Labor Day Beach Trip

We drove the 1 1/4 hours to the beach on Monday to celebrate Labor Day. I know I have said it before, but I LOVE living so close to the beach! It is so nice to go in the morning, spend a couple of hours, and then be back to put the kids down for a nap at home. Lovely.

The weather in town when we left at 9am was warm and sunny. At the beach, however, it was overcast and foggy and a little cold. But, we still played in the sand and dipped our feet in the water. I packed the kids swimsuits for the day, but did not pack sweatshirts or jackets or socks. Fortunately, we were able to throw a few warm outfits together with the clothes that get left in the car instead of taken in the house. Erika wore one of Laurel's jackets and Laurel wore one of Levi's jackets. So, two kids were running around the beach with too-small clothes on. Oh well, you do what you can!

Levi had on pants, but did not need a jacket due to the brilliance of my husband. We brought a tent with us so Levi could crawl around and not get sand all over him. It was perfect! Plus, it was warm in the tent so I stayed in there with Levi. We will definitely be bringing a tent with us when we take our week long vacation to the beach this month!

Levi inside the tent. He loved it!

Showing off his new talent - sticking his tongue out awkwardly to relieve his teething pain.

Getting her dig on.

Goldfish crackers and the beach. What could be better?

They love the beach no matter what the weather!

Doing laps in the sand.

Annual Fair Trip

On Monday, we went to the Oregon State Fair, our annual trip. We met Matt's dad and our niece there. It keeps getting more fun the older everyone gets! The girls had a ton of fun looking at animals, going on rides, playing games, and eating. Levi was not at all scared of the animals like his sisters were at his age. He spent most of the time in his stroller and was at just the right height for pigs and goats and sheep to sniff him. He loved it! The girls were both very nervous of the animals when they were babies, but not this brave boy.

The girls were excited to ride the ponies! This was Erika's second time riding the pony and Laurel's first. I was a little nervous that Laurel would fall off (she's not always super attentive) but she did great!

Riding the rails.

Erika on her horse, Cowboy.

Laurel's horse did not have its name clearly shown so we asked her what she wanted to call it. "Um, Ella." Which is the name of every one of her dolls, stuffed animals, and pretend friends!

We watched a Crazy Barnyard Race between two sheep, a goat, a pig and a duck. Our team, the green team, was a goat and he did not win. The pig did, if you are curious. Anyway, Erika was chosen to be the cheerleader for our team so she got to wave the flag and cheer on our animal!

Fair fun.

Thanks to Grandpa, the girls were able to ride some rides. They chose the motorcycle ride. Laurel tells us all the time that she wants a motorcycle when she is older. Erika always says she wants a van. Lofty ambitions for that girl.

Laurel started out perfectly sitting on her motorcycle....

....and eventually ended up in a speedster position! It was hilarious!
Here's proof:

Levi's ride through the fair in his stroller.

Daddy and Levi on the tractor. He liked the gear shift!