Gleneden Beach Vacation-August 2010

We couldn't have been more ready to go on vacation! Aaron and I coordinated Vacation Bible School this year along with a culminating carnival. It was a lot of hard work! I got to teach the fourth, fifth and sixth graders and got to see four kids receive Christ. I wrote skits that presented the gospel for the large group times and Aaron and my good friend Dawn did a great job performing them as Mr. Incredible and the Zapinator! VBS was Monday-Friday and then we packed the car Friday night for our vacation to Oregon. Saturday morning we went and set up the carnival and watched the festivities unfold. As soon as the carnival was cleaned up, we were on the road headed for Oregon! It really was insane, but it made the time away all the sweeter. Elijah and I were completely exhausted as we started the trip and we both slept for the first three hours of the drive thanks to Aaron!

The resort we stayed at was in the middle of nowhere, which was perfect for me because I really just needed to get away and truly relax. There weren't even many people at the resort or on the beach. It was perfect for Elijah because he loved the sand, the waves, the heated pool, the hot tub, the playground, and our hot chocolate ritual after swimming. Everything was literally right outside our door. We were on the top level, had the perfect view of the beach and went to sleep each night listening to the waves. We got to feed seagulls off our balcony. We were far enough away from the pool and playground to not hear a thing too so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. It was such a treat. God is so good to us. He provided in such extravagant ways with little expense to our pocketbook. It is all so undeserved, but He extends such grace.

Here are some of the images we captured on our trip! Enjoy!

Each morning started with a leisurely breakfast and
relaxing. Elijah and Aaron played catch a lot.

We discovered not all kites are created equal.

Here's where we stayed. Top far right balcony was ours.

Elijah loves to jump off things! He could
have done this balance beam for hours.

We'd have hot chocolate from the resort lobby
after each of our swimming excursions. There were
a few warmer days and we even ventured out to
the beach in swim suits once. The water was freezing so
we stuck to the heated pool and hot tub.

It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while
he'll sit still long enough to snuggle. We watched
a couple movies over the course of our week and
that kept him still long enough for me to love on him.

Oops! That was very cold! He was pretty scared of
waves by the time we left because they'd sneak up
on him and he fell a few times.

We didn't have a change of clothes so he sported
a diaper and my coat. We got some strange looks.

Elijah LOVED these birds. He'd cart them back and
forth between the balcony and the fireplace. On
the balcony, he'd line them up so they could see
what was going on at the beach. They were his little
buddies. When we left, he kissed each of them goodbye!

And....the journey continues....