3-19
Next up? Face Rock Creamery for some cheese samples and super yummy ice cream! They have kids cups for only $2 and the portion is huge. In a surprising move, Charlie settled on Cookies and Cream while Alanna and Molly got Mint Chocolate Chip to share. Though Face Rock Creamery sometimes makes it (and sometimes doesn't) into our usual Bandon rotation, today we had to stop for an extra special treat for our birthday boy. A special day calls for special activities and treats!!
We stopped downtown Bandon for a bit and walked around to our usual stops; Cranberry Sweets and the toy store. Charlie found a cute little semi truck with a scenic picture collage of Oregon landmarks on the side and asked if he could buy it. I thought about it for a minute and then said yes. That hardly ever happens for our kids - our default answer is no when they ask for toys or things from the store. It was so fun to say YES for once!! Charlie picked out the semi truck and Alanna and Molly got to pick out a stuffed mermaid doll. Alanna got a mermaid with pink hair from Polejewskis for Christmas and it is so cute and fun. She added a blonde mermaid and Molly picked out a purple haired one. I think Molly picked purple because it's a color she knows and can say. :) We looked around the store and played for a bit before making our purchases. I snapped a few pictures by the waterfront and then we headed to a different beach for a bit. We were planning to come back to the waterfront to eat a seafood dinner at one of the fish and chips style places right on the water. (If you notice that there is only three kids sitting with Matt it's because Molly was not being very cooperative for a picture.)
Sister squeezes!
This is the beach by Coquille Point (the grassy area with the walking path up on the bluff). There is some great tide pooling here! The tide was out and we saw a few sea anenomes. Instead of walking north from Coquille Point, we walked south down the beach a bit. The kids were running non stop - out to the water, back up on the sand, on the dunes, around rocks... constant motion! Instead of looking down for treasures this time, I felt myself looking out at the ocean as if this were the very last time I would ever see it. Yes, this was our last trip to the coast while we are living in Roseburg, but it's not like we won't see the ocean again. I have loved living near the coast and am so, so, so thankful for the experience. In the same breath, now that I know what it's like to live near the coast, I am that much more convinced that I am truly an ocean person. More specifically, a Pacific Northwest person. Look at these pictures! How can you NOT love it here? We all love Oregon and are sad to be leaving. It's hard to say exactly what will happen in the future, but I'm hopeful that our tenure in the Pacific Northwest is just on hold for a bit and that someday, somehow we will end up in Oregon or Washington again.
:)
Not our best family picture, but we're all in it and looking toward the camera. Success.
Matt held Hattie while she slept for a while all cozy in her fleece suit.
I love Molly and the pop of color she brings to the picture.
We were running around playing tag with the waves and running around a few bigger rocks (not this one pictured, but a bigger one just out of the shot) when a sneaker wave came up and got us! I scooped up Molly and ran off with Alanna while Matt darted back with Hattie. Unfortunately, Charlie changed his mind and tried to go back around the rock instead of just going the way he was heading. When he did that, his path and the path of the wave collided and his whole leg from his knee down got soaked. Thankfully it wasn't super cold outside so he was able to just keep on going. After a minute or two of shock and awe, he laughed it off. We never go to the coast without extra clothes so he was ok knowing that he could change into dry pants when we got back the van. He was so surprised!
Do you see anything in the tide pool, Molly?
My love.
More of my loves loving each other. Precious.
A fishing boat way out in the water.
Another one of my loves...
Our birthday boy!
Our littlest lovie. We are more than blessed.
Before walking up the steps leading back to the car, I grabbed a picture of Matt and his beach babies. Molly wasn't too interested. She was so tired!
A final farewell to the Oregon coast. I kept feeling saltwater on my face. Wait, those were tears.
Though it doesn't look it in the above picture, it was actually getting fairly dark outside. The longer days kept us at the beach for a long time soaking up every minute we could. As a result, when we drove the 5 minutes back to downtown Bandon, it was probably 7:30 or after and the three little crab shacks by the waterfront had closed for the night! Bummer! We chose a different cafe (Minute Cafe) and ordered a platter of fried fish and shrimp. It was beyond delicious! Charlie feasted on a birthday grilled cheese and fresh fruit while Alanna had fish and Molly had a giant pancake. We were so hungry by the time we ate dinner! There were a few other groups in the restaurant but overall it was pretty quite. We closed the place down - I guess they close at 8 but we didn't get done eating until 8:30. It was a late night and every minute was just so much fun. We celebrated our birthday boy by spending quality time together at the beach. What could be better than that?
Even though it was after 10 when we got home, Charlie wanted to have a birthday treat. I got him a bowl of dirt cake with a gummy worm for a late-night dessert. He had a great day. We all did.
Our special six-year-old!
