The beautiful beach!

Every so often, you get a perfect weather weekend at the beach, and when you do, it is just heavenly! (That's literally how I felt, too, I'm not even exaggerating--that being at the beach, hearing/seeing the ocean, and feeling the sun on my face is a little glimpse of heaven.) This last weekend we took a trip to Seaside, Oregon, and after a week of rainy, cool weather at home, we were praying for a nice weekend. Thank you, Lord, for providing! :)
Friday, the girls & I headed up there with my parents so that we could get an early start on the weekend. (Keith would meet us after work.) Much to our delight, the closer we got to the ocean, the more the clouds moved away. :) We got to our beach house and had lunch, and then we took the short walk down to the beach. Hannah started lounging in the sand the moment we got there, and although Gemma was napping in the Ergo at first, she eventually woke up & played with the sand, too. Both girls really like the sand, and Hannah spent lots of time rolling around, making sand angels, and digging.

Here's Hannah & Grandpa building a sand castle...I wonder who did the majority of that project??

And one of Gemma & Grandma. (By the way, my mom didn't even have to wear her hood on Saturday, and that is really saying something for the weather at the beach if my mom doesn't wear a sweatshirt!)
After awhile, we decided to head back to the house so we could clean up before dinner. We had a yummy dinner at Dooger's (one of our favorites!), and then we walked around town for a bit. By then, Keith was there, so we met him back at the house. The girls went to bed okay, and then we all turned in after watching a movie on TV.
Saturday morning we woke up to clear blue skies and lots of sunshine--no ocean mist! After breakfast, we all headed downtown and spent the obligatory time in the arcade. We decided Hannah was probably still a tad young for most of the games, although she enjoyed this one:

I've always loved playing SkeeBall, so I thought Hannah would want to try that. After watching most of her balls roll right back down the track or having to protect our heads from a flying ball or two, we figured that game may have to wait a year or two. She has good form, though, huh?

Both girls got to go on this ride, and I guess Gemma went on it again after we took Hannah to turn in her tickets. My mom thinks she's going to be the daredevil of the two girls. I guess only time will tell...

Hannah's favorite part of the arcade was definitely getting to turn in her tickets (most of which were won by Grandma & Grandpa) for a prize. She chose the bluest, biggest, brightest candy available, of course, and enjoyed every morsel.
Hannah also tackled the carousel this year, which she attempted to ride a few times last year during our trip to the beach. She would watch, get in line, and then decide at the last minute that she just couldn't take the plunge. But this year, she did it, and smiled the whole time! (Keith, on the other hand, did not smile the whole time, as he isn't fond of rides. What a good sport, Daddy!)

After the arcade, we headed back to the house to grab a bite of lunch before heading back to the beach. With the gorgeous sunshine overhead, I think we were all itching to get on that sand! The afternoon was wonderful, and--believe it or not, you Oregon Coast visitors--the ocean was WARM! Keith and I did some body surfing two different times that afternoon, and we could not believe how nice the water felt. I thought I was back in Hawaii! (Okay, maybe it wasn't quite that warm, but it was definitely 70-ish, which felt perfect on a warm summer day.) Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that because 1) our camera ran out of batteries and 2) there's just no good way to bring a camera down to the tide. Either you end up wishing you'd left it back on the blanket because you decide you want to swim, or you feel paranoid that you're going to drop it.
Anyway, that afternoon will last in my memory for a long time, as it was very special & fun. Hannah & Gemma had a ball in the sand with Grandma & Grandpa, and they both squealed with delight as they tried putting their feet in the water. Here they are, enjoying every minute:

Note that Hannah's suit is absolutely COVERED in sand--it is not typically brown. :)
After a while, Grandma & Grandpa kindly brought the girls back to the house to wash them up & let Gemma have a nap, so Keith and I were able to stay down at the beach for a little while longer. It was so nice to read, people watch, and see Keith jumping around like a little boy in the waves. :) He dragged me back in after I was just getting warmed up, but I was glad he did--we had so much fun body surfing & enjoying the water!
Eventually, we reluctantly headed back to the house for dinner. After a delicious BBQ with all the fixin's, we had s'mores over the campfire, and that is always fun! That night everyone went to sleep really quickly, dreaming of the sand & shore, I'm sure. :)
Sunday we woke up to another brilliant, sunny day, and we were sad to think about leaving the coast. We headed to breakfast at the good old Pig n' Pancake, where Uncle Erik met us for the morning. After some pancakes and eggs, we did what would make the most sense: took a trip to the candy store! We stocked up on taffy (of course!) and some other bulk candy, and then we realized it was time to say good-bye to the beach. (Sniff, sniff!) We walked on the prom for one last look at the ocean, and it did not disappoint--so gorgeous! (Again, no picture because my camera was out of batteries. Boo.)
It's funny that every time we leave the beach, we say "We should take more day trips here!" And do we? Well.....no! Maybe this time will be different, though, right? ;)
At any rate, this weekend was SO fun, and the only bummer was that it didn't include my sissy Senia and the rest of the Nelson family. :( I thought of you often, Senia, and we wished you could have been there during the many traditional beach activities. Maybe next year! (Or on one of those one-day trips that we'll be taking so often...)