Dancing on the Edge

The Beach Trip, Part Two (Finally!)

I have been trying to get back to write about the rest of the beach trip but alas, there just never seems to be the time. I thought I would be able to get to it Friday or Saturday but by the time evening rolls around, all I really want to do is hunker down on the couch with Dakota and watch an episode (or two) of The Gilmore Girls. We also managed to watch two movies from Netflix this weekend, too. So - as you can see, it hasn't left much time for blogging. :)

Now where was I? Oh right - Day 2. Day two is when we met up with Brenda and family on the beach. But first, after breakfast, we ventured into the small town of Nahalem. It was by accident, actually, that we ended up there. We were just following the road to see where it went and BAM! There we were. There were some great little shops to browse through - which is one of our favorite things to do. We didn't end up going back with much though - Kelton bought a notebook for $1.10 and Kaylen brought 4 small bracelets for $1.00. I found a really amazing coffee-related piece of wall art but for $50 I left it for someone else. :)

After our trip to Nahalem, we headed back to the hotel and got ready to go our to the beach to meet up with Brenda. You should have seen Kelton's face light up when he spotted Carson! They were only a few houses past our hotel and I swear Kelton ran every sandy inch of it. The initial greeting was a bit standoffish - I think neither one knew what to expect - but within seconds they were hugging and squealing. I can't even tell you how happy it made my heart to see them together again. These guys had spent many, many days together before Carson's family moved last September (at least once a week Brenda and I headed out to the mall with the kids to hang out) and they've been talking with each other on the phone a couple times a week lately. They are amazing friends and that was still quite clear in the limited amount of time they had together last week.



And I LOVED seeing Brenda again! It's weird though - since we talk every single day on the phone, there wasn't a huge amount of catching up to do - we just switched immediately back into step and talked about what had happened since our last phone call a couple days before.....which was really nice! I love having a friend like Brenda. Love, love, love it.


Brenda and I met for coffee and shop-browsing the next morning which was so much fun! It's amazing how much we can find to chat about - even after all these years. Dakota had taken our two little ones down to the beach while I was with Brenda and they had such a great time! They dug holes which filled with water, Dakota wrote their names in the sand and they each sat inside their name for a photo, they built sandcastles and went on a treasure hunt. By the time I got home (2 hours after I left) they were back in the room, cleaned up and completely exhausted. Poor pups! :)



We let them rest for a little bit and then headed out for lunch and ice cream.



Once they were all jazzed up on sugar (!!) we headed back to the hotel to change and head back to the beach to play with Carson and Katie. Oh my goodness what a grand ol' time they all had!





The kids were completely exhausted from their day so we didn't stay too long. Kelton was anxious to get back to the room but he also really wanted to show Carson where he was staying. So we packed up all our stuff and Brenda and Carson came over to the hotel for a bit. It was fun to watch the kids running wild in the room while Brenda and I sat on the couch and talked. This was the last time we'd be together since we were heading home in the morning. Finally it was time to say goodbye - the boys hugged and hugged and hugged. It was so sweet and sad. I know they miss each other as much as I miss Brenda. Thank goodness for free long distance! :)


The next morning we woke up to the rain pouring down so after morning coffee, a light breakfast and some time sitting in front of the gas fireplace; Dakota took the kids down to the beach for a final play session and I stayed behind to pack. As I packed, I would go out on the deck and watch them playing. I just love watching them all together. I could hear the laughter all the way on the deck. Since it was raining the beach was all but empty. I have to say, the rain made it much easier to pack up the car and drive home.



We had such a great time at the beach (though really, I think it would be impossible not to have a great time when you are on the coast!) and, as usual, we are already looking forward to our next trip.