Sand castles and sand dollars at Twin Harbors State Park

By Mom of TJB and MMB August 29, 2016

Camping
By Theo

The last time we camped at Twin Harbors State Park in Westport, Washington, I was only two and Mommy was pregnant with my baby sister (see blog post here). While a lot has changed in our family in the past two years, the park and the beach were about the same as I remembered (sans sunshine and s'mores because there is a statewide burn ban). Our campsite was a huge upgrade from last time where we overpaid for an overcrowded RV site to this weekend's luxury large tent-only corner lot #50 with lots of tree coverage and privacy and only two spots away from the bathroom. We managed to fit in our small 3-person Big Agnes tent - Daddy on one side, Marit and I in the middle toe-to-toe and Mommy on the other side facing the opposite direction - and all our backpacks and pillows. It was our second time camping with four people in the tent and it was cozy but we all fit (for now). I got to try out all my cool new toys - special flashlights, color changing lanterns, and bug-noculars. We arrived late on Friday night and set up the tent in front of the car's headlights. Marit wasn't very excited and screamed for at least 10 minutes before Daddy put her back in the car and drove around "town" for 15 minutes to calm her down so she would fall asleep in the tent. Eventually, we all fell asleep and woke up early Saturday morning and it was drizzling.
We hung out in the tent for a while and then we took a long walk/scooter ride around the campground a few times and we saw a chipmunk and a black snake. Once the rain stopped, we headed to the beach!

Hi Mommy!

It was still misty at the beach and real foggy and we could hardly see the horizon but we had fun searching for sand dollars, digging holes, and building sand castles.

Our first sand castle masterpiece

Dozens and dozens of whole sand dollars! Reminds me of visiting my Grandma Jane in Pensacola, FL and trying to find them whole

Eventually it cleared up and the rest of the weekend was dry. We decided to eat out as there is extreme fire danger and all campfires are banned across the state. Daddy enjoyed delicious fresh Dungeness crab cakes and Mommy had halibut fish and chips for dinner at Bennett's Fish N Chips in Westport and watched the harbor seals and sea lions swim around in the marina. We were all tired and everyone fell asleep early on Saturday night. Sunday, we were well rested and took down camp after our hot oatmeal breakfast and headed back to the beach. We built an even bigger sand castle and played in the ocean for a few hours before heading back into Westport for lunch and ice cream and then drove back home to Seattle.

Yummy ice cream!

Can't wait to go back to the ocean next weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Pastorius and Auntie Annie and Cousin Evelyn when we visit Lake Quinault and Kalaloch beach and the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park!

Happy day at the beach!

Last, but not least, CONGRATULATIONS to Cousin Molly and Rob and their new baby, Elizabeth! Can't wait to meet her!

Development

We finally went in for our 18-month and 4-year check ups last week. Marit is bursting off the charts at 29 lbs. 6 oz. (90-95th percentile) for height and 35.5 inches (>97th percentile) and I am tall and lean like Daddy at 41 lbs. (75-90th percentile) and 44 inches (>97th percentile). I passed my hearing and vision test and am up-to-date on all my shots. I was very scared but it didn't hurt too bad and I got some new stickers and a cupcake as a treat.