10 Degrees of Relief

Things in our families little world, have been rather stressful these past few months.  Running a business, the household, and still trying to get the kids to and from school, sports, friends, etc...all wear on a person over time.  It's life...we all experience it, and live it every day!  BUT...sometimes you just need to take a deep breath, leave it all behind, and enjoy time together as a family.

 

That's what we did on Sunday.  We are pretty blessed to live within 40 minutes of the coast, and although we don't take advantage of it nearly as often as we should, it's always a great time when we do!  This trip however, definitely topped my list of all time fantastic trips to the beach!!!

The weather report called for high 80's in the valley, and high 60's, low 70's at the coast.  So...we packed up a few things, loaded the car, and headed to the coast for 10 degrees of heat relief, business relief, and just plain stress relief.  The Oregon coast tends to be extremely windy 90% of the time, so we only planned on staying for a bit, letting the kids run in the sand, and maybe touching our toes in the ocean before they froze off in the characteristically cold water. 


We arrived to 71 degrees, clear blue skies, and a SLIGHT breeze...not normal coast wind at all.  Found a great little path to the beach...off the beaten trail for the hundreds of other people who had our same idea...and ran for the water!

Kevin doesn't like the sand...I know..."gasp"...he just doesn't like it getting between his toes, and all over everything.  So...when we climbed down the stairs and hit the beach, he was beyond excited to be walking on hardened sand where the tide once covered it earlier that day.  No soft blowing sand to get between his toes...it was great!

The water was the WARMEST I've ever experienced at the Oregon Coast...Seriously the Warmest!  It didn't take your breath away at all, and the kids ran right out and started swimming.  Unheard of I tell ya!

We even got to introduce the kids to everyone's favorite ocean activity...jumping over the  waves.

 
I sat back, soaked up the rays, enjoyed the giggles and laughter coming from the kids...Kevin included...all the while catching up on some reading!

These are the faces of the cutest kids on the beach that day!!!  They had more fun than they've had in a long time, and kept thanking us for the "Family Day".  A reminder that we need to have more "family days", and less "I've got to get this done" days!