Cannon Beach

Ah, the beach. There's nothing like it.

And while we love the obscenely beautiful shores of Washington state, there ain't nothin' like good old fashioned soft sand.

After a long journey, we finally arrived at Cannon Beach ready for four full days of fun and rest. Stella was totally psyched about moving into our "new home" (aka our beach house rental) and immediately demanded that we head to the beach to build sand castles. Cannon Beach is gorgeous, and despite the summer crowds, we had a thoroughly wonderful time just hanging out in the small town. Stella's favorite beach activities included...

...digging ridiculously deep holes in the sand for her to stand in...

... running down the massive sand dune...

...and exploring the amazing tide pools at Haystack Rock.

She was such a little trooper during our trip, handling the inordinate amount of car and restaurant time like a pro and rewarding both of us with tons of "thank yous" and "I love yous" throughout our stay. And boy, were we happy we were at the coast that week! Temperatures in Washington and Oregon hit record highs while we enjoyed cool breezes at the beach. Hallelujah and Amen! We'll definitely head back to Cannon Beach in the future since it's such a family-friendly place to just hang, and it was a perfect spot for the three of us to celebrate Stella's second birthday as a tiny family.