Gleneden Beach

It seems like just a few weeks ago, we were taking Langdon on his first visit to the Oregon Coast.  This month we rejoined the rest of the Stoddard clan at Gleneden Beach (south of Lincoln City) to play in the surf and remind ourselves that our little stretch of the Pacific is friggin' freezing!

Lang' arrived on the scene ready for some serious beach renovation.  He worked his little plastic shovel until it broke.  Undeterred, he resumed excavation with his bare hands.  He must have filled his little green bucket a few hundred times...until it broke too.  I don't know what real construction workers do upon discovering they've broken all their equipment -- but Lang' decided it was time for S'mores.  That seemed to make everything all better.

"I tell you what guys, this is the good life."

After the comfort food, we all took a stroll on the beach and watched the sun slowly sink below the horizon.

Taegan always gets her money's worth on our beach excursions -- in fact, she usually brings a significant portion of the beach home with her.

Prospecting

It's dirty work, but it's not without its rewards...

clam parts

crab parts

Karsten led an expedition of young cousins and siblings to a canyon carved into the beach sand by a small fresh-water stream.

The treacherous descent

Success!

Armed only with a hilarious disregard for his own personal safety, cousin Luke assumed a Pete Rose head-first slide down the canyon wall.  He repeated the maneuver several times to prove that he was, in fact, a crazy person.

The voyage of discovery completed, Karst' helped extricate his fellow explorer, cousin Tatum.  Upon regaining his footing and shaking the sand from his clothes, three-year old Tate turned to Karst' and offered his trademark show of gratitude, "Thanks, hun."

At the end of the week, Taeg' asked me if we could just move to the beach permanantly.  I'm reasonably certain her brothers shared her sentiment.  I appreciate my parents' willingness to go to the trouble and expense of organizing our annual beach reunion -- which included this "modest" little rental house...

The sauna and in-house movie theater were a nice touch.  Maybe next year we can spring for a new plastic shovel and bucket for Lang'.  I'm grateful to live in such a beautiful corner of the world and have some wonderful (and highly entertaining) people to share it with.  Thanks for the photos too, Mom.

Oh, these guys were with us too -- they just missed the 10am wake-up call for our photo shoot.  Since baby Lane's arrival, they wake up every few hours during the night just so they can party some more.  Good times.

We're looking forward to next year.