Beach Getaway!

Generous friends of ours let us use their Lincoln City beach house last week, and it was really wonderful! (Thank you Norlanders!! xo)

Josh and John (friend & pastor) spent the week in St. Louis eating their way through the city, okay and attending a church conference. ;)

So Hannah (friend & John's wife) and I, along with our kids, spent that week relaxing at the beach. We had beautiful weather, amazing sunsets and even SNOW!!

Our drive over the mountain to the coast was really dreamy, with snowy treetops surrounding us. It felt so good to be in the toasty warm car, sipping a latte, and enjoying my kids' company. (Jude snapped this pic.)

I always feel like I've just taken a huge deep breath when I arrive at the beach. It's the most peaceful place. The calming colors, the rhythm of the waves, and the salty scent make me so happy! We settled right into our friends' beautiful vacation home.

I think Ruby was ready for a great week. ;)

That evening we made our way down to the beach.

The kids were immediately lost in a world of imagination.

We soaked up the calming beauty.

One of my favorite parts of this trip was the amount of time Hannah and I got to spend in conversation. She is wise beyond her years and has a heart of gold; I'm so thankful for her friendship. 

From this little spot we all enjoyed watching the whales! We saw so many spouting, there must've been a pod there just beyond the surf. It was fun to see whale spouts each day and then watch their backs crest.

On our second day we explored the tide pools.

And then that evening Hannah had the idea to build a campfire on the beach and roast marshmallows. The kids loved it.

What a dreamy setting to get to enjoy all together.

Jude was looking so much older to me on this trip! All my kids were. But he's just really turning into a teenager.

These kids have a lot of fun together.

The sunset that evening was unreal! I couldn't stop snapping pictures.

We made our way back up the hill to the house. And dumped the sand from our boots.

I photographed the sunset in the reflection of the beach house windows, and from the deck.

The next day we woke up to SNOW! The kids played in it for about 30 minutes.

Then we drove up to Tillamook to visit the Cheese Factory, which was really fun.

We got to learn how cheese is produced and packaged for distribution.

The kids discovered that they liked most of the cheese varieties at the sampling station.

We all enjoyed a scoop of Tillamook ice cream... yum!

Goofballs and cheese curdles in an elevator.

Thanks Tillamook, for the fun self-tour!

It was such a treat to get to be around a baby and toddler for the week! Ruby and Pearl are the cutest. 

Ben isn't around babies very often, so he was really taken with Ruby.

One morning the kids were playing Reverse Charades and Pearl was the one guessing and oh man, it was the sweetest thing!! The kids would do something like point to their wrist to act out telling time and Pearl would say, "Pointing at your wrist!" And then they'd act out looking through binoculars and Pearl would say, "Looking through hands on your eyes!" And the kids would say, "Yes! Good job Pearl!" :) I don't think I could've smiled any bigger. She was so literal and saying everything in the cutest little toddler voice and they were cheering her on. I even love that she's on her tip-toes in this pic... she was one of the big kids for sure.

It was pretty sweet to watch. It sure made us all smile.

What a precious week with friends. Our hearts left full and thankful to God for his goodness toward us! He is hope and joy, love and peace, and life!

And how sweet it was to welcome Josh home. 💙