October ended on the highest of notes, with a weekend at the coast with the Chens and Rusts. Â Shane, La Verne, and I all had birthdays last month, and we were due for a getaway with the gang anyway, so helllooooooo, Seabrook!
This is a porch view I could get used to.
Since we checked in on Friday with only a couple of hours of daylight to spare, we dropped our bags and jetted down to the beach to maximize our time on the sand.
These two haven’t seen a whole lot of each other recently – together again and it feels so good!
The fellas set out for a brisk jog while the moms hung back with the kids.
LaV has a knack for the action shots:
I love these misty coastlines that seem to stretch on forever.
Jules was incredibly proud of her “chocolate sand castle” (see pile of poopish mud at bottom right).
“Daddy’s back! Â Daddy’s back!”
Nancy, LaV, and I took our turn jogging and then I snapped a few more pictures of our filthy kids before heading up to the house for dinner.
Shane and Jason beat us back to the house, eager to crack open a couple of cold ones on the porch.
Magic, I tell ya’.
Friday was LaV’s birthday, so we raised glasses of champagne to her, gorged ourselves on Jack’s delectable pasta, and then closed out the night with chocolate cake and an epic sugar-induced dance party. Â These people got moves.
Saturday morning brought a foot-high stack of pancakes (thanks, Jack!), and cold, crisp sunshine.
We had planned to hit the indoor community pool, but with blue skies like that, the beach beckoned.
Muddy and chilled, we decided to head over to the pool after all and warm ourselves in the hot tub.
By the time we got back to the house, the skies had clouded over and big fat raindrops started to fall (just as Jack threw our lunchtime burgers on the grill). Â He still managed a perfect char, though, and we retired to our rooms for naptime with full bellies.
We were tired.
The town of Seabrook hosted trick or treating for the littles on Saturday night, so the kids donned their costumes and grabbed their candy bags. Â Juliette’s flamingo outfit came together at the very last minute – that’s 20 feet of pink feather boas and a whole lot of safety pins!
Seabrook is a funny little town, full of row after row of perfectly-kept homes with perfectly-kept lawns and a charming little main street with a candy shop and a pizza parlor, all relatively new but designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia. Â It was a little eerie, like we’d landed on the movie set of Pleasantville. Â The people sure were friendly, though!
Biggest pumpkin ever!
The kids made out like bandits – Juliette kept looking into her basket, eyes wide, like she couldn’t believe how lucky she’d gotten.
She savored the one piece of candy she was allowed before dinner and then I hid the rest of her loot, hoping she’d forget about it (she didn’t).
We shared dessert that night with some friends that were also in Seabrook for the weekend, tucked our exhausted trick-or-treaters into bed, and then stayed up into the wee hours of the night, polishing off a bottle of Port and covering a gamut of conversation topics. Â These late-night chats are so few and far between.
We were all a little bleary-eyed on Sunday morning, but Jack perked us up with yet another home-cooked meal. Â His chilaquiles are insane. Â The kids busted into the game closet and did us the grand favor of entertaining themselves while we sipped our coffee.
With only a couple of hours left before check-out, I was determined to breathe in a little more of that salty air, so Shane, Jules, and I headed outside to take the fat bike Shane had rented for a spin.  I felt a little silly on it, like I was riding a motorcycle with no motor, but dang, that’s a smooth cruise.
I’m so glad we tossed Juliette’s bike into the trunk as were packing up on Friday, as she wanted in on the action.
I LOVE THIS GUY.
Eventually, regretfully, it was go-time. Â We picked up coffee from the town bakery, visited a couple of random Seabrook landmarks, and bid farewell to our beachfront abode.
What a glorious, friend/food/fun-filled weekend. Â Kudos to Jack for feeding us like royalty. Â Kudos to the kids for playing so well together. Â Kudos to Nance for keeping the late-night chats hilariously spicy. Â Kudos to my mom, Shane’s mom, and LaV’s mom for birthing the three of us in October. Â And kudos to the Washington Coast for being awesome. Â See you soon.