Nicholas's Make-A-Wish Trip (Day 4)

On Friday we went to the Hatfield Marine Science Center which is run by Oregon State University. It's a free museum that just asks for donations. It is much smaller than the Oregon Coast Aquarium, but it was really fun!

This is not the best family photo of us because the sun was so bright we were all squinting and trying to keep our eyes open was a challenge!

Nicholas thought this frog was pretty cool

 This is the skull of a killer whale found beached on Newport's shore

 A cute little turtle

 I would say this was Nicholas's favorite exhibit by far! I told him we found Nemo, Marlin, and Dory. He was thrilled and sat watching them swim for about ten minutes.

 Ella wanted to touch some of the sea stars. They were all so bright and colorful!

 A fossilized turtle shell

 This museum had a lot more interactive things for kids. But our children were too young for most of the activities which were science-based.

We did enjoy looking at the fish, though!

Nicholas liked feeling the soft fur of an otter pelt. 

He also liked looking at the cool boats.

My parents were so helpful with keeping an eye on Ella and Nicholas for us all the times we were out. It is much easier to parent with four adults and two kids!

 When we finished looking around the Marine Hatfield Science Center, we decided to stop by this cute toy store I had spotted a few days earlier when we drove by. It's called Sandcastle Toys and it is AWESOME!! It's a must-see if you have little ones. 

 The display in the front window

  Ella found a shopping cart just her size and starting looking for things to put in it.

 Nicholas ended up with a huge ball that has a frog face on on it, and a small ball with a fish inside. 

Ella loved this cool scooter they had called a Plasma Car, so we had to buy it for her.

 Then we went to the Newport waterfront and ate lunch at Mo's. Nicholas got restless toward the end of our meal, so Jeff took him to the docks to see the fishermen bring up the crab pots. One fisherman showed Nicholas a crab close-up. This is Ella and Grandpa while we waited for Jeff and Nicholas to return. 

 On the way home we stopped for Tillamock ice-cream. Delicious!

Ella immediately feel asleep after such a fun, busy day.

While Gramme & Grandpa stayed with the kids and rested, Jeff and I went for a romantic walk on the beach, just the two of us. 

 It was a beautiful, sunny evening, but it was also super windy!

 We saw lots of different flocks of birds...

 and a one-legged seagull.

 Someone built this cool fort out of driftwood

 Jeff found a walking stick for our walk back home

 We walked by the carvings in the sand wall

 And Jeff carved my name.

 (Okay, not really. It was actually already there.)

 It is amazing that plants can grow in sand with not too much water. 

 The Oregon Coast takes my breath away, it is one of the most beautiful places on earth!

 We also saw a vulture circling to eat a dead seal which was disgusting and smelled awful. 

 This was the path back to the beach house.

 And Ella was awake from her nap and greeted us upon our return. 

Later that night, after the kids were tucked into bed, we stayed up and enjoyed our last night talking around the campfire. It was the perfect end to yet another perfect beach day!