We had such a lovely 2 weeks at Seabrook.  The kids LOVED the beach. Like, love, love, loved it. And we loved the walkability factor (and, the new wine bar).

There was this amazing tree house right down the road from the Bramble Berry House that the kids enjoyed playing in, complete with a peekaboo window for the kiddos to show their happy little faces out of. We went there every single night after dinner and it was such a sweet “Let’s look for fairies and sprites!” adventure every night.

Lily loves to drink tea, asking for it if she sees anyone drinking out of a mug. She was super excited by the tea selection I purchased at the Market at Seabrook. They carry a few brands of high quality tea and it was such a treat to taste new ones.

We brought a wagon to Seabrook and the kiddos loved being rolled around the adorable little town, looking at the sights and trying to find the “hidden caboose” (the main feature of one of Jamisen’s storybooks). We loved it so much that we left it at The Bramble Berry House for all the families to use! =) Enjoy!

We spent a LOT of time trying to find that hidden caboose (from a popular childrens’ book)  literally, days traipsing through the entire community, looking under logs and covering a lot of ground trying to find the hidden caboose. We never did find it but it was sure fun to try. It was especially fun to explore in the back up by the  horse barns because the kids were big fans of all the animals there, including the baby rabbits.

Jamisen and Lily soaked themselves daily at the beach, building moats and learning the basics of building the perfect sandcastle. After the first couple of days, they did a fairly decent job of being teammates, rather than little fiefdoms fighting for supremacy of the sand fort.

We had mostly good weather – a few Washington-state misty rainy days but for the most part, cold but clear.

We were just a few blocks from a play ground and the kids also enjoyed many hours there. It’s a really big playground and can absorb many children without ever feeling crowded.

We were so glad that Grandma and Grandpa Faiola visited several times, with Grandma driving hours each day to come spend time with her grandbabies.

We did manage to lose Jamisen out on a walk. Thankfully, it was easy to flag down a Seabrook employee who alerted the entire town via walkie talkie, and unleashed the golf-carts, bikes and cars. Jamisen was found a few minutes later, over by the construction site where he had wandered to. It was sure nice to know that the Seabrook team had a clear plan in place for lost kiddos – but I don’t want to ever repeat that again. Phew! Three cheers for the Seabrook team!

I did such a good job telling people what Jamisen was wearing that Grandma Faiola was stopped hours later by responsible citizens asking her if the little boy she was with was really her grandson. True story!

We’ve been back in Bellingham a few weeks now – but are thankful that we had a lovely, fully-furnished respite to go to in our time of need. The kids loved every minute of it.

We had a mishap at our home (the boiler blew up – on video (!) – you can watch the video here  to see what drove us from our home-home). The week after the home explosion was spent in relative peace and harmony at a friend’s home. We were so thankful that they opened up their home for us during our transition period. And, while they were wonderfully welcoming and offered to keep us indefinitely, we knew that if we wanted to keep that close friendship that we should probably skeedadle out of there.

And how lucky were we that the Bramble Berry House was there to take us in with its cozy setting, fireplace and trails to explore. The kids were thrilled that our next landing place was this  small little vacation home, fully furnished, on Washington coast in thetiny little faux Martha’s Vineyard type town of Seabrook.

It’s right by a typical Washington state beach (sandy, yet cold and windy in March). It was the first time that Lily had ever been to a beach (!) and she jumped in (literally and figuratively) with both feet. It’s hard to believe that she is almost two years old yet hadn’t made it to the Bramble Berry House =) It turns out that all things can be seen as a blessing – even a little home explosion.

It was gratifying to see Lily just throw herself whole-heartedly into messy, cold, wet play. She had no fear of the water. Jamisen also proved to be quite an explorer with forays into and over streams and wandering down the beach by himself. We were delighted that we had sun, even though it was March. It really wasn’t that cold!

Our 3-almost-4 year old loves to build too. His sandcastles were complete with moats, imaginary windows and stories.  He was marginally thankful for Lily’s help with these sandcastles but was more possessive than anything.

The pool at Seabrook; really, there aren’t enough adjectives to describe how awesome it is that there is a heated pool and hot tub just a block from the Bramble Berry House. The kids loved swimming – or rather, sitting in the hot tub – almost daily. Lily got in the big pool but quickly decided that her brother had the right idea with his plan to sit in the hot tub! The week went by pretty fast and we were excited that Grandma Faiola was around to help (a lot!), driving over 90 minutes one way, multiple days to support our family. It meant a lot to all of us to have that family support during our transition time. And most importantly, we were so ecstatic to have such a soft landing to go to after our home-home had such a surprising forced remodel.

While we weren’t able to make out to our lovely vacation home at Seabrook this year, it is so exciting to see Seabrook growing, changing and making memories for so many families. Take a look back through memory lane in this beautiful video Seabrook produced.

As for our family, we are happy, healthy and growing and hoping to make it to Seabrook at least once this year! My brother had a new baby so we can’t wait to bring the cousins to Seabrook for fun and laughter.

Happy holidays from our family to yours.

We were so delighted when our second family of the year shared photos of their stay in the Bramble Berry House at Seabrook. Yay!

Enjoying the Seabrook beach.

Like many first-time visitors, they were taken by the charming appearance and the idyllic entrance. Seriously; doesn’t this look like it could be a little Nantucket village?

Entrance to Seabrook

Of course, when they got inside the town, they quickly realized the rest of the town far exceeded the initial charming view. From the pool:

The Pool at Seabrook

to the amazing hiking, biking, walking and skipping trails:

Walking Paths at Seabrook

to the playground just a 2 minute walk from The Bramble Berry House:

Playground at Seabrook

There is a lot to keep everyone, even the littlest visitors, busy and happy at Seabrook.

Valentine kids at Seabrook

Thanks for sharing your photos with us and we hope you come back and enjoy Seabrook, and The Bramble Berry House, again!

Though our family has been busy expanding, we’ve been so happy to see other families enjoying all the fun that Seabrook has to offer.

Bramble Berry House Living Room

The Bramble Berry House is one of the only homes in all of Seabrook that has a private fire pit.

Bramble Berry Fire Pit

And of course, who doesn’t love a barbeque? Fun fact: there is so much use of the barbeque at the Bramble Berry House that the barbeque has to be replaced every 2 years. You guys really enjoy your grilling!

The Grill in Action

One of the latest addition to the Bramble Berry House though? It’s a doozy.

Adult Trike!

Yes, that’s right. An adult tricycle … this is exactly what you need for going to the Market or hauling back driftwood from the beach.

Chee family, thank you for sharing your photos. We are so glad you enjoyed the Bramble Berry House at Seabrook.

It’s been a while since I was able to post … mostly because we haven’t been able to get away to the seaside and enjoy the wonderful, idyllic Seabrook. And why you ask? Well … just one very little reason:

Happy Family

We have been extremely happy and focused on our expanded family. Jamisen, Lily’s older brother, is just starting to get used to his baby sister but she’s around for all of his big adventures. We tell them they are ‘Team Jilly’ (Jamisen + Lily) and hope that they grow up being the best of friends.

Team Jilly

In the midst of all of this, Chris trained for, and completed, a triathlon.

Chris Rockin’ the Finish Line

We have been so happy that the Bramble Berry House has been filled all summer though. It’s great to see families enjoying lovely Seabrook and we know that we’ll be there soon enough … as soon as baby sister Lily can go longer than 2 hours without eating.

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!