Ocean Shores over Memorial Day Weekend

My brother and his wife came to live with my parents for six weeks, and we planned a trip with everyone to Ocean Shores. Traffic getting out of Maple Valley was complete madness and doubled the driving time, but we all eventually arrived at the house rental.

We were as close to the beach as houses are allowed and Brigham and I snagged the master bedroom with a view of the beach off the balcony. The hot tub room was also attached and many times the kids played in orange-colored water (due to high iron content) while we laid in bed. We weren't sure about it being on the second floor right above the living room, and the loud creaking and water stains on the ceiling below left us a little concerned, but we crossed our fingers that the hot tub wouldn't break through and come crashing on our heads in the living room during our weekend stay.

The stairs were the second scary aspect of the house. But only because the two little babies both liked to try to climb the very steep, hard steps.

JJ constantly snuck upstairs and, one time, I barely caught his leg in time before a swinging door knocked him down the all of the wooden stairs.

These two rascals kept us entertained and busy on this trip.

Our first day of weather was not great. We checked out the town and bought saltwater taffy before our first trip to the beach.

Grey skies and high winds kept us shivering in our coats.

After setting up the beach tent and taking turns sitting in it to keep it from blowing away, we still managed to have some fun digging in the sand and walking along the water.

We grew too cold quickly and we headed back to the house for the evening. However, when we tried to fold up the tent, the winds kept trying to carry it off. Dad, growing frustrated, decided to carry the tent back to the house like a kite.

Mom and I laughed and laughed at the spectacle.

Back at the house, Ivy got some Grandpa snuggle time and we enjoyed the gorgeous sunset from the warmth of the house.

Sunday dawned brighter than the day before. We dressed for church and visited the local branch for Sacrament Meeting.

We chose the scenic route on the way back from church and drove along the beach.

In my car, we cranked up the church music, rolled the sunroof back and all the windows down, and connected with God and nature and sunshine.

Ammon's hair looked pretty awesome when we arrived back at the beach house.

Refueling with good food for lunch, and after laying down babies for naps, we were excited for a second trip to the beach. This time with warm sunshine beckoning us.

Bubbles, kites,

shovels, and buckets. The toddlers were in heaven! Kendrick declared, "I love this!"

Though it was still jacket weather, the older kids could not be kept away from the water and they spent the afternoon chasing waves.

Scott and I began a very serious castle-building war.

We were each competing to create a castle that could best be defended by enemies. The kids hindered helped us off and on, and we worked until our creations were complete.

My castle had a few collapses, and Scott's arguably looked more castle-ish. But the fun was in the creating anyways.

A day at the beach is good for the soul.

That evening we went and viewed local woodwork and metal art, played games, and enjoyed each other's company. The boys also built a bonfire, but the mosquitos were so bad that the men only had the toddlers, who didn't know any better, for company.

I loved tucking Kendrick into his giant king size bed at night. He was around the corner from the older kids under a sloped ceiling where no one else wanted to sleep, so his little body enjoyed a giant bed all to its self. He was also right next to the water heater so if anything happened and it blew, he would be the first to go.

On our final morning, you could tell we'd been having loads of fun. The kids all looked hungover with crazy bed-head as they came down for breakfast.

Brigham and I were determined to fit in horseback riding on the beach and Kayleen, Lydia, and Ammon joined us. Anything having to do with horses and I'm there.

We were all placed with a horse and then led for a trot along the waves.

Ammon road a horse named Graham Cracker and Lydia was on Scout. Kayleen became friends with Skeeter, and Brigham was a natural on Dakota.

I was placed on Taco. And boy was he a spicy one! He wanted to run and be in the lead no matter how I pulled back on the reigns. We were always in trouble for going too fast, and he even tried to bite a horse and kick another.

However, Taco was good friends with Kayleen's horse, Skeeter. They were pals. If I kept them together he did much better.

The weather was gray again and it was a pretty basic walk, but horses on the beach make for an exhilarating time anyway. We even had a bald eagle swoop down over the waves right in front of our group!

I wish I could ride horses every day. I was so blessed for the fun that I shared with my family that day. What a great trip! We headed home shortly after the horse rides. Of course, it wouldn't be driving in Washington if long traffic jams aren't involved. So with some carsickness and a stop at Cabella's rounding out the trip, we eventually made it home to sunshine in Maple Valley.