Last Days of Summer

Another camping trip at the beach was our final "hurrah" of summer. We met up with Lola, Oma, Uncle Judah, Uncle Corby and Aunt Mary for a fun and wet adventure.
   
The beach was foggy and cool (as seems to be normal!), we got rained on ALL NIGHT LONG in our tent, our air mattress fully deflated in the night, and we spent most of the final morning cleaning off all the mud from our drenched and dirty tarps.

Our camping crew

Early morning walk on the beach

Which turned into early morning playtime at the beach 

(and one WET and dirty toddler)

BUT...we still had a really good time. It is always good to be with family, and as I've said before, Zoë simply LOVES the beach. Both Zac and I agree - we've never seen her more happy! She could play around in the sand all day long, every day. Whenever we arrive at the coast, Zoë delightfully screams, "BEEEEAAAACH!!!" and she is heartbroken when we have to say "goodbye."

Can you see the ocean? 

Neither could we. :-p

Oh, the Oregon Coast fog.

Rain or shine, the beach is still a wonderful place to be. Zoë and I had a great deal of fun tromping around in puddles in our rain boots. We made the most of it and enjoyed delicious meals, crackling fires (even though they took some work to get started thanks to the damp air), campfire serenades (thanks to Judah!), and of course, s'mores.

 

          Fun with uncles!

Beautiful sunset the second (non-rainy) night

Lovin' from Lola 

However, we were so thankful that God gave us a little bit of sunshine our last afternoon there to enjoy the (frigid) waves and gorgeous colors of the rocky coastline before we headed home.

So much happiness! We're thankful for a fun, full summer, and now ready for a little more routine, and maybe a little less craziness. (It's always good to be hopeful. :)