Birthday Celebrations

Well... this is it. This, my friends, is the last year of my twenties. What a decade it has been (and still is). I plan on this year being awesome. I'm usually not that excited to get one year older, but my goodness- next year is the start of my thirties, and that will be full of so much firsts with my kids and watching them get older, that I am really looking forward to it. So  here is to ending my twenties with a great year!

When I realized my birthday was on a Saturday, I knew exactly what we were going to do- COAST TRIP! We didn't do anything very exciting at the coast, but just being at the ocean is enough for me.

We started the day with waffles at home and running around getting everything ready for the trip with three kids. Surprisingly, we didn't forget anything and we left only 10 minutes later than planned. Success!!

Once at the coast, we walked around the little town a bit, headed for our lunch stop. Okay, random tidbit- there is something about being at the coast that makes you want to eat somewhere not fancy, but tastes amazing. Right?? In California, our two main coast destinations are either Monterrey or Half Moon Bay. Both places have great places to eat, but they don't look like much from the outside. But amazing food. Well, in Florence, there is sort of a place like that. Good food, but not a definite repeat in my book. So last time we went, we wanted to try something different. We ended up going to a place that looks more restaurant-y than I prefer. But dang. Great food! And the same price as the other place. So that is where we ate again. Not disappointed at all. I had squid and chips and their ocean chowder, Brad got fish and chips, and Rach got ocean chowder linguine. Mmmmmm.

There was a firehouse themed restaurant- the boys enjoyed seeing the firetruck in the window

After the delicious lunch, we walked around a bit more. The boys were getting anxious for the beach, so we got back in our car and headed towards the ocean. Last time, we loved where we went. But it took us at least 15 minutes to get there. This time we saw an awesome beach, Heceta Beach, way closer and only $3 parking. After we left we saw cars parked elsewhere and decided to do the free parking route next time :)

Finally flying our Spiderman kite!

Sissy playing with the boys in the sand

What I loved about this spot was the tide streams/puddles. There was a ton of open beach and before the ocean, the tide had left stream-like puddles. They were full of warm water, and the boys couldn't get enough of it. They were fully dressed and just JUMPING in the streams. Eh. I brought extra clothes so they could do whatever they wanted.

We had to bring rain boots for Gavin because he hates the feeling of sand and being dirty. BEST thing ever for him. He was so excited to go "swim" in the ocean.

The day was beautiful, but of course right by the ocean it was rather windy. So about 20 minutes into the puddle-splashing-ocean-running party, we had to head back to the car. The boys were shivering. But beyond happy and exhausted and ready to go home.

We were home just in time to make some ravioli alfredo and have punch bowl birthday cake. Then presents. I actually had to open a present in the morning because James was so excited for me to get my superhero movie, The Dark Knight Rises (he was beyond insistent to get me something superhero related- anything from a necklace to a camera to a shirt. love that boy).

Then, while the boys were having their daddy put them down for the night, Rach and I went and rented The Hobbit. Brad and I saw it in theaters (duh), but Rach hadn't been able to. And I do not mind watching that movie a second time. Or more. I couldn't believe how great of a day I got to have.