Every year, since Eliana was one, we have gone to the Oregon Coast for a mini vacation. Karina started asking in February if we could go to the beach soon, and every day there was sun (which isn't common in the winter here), she would say, "It is sunny today. This is a good day to go to the beach, right Mommy? Isn't that a good idea?" So, instead of waiting until late summer, as we usually do, we decided to go ahead and take the kids to the beach in May. Here we are starting out Friday morning...
We arrive at the hotel in Lincoln City in the afternoon. This is the kids' first view of the ocean through the window at the hotel. Eliana is quite excited.
The girls were so excited, you can see here they are hugging. Gabriel wasn't too clear on what was going on, and kept saying "wawee, wawee" (water, water) Yes, Gabe, that is a lot of water!
Once we got into the room, we quickly suited up to head for the beach. The weather report said it was supposed to rain all weekend, but it was still warm and sunny on Friday when we arrived, so we wanted to take full advantage of the beach weather. Gabey was not used to wearing shorts...
Gabriel usually has a onesie on, so he finds shirts that he can lift up very interesting.
Once out on the beach, we discovered that Gabriel is following exactly in the footsteps (or non-footsteps) of his sisters, and going through a I-hate-sand stage. Eliana felt this way at the exact same age, when we happened to be in Hawaii for a week! Here you can see Elvin trying to put Gabriel down on the sand, and Gabriel making very sure his feet don't touch down!
Holding a shovel, but not wanting to touch the sand….
Karina settled right in to dig and play. Part of the reason we always go to the same hotel is because it has toys for the kids to play with.
And Eliana was sent to get water, since she LOVES to be IN the ocean!
Enjoying the sun (from the safety of Daddy's lap)
Sitting at the edge of the blanket…this way Gabriel could dig in the sand, but didn't have to stand on it!
Testing out the water…it was COLD!! Eliana is seemingly impervious to cold water, but the rest of us thought it was pretty chilly. Gabriel had to be held the WHOLE time.
Eliana is soaking wet!
The hotel is literally right on the beach. So when coming back in, it's just a matter of climbing a set of stairs. The hotel has nice amenities, like a water where you can rinse you feet -- which turns out to be one of their favorite activities.
For some reason, Karina was really into pretend she was having a conversation with someone on the hotel phone. She would stand there for a while and chatter away.
Gabriel, of course, copied his big sister, but this time stretching the telephone cord to its limits. I don't think the cord will ever be quite the same….
One of the fought over activities -- using the key (that looks like a credit card) to open the hotel room door.
Our hotel "room" was actually two rooms, one being a separate bedroom, where the kids slept. Eliana got the floor, which worked out fine once she had created her nest!
The hotel also has an indoor swimming pool, so when we got tired of the beach, we could still go swimming. It was amazing to see how much Karina progressed in the three days we were there. This is day one, and she had to be held onto by an adult at all times.
The hotel has a little kitchenette area where we ate our meals--it was easier than going out to a restaurant. So we brought a lot of the food with us…stuff we know they will like.
I don't think we have ever seen Karina eat so much so fast. We were having lasagna that night. I guess being at the beach, and swimming all afternoon are good for the appetite!
After dinner… dessert, at Dairy Queen! Elvin would take the girls out for the DQ while Emily put Gabriel to bed.
Eliana looks forward to these dessert trips all year long… Blizzards…yum!
Once Gabriel was asleep, we played some games -- we taught the girls how to play Uno. Karina's favorite part is to draw cards -- she doesn't totally get the whole thing yet.
And then a memory game… This game has several little animal or bug figurines. Then the players close their eyes, while someone not playing takes one piece away. After you open your eyes back up, the players have to guess which is missing. This is a game that Eliana definitely excelled at--her being a visual learner….
…but Karina seemed to be having fun too!
Saturday morning continental breakfast, eaten back in our room…all the little drink boxes, cereal-in-a-box, and yogurt cups were VERY exciting to try out!
According to the weather report, it was supposed to be cold and rainy on Saturday, but early in the morning it hadn't rained yet, so we decided to head down the coast a few miles to the tide pools. It was about a thirty minute walk from the car to the tide pools, which took us more like a hour or so.
Because of the weather, we had dressed the kids in sweatpants and sweatshirts. Eliana didn't let that stop her, though…in the water she went!
On the way to the tide pools, we found a lone star fish. We learned from a passerby that the tides were at a super low tide…so some of the sea life that stay underwater normally were not exposed.
And then we found some more!
Gabriel of course had to be carried the whole way. He liked to point what direction he wanted Elvin to walk, though!
Eliana found a crab! (Notice her clothes getting progressively wetter -- now her shirt bottom is wet, and her sleeves.) This crab was dead but not yet picked over by the gulls.
A little mini tide pool area we happened upon. It was just a rock, by itself, and it was completely covered, every square inch, in tiny anemones and barnacles. You could actually hear the little shells clicking together! Eliana is trying to catch the little 1/8 inch fish that were stuck in the pool.
Checking out more tide pools.
The main tide pool area is a huge rocky area, completely covered in sea life. It was a bit hard to walk around, but we explored a little bit. We saw lots of fish and starfish and other sea life including lots of hermit crabs. By the end of our time here, Eliana was wet up to her neck!
Back in the swimming pool! The girls got pretty good with the pool noodles, and were able to do "laps" back and forth (in the shallow end).
Later in the day, we headed out to the beach again. They were excited to be heading back to the beach!
Gabriel is still hanging out on the blanket!
Our little sand castle.
Here we are in the pool AGAIN. Eliana got really good on the noodle, being able to kick to where she needed to go.
By the third day, Karina could also use her legs to kick everywhere. She didn't really kick like a swimmer does, but did more of a doggie paddle kick.
Gabriel sort of enjoyed the water too.
Here are the girls getting out of the pool one last time.
On Sunday, we went for a walk through town, and a lot of places had American flags out. For some reason, Karina really wanted to have her picture taken with one.
And then of course, Eliana needed her picture taken as well!
Gabriel really enjoyed these hangers in the "closet". He climbed up himself and started playing around like a monkey. It was a good activity while we packed up.
On our way out of town, we stopped at a kite shop/toy store for the kids to pick out one thing. Karina went in knowing she wanted a kite, and that is what she bought.
Eliana on the other hand, took about thirty minutes perusing everything, and was really conflicted about what to buy. She finally settled on a large blue giraffe!?! (It was either that or a pink sea horse.)
A quick McDonald's stop for lunch…and Karina wanted her picture with Spiderman! How does she know who Spiderman is? We have no idea….
The rain started on Sunday on our way back home…good timing!
Everyone conked out for the drive home…sign of a successful vacation!
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