Parksville

This morning we woke up, showered the kids and ourselves, got dressed in our Sunday clothes and went to church in Nanaimo. One thing I love about our church is that it is the same everywhere you go! We bumped into some old friends from Edmonton and had fun catching up and commenting on how big our kiddos are now. Joe and Ollie slept through the whole meeting and the other three were so tired that they hardly moved. 

After church we went back to camp and ate lunch. We made our way to Parksville for the afternoon to walk around and explore. On the way there Joe educated us on breathing. "Daddy, if your  tummies movin', that means you're breathin'!" 

We found ourselves in the middle of beach fest! It took a while to find a place to park, but we were so excited to run along the beach in our barefeet! I almost stepped on a million of these little guys after I busted my flip flop walking through a rather deep tide pool. 

We picked up many treasures along the way and they begged to keep them all! I soaked in the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves and the colors of the bright kites floating in the sky.

The tide came in as we combed  the beach and we constantly had to move our stuff. As we waded across this particular tide pool we came across a whole bunch of Jelly fish! Camilla lost her sandals and both the boys were crying by the time they made it to the other side. After a little while Camilla laughed about the whole thing and told me that she was so scared that she "jumped right out of her shoes". 

This boy was in heaven and couldn't stop giggling!

We built a ton of these sand castles! It was super fun.

I loved sitting back and capturing it all through my lens. Having so much extra time to spend with Daddy was a big highlight for everyone. They especially loved when he got down to their level and played with them. 

Camilla was super proud of her shell covered sand castle. 

As we explored the beach on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, I couldn't help but feel so grateful for this man that I get to call mine. He takes such good care of us! 

It warmed my mother heart to see everyone playing happily together.

It was so relaxing and wonderful by the ocean...

Our deep holes were eventually swept away by the tide.

Hyrum had a whole bucket full of treasures by the end of the afternoon and wanted to keep them all. Each shell was unique and special.

When everyone was hungry and the water had come in, we decided to make our way back to the car. We walked by the kites, the amazing sand sculptures and stopped at the park for a few minutes to play. Camilla and I walked barefooted, hand in hand, all the way back to the car since we were both without flip-flops now. It was the perfect end to the day!