A Long Weekend in Long Beach

We had a little oceanic getaway this week! We spent a few days at the beginning of the week in Long Beach, Washington and had such a great time! I know, I know...late fall/early winter is not exactly beach weather but we take what we can get around here. It was so relaxing and refreshing to have a weekend away with no agenda. Sooo nice!



We stayed in a really neat hotel, very rustic in decor and eco-friendly. A great find!


We arrived just a half hour or so before sunet (which is 4:30 here these days) so we went straight to the ocean to take in as much of it as we could. It was gorgeous! The reflection of the light on the sand and water was just stunning!











And then it got dark. A little hard to believe there is a gigantic ocean behind us, but there is. I promise.


The next day we were able to explore this cute little town a bit more.


Took a couple of touristy photos. This one was Derek's idea. He told me to get in front of the pan and act like I was sizzling...this is what I gave him. :)


Then he made a friend. :)


Explored this unique place...it's mostly a museum of all things weird, like every kind of mounted animal you can think of (creepy).


But they also had a ton of vintage arcade type games that were in working order for the most part (not creepy).


Then it was time to head back to the ocean!


We stopped for some hot chocolate and started our stroll on the beach...can't say that I've ever combined those two activities before. :)


We decided to ditch the walk and opt for a drive instead because you can do that on Long Beach, another first!










Our hotel had a really fun restaurant called the "pickled fish." Of course we had to try it out and it was incredible - super yummy!




How's this for a delicious feast? Smoke duck breast, fried calamari, and elk chili...not to mention that tower of fresh baked bread and the homemade bread & butter pickles they brought us, fantastic!


And for dessert we ordered milk and cookies, mmmm....

happy boy!


happy girl!


happy couple :)


And now...for a not-so-fun adventure.

We thought it would be a fun idea after dinner to check out the beach at night one last time. But the tide had changed (obviously, duh!) since our last drive on the beach and we got stuck. Oops! Poor Derek felt so bad and tried for half an hour to dig us out, but to no avail.


So we had to call for a tow in the middle of the night...and if it weren't for the tide continuing to come in and get closer and closer to our vehicle, Derek may have continued to dig for hours. Thanks for trying babe. :)


Our new pal George and my very sad hubby.


Oh well...at least we are laughing about it now. And I got it on video, so you can laugh, too. :)

On our last day we woke up to a beautiful blue sky, a perfect day for exploring the beach!


Another really cool thing about our hotel were the complimentary bike rentals. The last time we were on vacation (in Canada), my mountain biking adventure was not so successful. This was a totally different story! These bikes were cushy, cozy cruiser bikes and I fell in love! I named our bikes Archie & Betty...it just fits, right?



First, we rode our bikes to the #1 recommended restaurant on Trip Advisor for a little breakfast...


This bakery was amazing! So yummy and smelled just like heaven...because heaven will smell like fresh baked bread and pastries, don't you think?


...and then it was on to the beach!


Derek said to me, "That bike just suits you." I think he's totally right, and now a cruiser bike (with basket and bell attachment of course) is on my Christmas wishlist. I haven't wished for a bike since I was 10 years old, ha!








We rode our bikes along some beach trails and took in some beautiful views!







Thankful for little getaways with this man. I love him so much!

Just us girls...

Girl time is just so refreshing...

One of the things that completely blows me away when I think about it are the friendships God has blessed me with here in the Northwest. Seriously, I am surrounded by some of the most beautiful & amazing girls who love the Lord with all their hearts and it is just downright fun to do life with them. I don't deserve it.

Because many of these girls are military spouses, at any given time, there is a lot of life change happening. It is so eye opening to live in a military community. While I honestly feel a large population of our country has somewhat forgotten that our soldiers continue to fight in a war, I can never push it to the back of my mind (nor would I want to) because we are surrounded by it. And I am thankful for that. I give hugs and try to comfort when my friends say goodbye to their husbands for a year at a time. I wipe tears and try to keep positive when they haven't talked to them for a while and are afraid. I beg God for their family's safety. I rejoice when they come home and are reunited. These women are incredible.

September was a month of life change for many of my friends. And so we were all super excited when Mary-Hayden suggested we have a girls getaway weekend at her in-laws' condo in Cannon Beach, Oregon. And whaddya know? This particular weekend worked for all seven of our schedules! The Lord obviously wanted this to happen. It was meant to be.

And so we went.

The weather was absolutely perfect and we spent our weekend strolling the adorable streets of Cannon Beach, walking on the beach, shopping, eating, crafting, playing games, movie watching, and mostly talking about the widest array of topics you can think of. If it's gross, we probably covered it. Ha! We spent time together and we loved it! Sigh...what I wouldn't give to go back to that beach right now!

Meet the girls!

Mary-Hayden, Rebekah, Sarah, Molly, Katie, Tara, & me











Cooking...


Getting our craft on!


Our finished coasters


Game time - Ticket to Ride!


Morning beverages and pastries every morning at The Sleepy Monk.




We tried to take a fun jumping picture...we tried alot and for a long time.













It was hilarious and we had so much fun!

Self-portrait! Got it right the first time!




Gosh, it was such a great weekend. Nothing but the most wonderful of memories with these gals. Love them so much!

Relocated!

We had one more exciting adventure this summer - moving!

For the last three and a half years, we've lived about 15 minutes away from the school where I teach and where we do church. Not a bad commute, but it has been our heart's desire to live in the same community where we're doing life. So when the lease ended at our previous place, we moved on to a new spot in DuPont - hooray!

We found a cute place that was definitely an upgrade for us with more space, a garage, three bedrooms (don't get any ideas people...), two and a half baths, and lots of other fun things. We love it!

We're so excited! I just wanted to share a few pictures with you...but not many, since it isn't all complete yet. We're unpacked but we haven't hung the first thing on the wall. Well, other than the clock and that's only because there was already a nail there, ha!

Welcome to our home!

Isn't it cute?

And here's something new for us - stairs! I have never lived in a house with stairs. They really aren't all they're cracked up to be now that I'm a grown up and not using them as a mattress slide. :)


The space is so open, we love it!


And I have a nice roomy kitchen with tons of cabinet space and a rather large pantry, yippee!!


Our only renovation so far has been to paint the living room walls green, thanks to the help of my dear friends Sarah & Libby - they are painting pros!


That's all for now, but there's still a whole upstairs for you to see...hopefully soon...hopefully.