End of Summer at the Beach

Time for some family fun at the Oregon coast. This is Avery, a friend of the family since the day he was born to my daughter's best friend. He and the grandson are within months of the same age and have been like brothers all their lives. He is the sun to the mystery man's moon (thank you, Loretta, for that term which fits our boy to a tee); talkative, bubbly and outgoing. He was fun to have along.

A hopeful seagull, waiting for a handout.

The weather was gnarly after the first day so we all spent a lot of time just looking at the pounding surf from the warmth of the living room. On Sunday we spent at least 8 hours watching a marathon of Miami Ink and LA Ink. It was great fun watching all the tattooing and hearing all the stories behind the tattoos. John and I don't have cable so we had never seen the series.

Cooper is growing up. He was so happy to see his crazy cousin Moose show up for some serious beach romps. Ear to ear grins and wild cavorting ensued.

Crazy cousin Moose.

The quiet man plays a video game. His was one of the Birthdays celebrated this month.

So Birthday presents of course.

Salad from the garden.

Cooper loves to play Yahtzee but needs help with the math.

Everyone napping - tired, sandy, rested, happy. Good to go, good to return home. I appreciate my funny and entertaining family more with each passing year. This has been our end of summer celebration for the past 5 years or so and it is a wonderful way to end the season. On the drive home we remarked that the maple is turning (colors) now and the pumpkins are being harvested. The rains are here and the house was cold. Fall greets us after summer gave us everything she had. One last long good-bye and then we turn to the spooky season.