Summer Vacation 2011, Part 2

Lydia had a hard time our last morning in the mountains and was in tears. To cheer her up, I told her that the house in which we would be staying at the beach had a view of the ocean. When we arrived in Lincoln City late that afternoon, we all tumbled out of the van and Matt let us into the beach house. We walked into the living room and Lydia ran to the window and exclaimed, "Oh Mommy! It's just like you said!"



Even I was amazed at the incredible view of the ocean waves crashing over the rocks and onto the beach. After a loonng day of traveling in the van, our emotions were pretty well summed up in this line from the journals of Lewis and Clark: "Oh joy! Ocean in view!"



I quickly made dinner while everyone else unpacked so that we could get down to the beach and get some sand beneath our toes. The last time we went to the ocean, Lydia was a baby, so she had no recollection of it (although she claims otherwise). So all the littles had a ball running up and down the beach and jumping over the waves that first night. Jude gave the waves a good karate chop or two, just cause he's so tough.

The next day, we just kinda kicked back on the beach. We made sand castles, flew kites and looked for shells. Lydia was tickled to find the "other half" of the mussel shell she picked up the night before. The kids also fit a few games of chess into the day's activities.

We packed a picnic lunch on Tuesday and took it to Regatta Park. The kids loved the amazing "sand castle" wooden play structure. Even Grace and Elizabeth liked it, so that's saying something. The view of Devil's Lake was outstanding. I have no idea why they call it "Devil's Lake." It's not a very nice name for such a beautiful lake. The weather was perfect and the park was not crowded, so it was easy for me to keep an eye on the kids while I sat with Isaac in the picnic table area. Daddy and the kids walked the nature trail that is part of the park after lunch. They got to see one of the largest Spruce trees on the west coast.My parents came to town on Tuesday. They stayed in the bed and breakfast next door to our house. My mom just had knee replacement surgery a few weeks ago and I had prepared the kids for the disappointing fact that Grandma and Grandpa would most likely not be able to join us on vacation as we had previously planned. Leave it to Grandma Jane, though, she came anyway. She pushed her way through the pain and had a great time with the kids for the rest of the week.



Wednesday, we all headed north to Newport to visit the Aquarium, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa. We were able to maneuver my mom around the grounds in the wheel chair and Isaac in the stroller. Usually everyone fights over who gets to push the baby in the stroller. Not this time--everyone wanted the privilege of pushing Grandma. My mom's favorite creatures at the aquarium were the Japanese crabs. She especially enjoyed it when they fought over who was the biggest and baddest. Jude loved the sharks, or "harks" as he called them. My favorite part was when we were all loaded safely back into the van. While we were at the crowded aquarium, I spent the entire time frantically counting to seven.

After we returned to Lincoln City that afternoon, we were even able to get my mom on the beach so that she could watch the grandkids frolic in the sand and water. The Elks Lodge in town has a sand wheel chair that they allow people to borrow. Sweet! The wheelchair was a bear to load in and out of the car, but it worked great on the beach. My mom loves the ocean, so it was really a treat for her to be right on the beach and all the kids were so excited to have her there with them.

That night after dinner, we watched my mom's favorite movie, which is also my favorite movie and now has become a favorite of our kids--The Sound of Music. As we listened to "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?," we looked out the living room window to see the setting sun just as it was about to sink into the ocean.

Matt's brother and his family were also vacationing in Lincoln City that same week. They were renting a house with my sister-in-law's side of the family on the opposite end of town. So Thursday afternoon, Jessica and I stole away together to explore a huge used book store. I will say that I exercised an enormous amount of restraint, especially since I was in the worst of company. My sister-in-law is a fellow book lover and she was in all her glory at that store, sitting in the middle of one of the aisles with books stacked all around her. So even though the deck was stacked against me, I only purchased three books. One was a vintage Golden Book, which are my favorite bed time reads. The other two were a McGuffey Reader and a vintage Landmark history book. I drooled over many, many more books, but my pocket book just couldn't take the prices at that place. I'm too used to yard sale prices, I guess.



Low tide was at 7 a.m. on Friday morning, so before we left to go home, we took one last stroll on the beach. We got to see star fish and sea anemones, jump a few more waves and collect a few more treasures to take home. I was amazed at the variety of rocks and shells that were on the beach. I thoroughly enjoyed looking for just one more unusual agate or shell. It was as though God created one huge "I Spy" game for my personal pleasure.

As I walked through the sand to head back to the house to pack up, I couldn't help but think of God's promise to Abraham. The God Abraham served is the same God I serve. He is more powerful than the mighty and vast ocean. Yet, He still seeks a personal relationship with me, and calls me His child through the blood of His son, Jesus. Amazing!