First Beach Trip!!

This weekend we were incredibly blessed with a FREE trip to the beach! Some great family friends of ours gifted us their time share at a beach condo for Friday night. We had such a great time! I've been wanting to get Abbey and Luke in the sand for a long time now, and I am so happy we finally got the chance to do it.

Not only was it special being Luke and Abbey's first time at the beach, but it was also our first vacation as a family of four. We've traveled some with extended family, but never gone out of town just us =).


It was about a 2 hour drive (our longest so far) and due to work schedules we weren't able to leave town until after nap time, so the kiddo's needed a little break about half way through the trip. We stopped at a McDonalds, as I was thinking "don't they have Playplaces in there? Yeah it'll be disgusting and we'll have to sanitize like crazy after, but it'll be a good place to stretch their legs and get some wiggles out..."
Um, can you say WRONG?!? Rookie Momma over here. I had no idea the Playplaces were geared for older children. We walked in and I took one look at the giant stairs leading to nets and tunnels and went Nope. Luke was already tearing off to climb, and was very sad to hear that we wouldn't be able to explore such treacherous heights.


Luckily, a milkshake came in close second...

=)

We piled back in the van and made our way to the beach. Once we got into town we stopped and picked up a Pizza from our favorite pizza joint over there. David and I eat there pretty much any time we are over at this beach.
And pretty much every time we go, I make David climb into one of those photo booths with me and take our pictures. This year was no exception...

(please do like I am and pretend not to notice Momma's crazy eyes in the last one. Not sure what that's about)

When we arrived at the condo we were instantly STUNNED by how beautiful it was! Seriously, this place was nicer than our house. Luxury.

As Dave and I set up pack-n-plays and settled in, the twins had the best time exploring. They went from room to room running around and shrieking. They were THRILLED to find that none of the kitchen cupboards and drawers had locks on them. I laughed out loud when I flashed back to packing the night before and wondering if 2 balls and books would be enough toys to occupy them while we were there.

They made themselves right at home...

(Abbeygirl wearing Momma's discarded shoes over her own)

We finally got them to sit down and eat some pizza before letting them free to roam again.

After more play time, it was bath and bedtime routine, and night time for Luke and Abbey. They went down fairly well (Luke without a peep, and Abbey only needed a few minutes extra comfort) and then David and I spent the evening relaxing.

At one point I left to go sit in the outdoor hot tub - which was HEAVENLY. (Before you think me a terrible wife for ditching my husband to go relax in a spa, please know we recently canceled our cable in order to cut back expenses, so he was very pleased to be reunited with the letters E,S,P and N)

The kids woke up around 7 the next morning and we made some coffee and orange rolls, and just relaxed and took our time getting ready.


Then we headed down to play on the beach!!

God was beyond gracious to us, as the Oregon Coast is not exactly known for it's great weather, let alone in October, but I tell you it was perfect out. No wind, no rain. Just a calm day to play. We didn't even need our jackets, and ditched our hats half way through our play time.

The kids took right to the sand. Luke got right to work digging, just as I thought he would =).







Abigail pointing out a seagull flying over head..."BIRD!!!!"

"This stuff is AWESOME!!"




Daddy took the babies out to see the waves...



...and then reigned them back in when they got a little too comfortable...



The boys threw some rocks...

The kids ran and ran and ran...

...until they were captured, that is =)...





The Momma and her babies...






Our adorable baby boy...


Our adorable baby girl...




After plenty of beach time, we made our way back to our place to change into swimsuits and enjoy the heated pool.



After that, it was time for comfy clothes, pack up our stuff, and naps for two of us on the drive home. A good time was had by all...=)