Life's A Beach!

The summer has come and gone in the blink of an eye.  The weather has  been amazing, the kids have enjoyed playing with the neighbors; we've played in the sprinkler and consumed more Otter Pops than my freezer can hold.  Somehow, it is August.  Back-to-School supplies line the shelves of every store.  The moms joke that we are ready for the kids to be back in school, but honestly I am NOT ready for the schedules that come with the school year.  And I'm really not ready for the kids to be gone all day.  As we stare down the calendar, make those last-minute appointments for the dentist, haircuts, and resume soccer practice...you start to feel panic set in.  My sister just sent her daughter off to her first day of Kindergarten yesterday!  Seriously...it's going too fast.  What didn't we do yet?  Turns out, if you ask your kids, they will come up with a list a MILE long. 

At the top of their list... going to the beach.  With temperatures climbing again here in Portland, all of the neighbor children occupied elsewhere today, AND the calendar empty... I decided that the coast was just the place to go!  The kids were thrilled and were anxious to throw on their suits, pack up the car and head out. 

As we neared the coast, I watched the temperature drop about 20 degrees...I kid you not.  I thought to myself, "WHY haven't I learned yet?!?!"  Seriously, we left the house and it was 80+ degrees.  We showed up at Tolovana Beach and it was 64.  BRRRRRR!!!!  Oh, and we were already in our bathing suits.  Thankfully, it was lunchtime, and we were at Mo's.  Clam chowder?  Oh even yesser!

Since it was pretty windy, and that wind was downright chilly, I decided to try Arcadia Beach first.  There's a large rock wall that blocks the wind, and is a lesser-known  beach close to the Cannon Beach area.  We hauled all of our gear (umbrellas, blankets, sand toys, camera, cooler, kite, chair) down the path and set up our spot. 

Soooo glad we brought some shade with us!

We enjoyed playing in the ocean, collecting shells, exploring some of the tide pools, and just spending some quality time together.  I think we really needed that.  The kids have been picking on each other and getting on each others nerves.  And they've been pushing ALL of my buttons.  So an impromptu day at the beach was just what their future therapists would have ordered. ;-) 

Lauren's Footprints

No fighting.  Seriously.  It was bliss.

A favorite game... running from the incoming tide!

Not a bad self-pic...

and then this very nice lady offered to take our picture!

Lauren leaping.  Everywhere!

I needed to look back on this picture after they both got sent to their rooms after dinner tonight...

So much fun!

And look what I actually got to do...

Yes, the perk of having older children.  Until they keep begging you to go by the water.  Which I won't let them do ALONE, thankyouverymuch. 

We stopped in Cannon Beach for ice cream on the way home.  It was a wonderful day with the kids, and Andrew was thrilled to check another item off of his "must haves" for summer break.  I'm so glad that we were able to pick up and go to the coast for the day.  We live in such a beautiful state, that offers us so many different places to explore.  Up next on Andrew's list?  Oaks Park.  It's gonna have to cool down a little bit before we take that one on... But we are counting down the days until we head to Sun River!  And Chris actually gets to come with us! ;-)