Oregon - The Stephanie Inn

Well, Oregon was green and BEAUTIFUL. It was just so overwhelming that you just can't capture the splendor of it in a picture! We tried. 93 times we tried. Here are a couple of some good ones.

The seaside was incredible. A huge beach that went for miles. The big attraction is Haystack Rock that has all kinds of living stuff on it, from birds to sea stars. I know it looks small in the pictures, but is actually 235 feet tall. Can you say... 'Goonies'?

The Inn itself was very nice. Very elegant. Very pampering and just a wonder to look at. All kinds of flowers and just awesome stuff.

The last day it rained, which would make you think that the day was ruined and too foggy to see anything, but it actually made some of the stuff even MORE amazing.

We saw a bunch of other really awesome stuff, but I just can't post them all here. The BEST part of the trip... BY FAR... was getting to hang out with my best friend... my wonderful wife :)

South Beaching it...

Well, I'm on to the South Beach Diet. It's kind of like Atkins without the fat and a few more good carbs.

A little rough though after coming off of the vacation diet... you know, blue berry scones, fresh cherries, strawberries, mango, pineapple, kiwi and every other fruit you can think of. Steak, baked potatoes (the worst carb on the SBD), shrimp, pasta, sourdough bread, rosemary bread and every other type of baked item you can think of. Tillamook Ice Cream (I didn't even know it existed before this week, but it is a wonderful thing).

I skipped the customary Friday morning bagel with cream cheese and went with an egg, bacon and spinach panini (minus the panini). Then lunch was In-n-Out burger! Protein style! Ice tea. Not bad. I think I can handle this. Just ate my 15 almonds and I'm sipping some coffee (black). I think I can do this. Brandi is making tacos for dinner (no sour cream and romaine instead of tortillas). Good stuff. I think I can hang with this. Phase one is good.

Harsh reality

I think you know what I'm talking about. The alarm goes off on the first day after vacation. It takes a good minute or two to realize what is happening, then another minute or so to convince yourself that it is real. Ouch.

Oregon was fantastic! I will try and upload some of the pictures tonight. Quite a shocker walking out of the airport into 105 degree weather at 8:30 at night. That's just wrong!

I sat next to a sleepy little boy on the plane ride over. His name was Gabriel. Hmmm. Gabriel Wayne is definitely a contender.

Kidos

Okay, so this is the second time I have given the kids a hair cut. The first time went really well, so I assumed that it would go equally well this time... of course, I wanted to do it a little bit different. They didn't turn out quite as well as I hoped, but hey, they look better than they did with their 'hippie' hair.

We also recently purchased some REAL beds for the kids! They were very excited. Up until this point Hunter's bed had been a box spring and matress on the ground. We also played musical rooms. Kyle went in with Jacob and Hunter moved into what used to be the office. We decided that this would also be a good time to get them all some bedding. Finally the camo wall in Jacob and Kyle's room actually matches with the beds. It looks great! I love it! ...and the kids do too :)

Names for baby #4

Okay so we are thinking about kid names and we are stumped. There are a few that we are bouncing around right now.

Stephen Wayne
Austin Davidson
Christian Wayne

Any preferences?

It's GO TIME when I get back!

I am on a weight loss kick. Part of my new year's resolutions, which this year I have really been doing grea... okay, well better than average.

I'm in a weight loss contest as well. I'm down about 25 pounds right now and I'd really like to drop at least 30 more in the next 7 weeks (after the vacation of course).

Anybody got any good weight loss tips? I'll be reading the South Beach Diet on the plane ride over to Oregon. I've already read the Zone and the You Diet, along with half a dozen other ranging from a method of losing weight by breathing and a special exercise plan created by the guy who was in charge of training the Israeli Defense Force. What can I say, I'm kind of a junky when it comes to this kind of stuff. Always looking for the BEST thing!

What's your method?

Back on board...

Stay tuned. We are starting to pack for our Oregon trip! Yeah! Well, my wife said that we need to pack, but come on, it's three days in Oregon. Ten minutes tops! I don't know any guy who would take longer than 15 minutes to pack for a three day trip, and that's if you have to throw a couple of shirts in the drier with some Febreeze for 10 minutes. Not that I ever do that :)

What's your fastest packing time?