Toes in the sand

A few weeks ago we escaped to the beach for a nice little mini vacation. We went to the same beach house we had rented when Aubrey was a baby...its so nice because its literally a 3 minute walk down one flight of stairs to the beach. For the Oregon coast we had a fair amount of sunny weather and even during the raindrops, we just sat inside and stared at the ocean in front of a nice warm fireplace. As much as I love camping, this is definitely my preferred method of beach vacationing with children. My girls are unphased by the cold Pacific ocean thus come back from the beach almost every time soaking wet. Thanks to the washing machine we could let them splash until they were frozen ;-)

Sitting on the deck....definitely a relaxing view!

Hanging out in the hot tub

Ainsley taking in the view ;-)

Ainsley flying a kite for the first time

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We were privileged to get front row balcony seats to a private dance show one evening. Ella was busy being the director so I didn't get her moves captured. Aiden was doing the "puppy dance", Nathan showed us the "fireman dance" and Aubrey was our resident ballerina.

Perfect end to a great day!

The raindrops had nothing on the moments like this....

Ainsley loved walking and playing in the sand

Aubrey and Aiden sharing a chair, a snack and the view. Aiden kept telling me, "Look, there is the ocean!"

Ella with her beach treasures. She is our beach beauty!

The deck saw many many hours of dancing. (Thanks for the dresses Uncle Jason and Auntie Sarah! We love them!)

Ella has a very artistic soul. She pulled out her chalk board and was taking in the view.

The kids loved running from the surf. Ready, wait for it, run... NOW!

Wow, even though I had just edited these pictures I had no idea how many I really had. Whoops! Fortunately these are some pretty cute faces so I bet it wasn't too much torture ;-)