Memorial Day Weekend at the Ocean

Happy Memorial Day!

In acknowledgment of the fact that it is not National Barbecue Day, I'd like to first take a moment to remember all those who have given their lives serving in the country's armed forces.

Thank you for your service. 

You made the ultimate sacrifice so that the rest of us can continue to enjoy freedoms that we take for granted every single day.

------

This year, we chose to celebrate the holiday by planning an Alway family trip to Ocean Shores, on the Washington Coast. The entire rest of the state was experiencing an uncharacteristic heat wave that weekend, so we were excited about the prospect of finally getting some sun and warm weather on Washington's typically dreary coastline.

Ah, what silly dreams.

Just as we rolled into town, so did the fog, and it didn't lift for the entire three-day weekend. But hey, and least it didn't rain! 

And we still had a wonderful family getaway at the beach.

Ocean Shores is just a couple hours drive from both Seattle and Portland, and it has miles of beaches perfect for walks, kites, and sand castles. There are also tons of restaurants and shops in town. We rented a lovely little beach cottage with Russ and Patty for the weekend at Oyhut Bay, which I highly recommend. It was quaint, clean, and cozy, and just a short drive from the beach and town.

I've mentioned before that Ryder absolutely loves the beach, so this was the perfect holiday weekend getaway for him.

I literally had to drag him away, freezing cold and filthy, after almost four hours of beach time fun. 

And although it was cold and windy, Kiley actually behaved herself as well. I just bundled her up into the front pack where she cozied up and took a nice long nap, which helped me stay warm as well.

A bunch of our good friends actually ended up spending the weekend at Ocean Shores, as well!

Remember just a few short months ago when Haley and I took this same photo at Ocean Shores on our Beach Babymoon, but the babies were inside?! Time sure does fly...

Besides spending time at the beach, we actually didn't do much other than hang out at the cottage. We were just happy to be together and spend time relaxing as a family.

Kite flying with Grandpa.

Ryder was so tired that he fell asleep on the couch at 6pm!

My best friend Tara actually rented the house right next door with her sister and her family, which allowed us to have some fun adult time in the evenings. They had the awesome idea to pick up the supplies for Beer Pong, and we had a pretty epic tournament one night.

It was a wonderful getaway filled with family and friends!

We hope that your family had a wonderful holiday weekend as well!