Life with the Ball's: Oregon Coast 2019

We are back from the Oregon Coast! We just returned from a fantastic week-long vacation/family reunion. It was a much-needed getaway and hopefully one we will repeat in a couple of years instead of waiting nine years like we have since the last time we went, which you can read all about here.
Before I tell you more about the trip I have to say that I was not looking forward to camping for a week. It's been a long time since I've camped even for an one night. Scoutmaster Randy has been doing enough camping for the both of us and I haven't missed it one bit! For me, camping means a lot of work and preparation, dirty kids and dirt everywhere, sleeping uncomfortably in a tent and then waking up at the crack of dawn with a toddler. Maybe I'm just getting old and tired but I really appreciate the basic things in life like a soft bed, electricity, and a shower to wash away the camping grime. But I was excited to see my family and I know I can do hard things so I girt up my loins and did some meal prep in advance to make camping life easier and hoped for the best. It turns out I was worried for nothing. Mostly because of two awesome things. A yurt and sunshine.

Our yurt: Home sweet home!

We stayed in a yurt which is a cool circular tent thing with wood floors, beds, electricity(!), and heat. It's the closest thing to camping in a 5-star hotel you'll ever do. Plus the public bathrooms were clean and the showers were free with plenty of hot water which we took full advantage of after a day at the beach. We lucked out with sunny weather every single day we were there and that's no small thing. Usually there's a lot of clouds and fog that sometimes burns off in the afternoon but we woke up to sunny skies every day which meant the kids could play at the beach as soon as they ate breakfast, so they did.

My boys playing double dutch would only happen on a camping trip where there are no screens.

But the greatest thing about camping that I've forgotten about is that the kids play all day long. If we had stayed at a beach house (which would've been my preference) the kids would've played at the beach and then come inside and watched TV for their down time. Instead the kids played all day long with each other, strengthening their relationships with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. It was priceless. We played lots of board games late into the night. My boys played catch with the football, they played lacrosse, they rode their scooters as they explored the camp ground, we went on easy hikes, explored the tide pools, walked along the beach, and ate a ton of junk food throughout it all. But mostly we were at the beach all day every day.

Here's a few more pics...