first day of school!

And we're off! Liesl is with Mrs. Ford for 1st grade; Sebastian with Mrs. McGinnis for 4th. We had some anxiety and fear and high emotions this morning, and tonight everyone is clearly tired from the anticipation and excitement of the day's reunions, but everything in between seemed to go well. Both kids were happy with their teachers and classmates and loved playing on the school grounds for hours after school with their friends.

last gasp of summer (one more beach day!)

Yesterday was the last day of Seb and Liesl's summer vacation - school started today! - and we spent it at Cannon Beach on the coast. It was a wonderful day together - we played in the sand and the waves, threw the frisbee and football, flew our dragon kite, explored the caves and streams of Hug Point, ate fish and chips at Tom's, and got saltwater taffy. We had a really amazing summer, full of adventures, good food, lots of reading, time with family and friends, and time together. Last summer was hard - Seb and I really struggled to connect and he was angry/upset/anxious/unsettled for many days. This summer felt magical in that the children really connected with each other and also with me. I'm so lucky to have them and to have the work flexibility to spend so much time enjoying their company.

So happy to arrive! There's always so much joy just getting there and seeing the ocean and sand -

Instead of our usual Cannon Beach spot, which is right in town, we drove south 10 minutes to Hug Point Recreation area. I wanted something a little different, and they acquiesced as long as we could return to town for lunch and taffy. It was great - deserted, hard-packed sand, a long-sloping beach with easy waves, cool rock formations and caves to explore.

We have managed to lose or break all of our sand shovels and buckets, but we made do with old pie plates - they worked extremely well as both shovels and castle-makers!

Sebastian and I played a version of frisbee golf - we created a sand-walled hole in the ground, drew a line 15 feet around the perimeter, and then took turns throwing a frisbee, shooting an arrow, and throwing a football into the hole - fewest shots won. three rounds each object. Surprisingly fun! (Plus, I won, which is the nice perk of having a 9-year old - you don't have to let them win any longer.)

Flying our dragon kite - the absolute best kite and a present from Nilsa and Mason.

I was flying it low, just above their heads, and they were jumping up and trying to touch it - got a little low on this flyby! Oops.

This section of the beach featured a rocky pathway (covered in barnacles, which was tough going in bare feet!) that wound around a headland. You couldn't walk below, as it was under water, and our guess was that even this path would be covered at high tide. It was cool to walk along and look down at the ocean below, crashing against the rocks.

Our next adventure was to go into the cave under this huge cliff - Liesl was the only one brave enough to venture all the way back into the dark, crawl through a narrow passage, and come out the other side. I stayed close enough to feel like a responsible parent, and Sebastian left the darkness of the cave entirely.

After that, it was lunch and saltwater taffy, and when we came back at 2 the sun was peeking out. We decided it was warm enough (by Oregon coast standards) to hit the water.

We went back to investigate more rock formations and caves, and followed a tiny stream that met the beach - 

She's singing Fight Song here, really loudly. It was awesome and hysterically funny.

Taunting the waves to come and catch us -

Oaks Amusement park

On Thursday, we made our annual foray to Oaks Amusement park to ride the carnival rides together - this time, I decided to get myself an unlimited bracelet as well so that I could participate instead of just watch. Liesl had earned two free passes through the library summer reading program, which helped, and we had such a great time. It was not very crowded and not very hot, so we rode everything twice and barely had to wait in line. We went on the carousel, the giant slide, the ferris wheel, the roller coaster, the train, the rocking boat, the frog-hopper, the balloon twirl, the bumper cars, and probably some others I'm forgetting. I got a little motion sick after one spinning ride but managed to recover and enjoy the rest of the day -

Pre-visit trip to Jade's for pork bao. Yum.