Tillamook Cheese Factory

It rains a lot in Portland and to be honest I get annoyed by it.  I try to not let it get to me, but every now and then it bugs me.  I grew up in Colorado and then lived in Idaho and Utah until I was 25.  I got used to having 4 different seasons during the year; winter, spring, summer and fall.  In Oregon I feel like we have 2 seasons; more wet and less wet.

There are times in Oregon when winter brings snow and when summer brings hot/warm weather, but the snow doesn't last and the hot doesn't linger.  And it gets to me.  I miss hot, hot summers where all  you want to do is go to the pool and eat ice cream.   I miss winters with snow that lasts for weeks.  I miss seeing trees and yards blanketed in snow.  In the fall, I miss walking through crunchy leaves; you can't do that in Oregon because the leaves on the ground are always soggy.  I also miss being able to sit on the grass in the springtime...that too is always wet.

This summer seems particularly wet.  Even Oregonians say it seems colder and wetter than normal.  But, I've been hearing that pretty much every year since I moved here in 2003.  I think summers in Oregon are just wet and cold with the occasional day or (if we are lucky) a week or 2 (or 3!) of warm weather.  I know I should be grateful for the warm days, but sometimes I feel a bit bitter because it should just be warm ALL THE TIME during the summer.  Not just every now and then.  

Last Saturday was deliciously warm and we spent 4 hours at the pool.  We would have been there longer had the pool been open for more than 4 hours.  Sunday, was also nice...colder, but still sunny.  But, on Monday we woke up to rain and grey skies.  That was irritating and I was grumpy about it.  It was then I decided to load the girls in the car and make our way to the Tillmook Cheese Factory to get some ice cream.  Ice cream makes lots of things better and Tillamook makes the best.  2 hours later we arrived and feasted on some tasty ice cream.  Shelby had bubble gum and chocolate and I enjoyed my all-time favorite, Grandma's Cake Batter.  To make our trip even better it wasn't raining at the coast!!  Which isn't usually the case.

 A found a nice lady who took this picture for us!

 Watching the workers cut huge blocks of cheese!

Bubble gum!

This was Shelby's favorite part of the factory.  She could have played in there for hours if other kids didn't want a turn. Or if I was nicer.  

Now for the chocolate!

We spent 2 hours at the factory and considering it took 2 hours to get there I didn't want to leave for home just yet so we made our way to the Cape Mears Lighthouse.  Such a beautiful day at the coast!

This was Gretchen's first time at the coast, but by the time we got there she was asleep and wasn't able to see it.  I took her picture just so I could prove she was there.   It's cute how she is squinting her eyes at the light in her sleep. 

 Thank you Tillamook for turning a raining day into a fun day!