As requested by Miles, we went on a birthday beach trip. I was looking into staying at a hotel for the weekend but decided I didn't want to spend the money on it. Max still liked the idea of staying over night but camping wasn't a great idea since April is so unpredictable. Max found a place at the beach to camp in a yurt! A YURT! Neither of us had done that and once I heard they were heated, I was all for it! We have finally been accumulating enough camp gear to comfortably take our little family camping so we were excited. When Max got home from work we finished loading up the car and made our way to the beach. We got there just after the sunset but there was still some light so we decided to play on the beach for a bit. So glad we did because the weather wasn't so great the next day. Once Edwin got out of the car he was mesmerized by the ocean. Charlie ran right to the ocean, removing his shoes on the way.
Miles was more of a log climber
Breathing in that salty air!
At one point I was taking a picture and Miles threw sand at me. He was in trouble and Max wasn't happy with him but he also thought it was a good moment to take a picture of me because, his words..."I don't think I have a picture of you like that"
We're glad that Charlie is starting to get a little more cautious.
Edwin was like an ocean magnet. Max would set him down somewhere on the beach and he would just start traipsing straight to the ocean...no matter where he was. It made him so happy.
After it was getting pretty dark (and it really wasn't even that cold) we made our way back to our car to drive a couple blocks to our campsite and get that all set up and a fire started.
We unloaded our car and Edwin and I set up the beds in the yurt while Max, Charlie and Miles got a fire started. I was so excited that we would sleep in a little heated home. and everyone had a bed! Edwin was beyond grumpy and tired so we decided to let him skip the campfire and go to sleep. The rest of us stayed up and made doughies and s'mores and chased off incredibly rabid raccoons. I just shuddered thinking about it. I didn't take any photos but it was an enjoyable time with my boys. There is something about campfires that is so calming and I loved sharing that with my boys...and I'm sure it would not have been calm if Edwin was still awake. Sidenote: as we were packing up Max mentioned that we should probably all bring our rain boots. I though that was a weird thing to bring to the beach but the campsite was so muddy that we were so grateful we had them.
Also, it was predicted that there would be a huge wind and rain storm that weekend. With 90mph winds and several inches of rain. The evening was just fine. Once we were in bed we heard wind and rain (and it was loud) but we were all safe in our yurt...unless a tree fell on it, but luckily that didn't happen. When we awoke in the morning (not that I slept much, because I'm weird like that about sleeping in different places) Max and the big boys got some briquettes started so I could try out my dutch oven for the very first time (an awesome Christmas gift from my little brothers) The weather was still decent for us. With the ground and fire pit being a bit wet, (and my inexperience) it took our breakfast a lot longer to cook.
It wasn't long before Edwin had to be confined to the Ergo.
Edwin was getting restless so Max took all the boys on a walk while I worked on the breakfast. They found Devil's lake and Max took these photos on his phone. It was super windy so it was kind of scary to let them go out that far, but it sure is beautiful.
But look the sun kept coming out!
And Miles brought his birthday silly string...and it made for a whole lot of giggles.
Me: "Charlie, what are you going to do with that?" Charlie: "I'm going to add it to my collection." Huh?
And Miles ran off with the hot chocolate...
And it was finally finished! I was so proud!! And it tasted delicious.
After breakfast we played some games
While Max was cleaning up the yurt and packing the car I took the boys on a walk because I wanted to see the lake. And it was scary! So much wind, and unpredictable wild children!
I told them they could walk down if they held hands...but then I changed my mind and made them come back.
Once we got back to the car, Max was just finishing packing it up so we jumped in the car to head to Pacific City. "The big sandy hill beach" as my kids call it.
So once we got there, we didn't stay long. There was so much wind blowing sand and icy rain. We each got out (except Edwin) for a minute or so and ran against the wind but the rain was too much to handle.
So then we made our way to Tillamook, we decided to try and explore a
bit and get to Cape Meares to see the lighthouse and octopus tree and
our favorite hammock spot. But we got lost somehow and turned around to
head to the Tillamook Cheese Factory.
We ate dinner and dessert there.
Edwin was excited that he actually got Ice Cream this year....unlike last year...
We walked off our ice cream a bit before heading home. Edwin got so excited to see all the fake cows. He got really close, squatted down, and giggled! It was so funny!
Haha, Charlie, he was having some serious meltdowns at this point.
And that was it. Miles' epic birthday beach trip! It pays off to have your birthday in the Spring. And just know that this wasn't some sunshiny perfect and happy trip. There was a lot of us begging our children to listen, or be obedient or to stop touching each other in the car. Lots of threats to take their Easter candy away. And even some time-outs. Yup, just want to remember it like it was! But overall we made excellent memories!
She has also been quite a bit of work. She is litter trained and as of now she will hold all her poop until we take her outside in the afternoon. She also misses the litter box sometimes when she pees so that's gross and apparently needed to be said on our blog. 
