Celebrating Kari's birthday was a great way to start the week. On Sunday, we all gathered around the TV watching the World Cup, hoping that the American Women would win. By the time it was over, the rain had quit, and we were playing outside in the sunshine.
Monday brought our new adventure. The local bike shop in Manzanita rents sand tricycles sized for kids and adults. Additional they have a beach wheelchair available free of charge. We had talked to the shop on Sunday, and he had rigged a platform for my breathing machine. So we headed off to the beach with a tricycle for each boy, and three tricycles for the adults to share. I am not sure who had the most fun riding on the hard sand near the water line. We had a few accidents because the bikes are steered by leaning one way or the other. Most were single bike accidents, but the two bike accident was a real body bruiser. When we were tired of riding, we were able to watch some kite surfers launch from the shore and start riding the waves. It was amazing to see. After all that exercise, we had to refuel at the local ice cream shop.
The rest of the week we played on the beach, dug in the sand, diverted the creek that ran in front of our house, jumped the waves, and introduced Quincy to the beach. He loved the sand and running, but did not like it when people walked by without telling him how cute he was. Another activity at dusk was to release wish laterns from the beach. These rice paper hot air balloons traveled high in the sky, floated on the breeze, and carried each person's wishes with them.
All in all, it was a wonderful week. I got my salt air fix, watched the sun set over the water, played with the boys, and enjoyed being with my family. The week was exactly what I had hoped it would be.
