Long Beach Trip

 

Greetings from.....

 

 

....Washington that is.

 

Home of the ....

 

So why is there more than one "Long Beache?" That is the question of the day.

 

 Personally if I were naming the town....

 

 

Long Bridge would be my choice.

 

(This bridge is 4 whopping miles long. It is the bridge from Astoria to Long Beach)

 

 

We stayed in these seaside condos with Ric, Lori, and of course the kids. These condos  were beautiful, spacious and pet friendly. We will be going back!

 

 

This is a picture I found on the interweb showing the beautiful path to the beach.

 

 

"Our most important and powerful assignments are in the family. They are important because the family has the opportunity at the start of a child’s life to put feet firmly on the path home.”

(Henry B Eyring)

 

This family was ready for some serious Rest and Relaxation.

 

 

Don't let the dreary tones fool you....it is never to wet or dismal to enjoy the beach!

 

Emilee could not wait to start digging and getting dirty.

 

I just really like this man!

 

I know I have said it 1000 times but I love to watch these two interact. I love how they learn and explore together. Jaxson does a great job of teaching his little sister.

 

Building sandcastles and memories.

 

Looking good Nana and Pop-pop. These two were the icing on the cake to our perfect weekend. They are a good time for sure. It was so good to see both of them healthy and invigorated. 

 

Andrew is a great teacher, although all Emilee wanted to do was knock over the castle. I am glad he was willing to get dirty.

 

This is the point in time where we had to teach Jaxson the danger of turning his back to the water. Luckily Pop-pop knew exactly how to teach him in that situation.

 

2/3 of me is thinking....."Oh how cute!"

1/3 of me is thinking.... "Bath time is sure going to be fun!"

 

I love this picture that Andrew captured, it is Emilee in her very essence, serious but inquisitive. I also love Jaxson running to her from the background. I am thinking he had some cool shell to show her.

 

This is the closet in Jaxsons room. Jaxson says "This is a great room. The closet was a fun place to sleep."

I do not know how he survived the night sleeping there with out breaking his neck!

 

 

Nana brought lots of fun games that entertained the kids.

 

Say cheese

 

 

We brought the family down to the pool for some wetness and fun. Emilee took one look at the pool and started to freak out. It seems as though she does NOT like swimming pools. It struck me how dramatically different my children are. They sure came to this world loaded with their own individual spirits. My mind couldn't help but begin to daydream about this new baby. What will she be and look like? How will she change and influence the family dynamic?

 

I can't wait for the post when I can finally answer these mysteries.

 

 

Andrew was such a good sport. He was freezing and still stayed to play. Just another reason why I love the man.

 

Andrew enjoyed teaching Jaxson how to swim. Jaxson was afraid of the deep end but slowly warmed up to the teaching. 

 

Andrew and Ric in their domain. Andrew has frequently mentioned that since our marriage he finds himself becoming more and more like his dad. Most notably he has developed a true love of being in the kitchen. He likes to experiment and pick Rics brain for recipies and ideas.

 

Jaxson and I woke up at the crack of dawn to see if we could beat the birds to the Sand dollars. Yes I am looking half crazy....that my friends is why I wear makeup.

 

It was FREEZING, so I gave Jaxson my jacket.

(Just a note to the future Jaxson....I love you. This is not only proof of that but proof you used to think I was the bees knees!)

 

Jaxson built quite the shell collection. It is currently stinking up the house!

Looking for shells was my favorite part of the weekend. We found two sand dollars....I was so excited, it was better than finding gold.

 

 

“Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3).

 

 

"When the seas of life are stormy, a wise mariner seeks a port of peace. The family, as we have traditionally known it, is such a refuge of safety." (Thomas S. Monson)

 

 

 

Emilee loves shoes!

Just another moment showing me why I love being a mother.

 

This is a sure sign that someone was having some serious fun!!!!

 

Emilee just looking for something to eat.

 

 

Some how I would like to morph the two of these pics to get the appearance of children cooperating for a picture.

 

Not only the worlds longest beach....but biggest frying pan as well.

 

Not sure the significance of this whale but we had our picture taken by it anyways.

 

Nana and Pop-pop were excited to take the kids to see Jake - The Alligator Man.

 

Personally, they had me at FREE!

 

Not going to lie.....Jaxson was scared out of his gourd. Good thing he had Nana there for protection.  He did eventually warm up to the sight, enough to purchase a button featuring this freaky creatures image!

 

 

As usual, time went by faster than desired. Before we knew it the weekend was at a close and we had to head home.

 

These kids are pretty cute car passengers.

 

Ham-bone

 

Lookin good in that hood Andrew!

(Thanks for always pumping the gas regardless of the elements)

 

Just in case you forgot what I look like.

 

I did crack up over this moment. Jaxson constructed a pulley system in the back of the car.

 

I am not sure if he had more fun making the contraption or explaining to me what a pulley was.

 

Dog leash hooked to a binki?

Little sister thought this was so funny.

 

The best part of the drive home was reading my favorite childhood book, Farmer Boy, to my husband and children

 

 "People facing death don’t think about what degrees they have earned, what positions they have held, or how much wealth they have accumulated. At the end, what really matters is who you loved and who loved you. That circle of love is everything, and is a great measure of a past life. It is the gift of greatest worth.” (Thomas S. Monson)