Birthday Visitors & 4th of July

We had some family visit us in the end of June.  They came bearing...

cupcakes!  Yum.  They were vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting. They were delicious.  They are all gone, now.  

James' sister and her family came for my birthday.  And to enjoy the coast.  

The kids had a great time with some cousins they hadn't seen yet this summer.

 My sister-in-law and her two youngest children.  

It was a beautiful day too.

Hundreds of these blue jellyfish were washed up on shore.   We've never seen anything like them before, so we looked them up.   They are Velella velella, also known as, "by-the-wind-sailor" and "sea raft."  

It is not a jellyfish.  It is a cnidaria, like the Sea Nettle and Portuguese Man-of-War.  The Velella velella do sting, but they are harmless to humans.  Each velella is actually a hydroid colony of tiny animals that can't survive individually.

They float on top of the water, with their tentacles hanging down in the water to find food (plankton).   The "sail" pushes them through the water, when it catches the wind.  

Occasionally, the wind works against them and they find themselves stranded on shore by the hundreds or thousands.  

The beach is Taylor's favorite place.  She is always so happy when she's there.  

The kids usually come home with "treasures" every time we go down.  

It was so great to see our family and enjoy their company for a few days.  It was very nice of them to come so far.  It's quite a drive, especially with little ones. 

A few days after my birthday is the 4th of July.  We actually bought some sparklers this year.

 I know, I know.  Amazing isn't it.  

I can't remember the last time we had sparklers or if the kids have ever had them.  I'm not big on spending money on stuff that just burns and is then gone.  

But the kids sure had fun running around with their burning sticks and it did make me smile.  

And they each had a "tank" that shot out flames.  That was pretty exciting to watch.  

Then we walked down to a field where we hoped we'd be able to see some fireworks.   

Sunset on the 4th of July.  That's the Coquile River Lighthouse, with the river in front of it and the Pacific Ocean behind it. 

Some unofficial fireworks kept us entertained until the "real" ones began.  I think this picture turned out better than any of the pictures of fireworks after dark.  

The official fireworks started at 10pm and were over at 10:20pm.  They were pretty though and we all enjoyed them.  Then we had a 15 minute walk back home, at 10:30 at night.  I think we're going to do things differently next year.  

Now the holidays and festivities are over and we're trying to get back into a routine, with James going to work everyday and the kids and I accomplishing school and things around the house and walks to the beach.  

Busy, busy, but life is good!