 hours. by the time he got to oregon, kels and i had been killed off from like 18 broken limbs combined and cholera...meanwhile only matt and derek made it all the way there! haha.

now THIS was hilarious to witness. not sure what started the rough-housing with matt and my mom.




when the weather broke, we bolted down to the beach. dogs. dogs. and more dogs.



some engagement photos...



random fun on the beach...



attempted family photo. oops, denali had other plans!

after walking down the beach a ways, we realized the tide was coming in...large waves were hitting the wall! run...

after a wonderful trip to the beach, the dogs were ready to head back...first ones in the car!