August on the Oregon Coast

Like July, we spent much of August at our cottage on the coast. A big highlight for us was the annual Marshall family beach week!

Early in August, Isaac’s grandpa Roger passed away. To honor his life, our whole family spent a beautiful day together doing things that Roger loved. First we collected agates because he was quite the rock hound and enjoyed making jewelry. Then we rode the Oregon Coast scenic train from Garibaldi to Rockaway and back to honor the years Roger worked on the Southern Pacific Railroad. On the way back to the cottage and cabin, we made a stop at the newly renovated Tillamook Cheese Factory because, well, who doesn’t love ice cream? Finally, we wrapped up the evening with a family BBQ and shared stories about Grandpa.

Our first trip to Oceanside did not disappoint! All of the girls found agates and they were so excited. We happily dug through the rocks for several hours and cheered for one another whenever another shiny treasure was uncovered. We had such a wonderful morning together!

We had such a fantastic time on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad! The train ambles along between Garibaldi and Rockaway, providing views of the ocean, bay, and forest. The trip takes about 2 hours there and back, with a 30 minute stop in the middle. It was just perfect for small kiddos- and the tired adults who care for them!

Baby bear loved his first train ride. He was absolutely fascinated, and was constantly whipping his head around, surveying our surroundings as they passed by. Before long the swaying of the car and the clacking of the tracks lulled him to sleep.

The girls had a ball waving at cars and pedestrians from the train. A few of the adults got really into it as well!

At our stop in Rockaway, saltwater taffy was purchased and it was a big hit!

The saltwater taffy struggle is real… but so worth it! Isla was super excited to sample saltwater taffy for the first time… and second time… and third time.

They were giving out generous scoops at Tillamook!

The next day we all traveled down to one of our very favorite places on the Oregon Coast: the Newport Aquarium. We all had such a fantastic time exploring the exhibits.

Uncle Josh had us all cracking up as he checked his wingspan!

Our sweet friend, Teresa, brought out some skins, jaws, teeth and eggs for the girls to touch and learn about. We feel so fortunate to have such wonderful buddies at the aquarium!

We enjoyed numerous beach walks during the week, and the girls always came home soaking wet and covered in sand from all of their wave jumping and puddle splashing.

The magic of the hiking pack! I’m not sure Cole has ever stayed awake long enough to see the mouth of the river during our walks.

Mia found her first sand dollar on this walk!

A long beach walk, her collection bag filled with treasures, her cousins, and a bunch of little tide pools to splash in: pretty much Isla’s ideal day!

I guess you could say Duke was a fan of the beach. This sweet little guy crashed hard every night after all of the running and retrieving he did on our walks.

In the summer we are fortunate to have large tide pools form on the beach. They make the perfect place for the kiddos to play.

Wrapping up an evening with s’mores… on the BBQ because bon fires were temporarily banned on the beach. Whatever works!

They were the BEST s’mores ever, because in place of the graham crackers and chocolate we used homemade brickle. YUM!!! We made this brickle recipe (minus the heath bars) and it was so tasty! We cannot wait to experiment further with the recipe… I’m thinking flake salt, hazelnuts, slivered almonds… so many tasty possibilities!

We feel so fortunate for the wonderful memories made during this family beach week, and we’re already looking forward to next summer!

Later in the month, Grauntie, Gruncle, and Nana joined us for a work weekend at the cottage. We knew we had a leaky window in Isla’s room that needed to be replaced, but we had no idea just how much damage that leak had done. Dry rot and ants galore! Yuck! We are so very grateful for skilled and patient family members who are so generous with their time and talents! It was a BIG project, but now we have a new, properly sealed window, new sub-floor, new drywall, a mostly new exterior wall and trim, and far fewer ants- pest control is next on the to do list!

I forgot to take a “finished” photo, but everything looks great now!

We enjoyed beach walks every day. Oh, how we loooooove our beach walks!

“I’m making up a story about myself. It’s a brave story. It’s about strongness.” Isla scampered along the shoreline with so much intensity and purpose it was clear her imagination was hard at work.

Later, as we greeted a tide pool filled with anemones, Isla told me, “I shake their little hands to say hello.” Then she shook her head and giggled, “They don’t have brains… they have no idea what I’m doing.”

Isla has become quite the sand dollar collector this summer!

Isla tends to create up a storm while we’re at the cottage. On the left is the art gallery she set up in our room. On the right is a (in progress) beach she made out of play dough and her collections. The finished sculpture was really impressive!

We enjoyed our morning at Oceanside earlier in the month so much that we decided to go back with Daddo so that he could hunt for agates with us!

So many treasures to be found!

Not everyone is cut out for a full morning of serious agate hunting 😉

After agate hunting we had lunch at The Blue Agate. Isla had fish and chips and raved about how they were the best thing she had ever tasted all day!

Our agates (left) and Isla’s agates (right)

First sibling practical joke is in the books… first of many, we suspect!

Every time we walk to and from the beach Isla stops to greet “her favorite rock” on the path. It’s flat and large enough for her to stand on. When she does, her little toes curl around the edge. She admires the rock for a few moments, then kisses her hand, squats down, and pats the rock. This girl is something else, and I am so incredibly grateful for her loving heart.

An impromptu blackberry picking trip with Daddo lead to an impromptu baking session with Mommy. We made the most amazing blackberry peach upside down skillet cake! We followed this recipe, except we doubled the almond extract (yum!) and added a diced peach to the blackberries.

We normally go for long collecting walks on the beach, but on this particular morning we just walked a short distance and then splashed around in the water. Cole has played in the tide pools before, but this was his first time dipping his toes in the surf. He LOVED those waves, especially the big ones that splashed up his legs!

And yes, baby boy was rocking a sand beard. Hooray for summers on the coast!