Things to always bring to the beach? At the minimum, a plastic shovel and a plastic bucket (even a paper latte cup or in this case, an ice cream cup from the Seabrook Market will do).

Always bring a pair of extra pants for little kids. They inevitably get wet and sandy and with a 5 minute walk back to the house, it can get awfully chilly.

Enjoy the beach – dress in layers – and be prepared to feel the amazing pull of the wide, wide ocean and beyond. It is awe-inspiring for kids and adults of all ages.

There’s a hidden attic in the Bramble Berry House at Seabrook. The pull down ladder is on the first floor, right by the bathroom. It’s ideal for rainy days or rambunctious kids.

Of course, we recommend parental supervision for younger kids. Even with this latch, safety is always every parents’ first thought.

There are balls, trikes, a giant tic-tac-toe game and a little crawling tent.

There’s even a race track, complete with traffic cones for bigger kids. For the little guys, there are always bouncy balls.

We hope that you have as much family fun in the hidden attic as we do when we visit.

One of the wonderful things about Seabrook is the walkability of the town. Casey and the town designers have thoughtfully planned everything so you can reach every major point of interest within a 5 minute walk. This means there are very few cars on the road – and, it’s easy to walk down the middle of the street like these two happy boys. This is right outside of the Bramble Berry House.

The Bramble Berry House is right by the playground (yay!), close to the wonderful trail to the beach (right by the Fair and Gnome town scenes) and two streets over from the new pool. This is on the way to the new pool (perfect for families). The seashell pathways add a nice touch of authentic seatown feel and the weathered picket fences? The most authentic seaside touch ever. Nicely designed, Seabrook, nicely designed.

Seabrook has quite possibly the most gorgeous beach in all of the Pacific Northwest.

It is the perfect place to let a little 16 year old toddler run around. The beach is so smooth that he can easily run around. He could spend hours there, content and laughing.

The sand is soft and fine-grained. With all the little sand-digging creatures (gooey ducks? clams?) spouting water up and down the beach, the driftwood, and small shells, it is an ideal family beach. We love Seabrook!

We were so sad to learn that the vintage space-saving, small high chair at the Bramble Berry House broke (insert sad face here). This is the new one we replaced it with. It’s not as kitschy cool as the old one (sigh) but it does the trick of folding up and storing completely flat. Jamisen is loving some Seabrook corn (thank you Market for keeping grocery prices affordable!).

We also left a sippy cup in the cupboard for anyone that shows up without one. We have been there, done that and can sympathize.

We added some extra accent pieces to the house – just to give a bit more comfort (especially to our lovely window seat). We love the look of the sea-inspired pillows and think they work beautifully in the house.

Fun, colorful coral explosion

Pillow from Pottery Barn

We also got new napkins for the table. They match the pillow from Pottery Barn to help make the house look more connected from room to room. We hope these extras make the home more comfortable and more destination-themed for all of our visitors.

Cloth napkins for the seaside home

Thanks to a great suggestion in the guest book (yes, we read all those comments and love to hear how your visits went!), we added a bench to the living room. This way, the living room can fit even more people in it. We’re hoping it doesn’t take away from the open feeling of the top floor house design.

The sturdy wooden bench

Look from hallway

From entryway

When we were last at The Bramble Berry House at Seabrook, we used the outdoor shower (with a toddler who loved the beach, it was so convenient to clean up outside). One thing we noticed is that the shower did not drain as well as it could. Thanks to one creative and hardworking husband, that issue should is now solved. He installed a drainage pipe under the shower that should drain cleanly and quickly for years.

Digging the ditch

Ditch is finished

Pipe just needs to be covered

Our family snuck away for a little Seabrook beach time recently. Both Chris and I worked during Jamisen’s nap time (he’s thankfully still taking 2 naps a day) and when he wasn’t napping, we were happily exploring the great outdoors. We literally spent every moment possible outside during the sunny days that we had. Though Jamisen has been to the beach before, he wasn’t really mobile so this was his first real introduction to sand.

Jamisen initially wasn’t a fan of the sand. He would lift his feet, and try not to have to touch it. And then, Grandpa gave him tools. That was all it took for Jamisen to become a big fan of sun, surf and sand. He liked it so much that he kept trying to eat it. We’re hoping he grows out of this eating-sand phase. Grandpa got completely soaked and dirty showing Jamisen the finer points of shoveling sand (don’t laugh; it’s an art). Grandpa also dropped his iPhone in the ocean. We all held our breath for two hours until he had dried it out (by baking it). His iPhone appears no worse for the wear except that it won’t ever power off. Phew!
Jamisen is learning how to walk. He takes a few steps on his own but hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it. He looks like he’s doing a great job right? Ha! And just out of frame, both parents are at the ready to catch him if he takes a tumble.

Chris and I are both thankful for time off as a family. We both agree that taking time off with a one year old is tons of fun but not very relaxing. We were so excited that the Bramble Berry House is so close to the one big play area at Seabrook because we utilized it a lot too. Between the beach, the pool and the playground, Seabrook is perfect for families, ours included.