Long Beach

The children woke early and jumped into my sleeping bag at different times for morning snuggles. We played musical sleeping bags all night and I warmed many feet on my legs and many hands on my belly. As they slept, I lay awake deep in thought and grateful for the chance to mother each of them. 

We ate a quick breakfast on the drive to Long Beach. The children ran across the sand with excitement and anticipation at the things they would discover today. The waves here come from all the way across the ocean and crash with more power and force than one can imagine. 

The morning fog was just starting to burn off and I had fun trailing behind practicing my photography skills and watching their faces light up at every turn.

The tide was just coming in and the waves chased our feet all the way down the beach.

Sometimes the children let the cold water rush over their feet as they followed Daddy.

Other times they ran away shrieking and giggling as if they were playing a game with the ocean. 

I was constantly finding Joe staring in the blue water as the waves rolled in, mesmerized by their power and force.

And then he would run to his next adventure on the beach.

There was so much to discover along the way. The children enjoyed learning about the different tracks left behind by snails, birds, and hermit crabs. We found crab shells, big shells, small shells...

We walked until we were too tired to walk anymore and finally found the starfish that we had been searching for. Holding a starfish was all that Hyrum could talk about at bed time for these last couple of nights. He was tickled to find so many on the rocks!

We waded through tide pools and touched the eneminies as they swayed and danced. 

Fin decided that it was fun to get his picture taken and look at the photo after. Each time he would look at it and say "Coooool! Do it again!"

We explored the rocks for probably a good hour, learning about the different sea life and searching for crabs.

I swayed on the beach with a sleeping babe on my back soaking it all in and capturing it as best I could.

It was the perfect morning.

Daddy finally found a star fish that would let go and Hyrum was super excited to hold it and touch it.

Soon it was time to make the long trek back to the van. The tide had come in quite a bit and the children were gradually getting wet as we walked. 

The walk back seemed to take twice as long and we were all pretty tired by the end. As we watched the ocean we were lucky enough to spot a harbor seal and the blowspout of a whale! The seal played in the waves next to shore for quite some time and the children laughed everytime it popped up for air. The island where we began was in our sights, and it seemed a lot closer than it actually was. The children were soaked when we finally arrived at the van and they were happy to jump in and warm up!

Finley fell asleep shortly after we returned to camp, his legs exhausted from the long walk this morning. 

When our sleepyheads woke up we drove into Tofino and walked around for a bit. We needed a few groceries and the kids wanted a break from playing in the ocean. They had a lot of fun playing at the park and watching the skaters at the skate park.

Ollie happily snuggled on my back in the Chimparoo as we explored.

We promised the kids ice cream and they were so excited for the treat! Finley fell off the picnic table bench a few minutes after this picture and his whole cone smashed. There was a lot of crying, but Daddy quickly grabbed him a new cone and helped ease the pain.

Ollie got to share with everybody else and loved every lick. After we were finished we went back to camp and attempted to do laundry for seven. I was glad that I brought my own detergent since we spent $12 on two loads (and they didn't even get that clean).

After the sun went down we started a fire to keep us warm while we visited. The air is cool and moist and chills you right to the bone after the sun`disappears. It was enjoyed by all, especially Hyrum who said, "Daddy, watching a fire and drinking hot chocolate is AWESOME!" Camilla came up with some pretty awesome campfire games and we all had a good laugh before bed.

Tofino

 This morning we packed up camp bright and early and hit the road for Tofino. Packing up after a few days proved to be a bit of a challenge. One of the sleeping bags refused to fit in the roof rack and was almost left in the forest after being thrown from the van by a disgruntled packer. We ended up with a few more things in the van and under our feet, but the kids were still smiling.

We stopped on our way out of town for groceries, water shoes, and sandals. Fitting it all in the van was like a jigsaw puzzle! I'm still not sure how we did it! With the van stuffed to the top, we were off to spend a week on MacKenzie Beach!

The last leg of the trip, although short, is dreaded because of the crazy winding road nick-named "the puke road". From Nanaimo it didn't take long to make it to Coombs where we had to stop and pick up our favorite candied salmon.

This old car parked on the square was a fun find for the littles!

I had told them about the goats on the roof in Coombs before we left home, but they weren't sure what to expect! They thought it was pretty cool that they lived up there. And brainstormed all of the different ways they could have gotten up there.

We watched them for a little while before heading into the famous market to look at trinkets and toys.

This little girl found a goat stuffy the second we walked in. Collecting stuffed animals is kind of her thing. She held onto that thing the entire time as we browsed through the rest of the toys at the store. 

I could have stayed in the market forever! These things are my favorite! I wanted to pick up Christmas presents and gifts for everyone I knew, but I restrained myself and settled for a cute little Nativity that has me excited for Christmas.

While the boys were deciding on their souvenirs Mr. Stannix picked up some salmon and then we were off!

We found this little gem near the check-out. It totally screamed "Mike" and we had to buy it! With that we set out on "the puke road" where we lost a few to motion sickness and sleep. They all came to as we saw the ocean playing peek-a-boo through the trees while we drove. 

The littles could hardly wait to see the ocean up close! We ended up with the perfect campsite with stairs to the beach on one side and a bathroom on the other. After we were all changed into our swimming suits we ran down to check out the beach!

The tide was just right for swimming and wave jumping.

I could sit and watch the waves roll in all day long and never get bored. I love the Ocean and the way it is constantly moving and changing with the tides.

While Mr. Stannix was wave jumping with the big kids, I hung out with the younger two on the beach. Finley dug and dug all afternoon.

This wild baby crawled around the beach dipping in and out of tide pools.

The water was cold, but the weather was perfect! I was in love.

When everyone was shivering out of their swimming suits we rinsed off and head up to camp. After a warm dinner, we tucked the littles into their sleeping bags for the night.

While Mr. Stannix waited for them to fall asleep I snuck down to the beach to watch the sun set behind the rocks. The tide had gone out quite a bit and the sky was painted in pastel pinks and yellows.

I walked the beach until Ollie fell asleep, admiring the shells left behind by the ocean and soaking in the fresh sea air. 

I was so excited to finally be here to enjoy one of my favorite things. I looked forward to sneaking out and relishing in many more sunsets as the week went by!

Mr. Stannix was building a fire when I returned and we finished off our evening eating salmon and laughing together. We fell asleep with grateful hearts to the sound of the crashing waves below.

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!