Ocean Shores

on the sand
Originally uploaded by anneke boudreau

We spent a long weekend in Ocean Shores, WA with another family (who also has a young child and a husky-mix dog). We took the Seattle/Bremerton ferry both directions. Z slept through the ferry ride there, but fully explored the ferry on the way home. We had sunshine on Sunday and spent a couple hours digging and running on the sand. Iko and Kodiak ran and ran and ran on the beach - chasing birds, each other, and peeing on all sorts of foul-smelling things. Despite learning the lesson multiple times, Iko drank too much saltwater.

Sunday night we noticed bazillions of birds flying along the shore - flocks and flocks of pelicans, gulls, terns, and who knows what else. On the way back to the house, we thought Z was having an asthma attack so called Children's After Hours who diagnosed his breathing over the phone and said it wasn't asthma (thank goodness) but that he did have a lot of gunk in his lungs that could either be from allergies or a cold, "If it's allergies, the longer you stay, the worse it will get." Since it was too late to leave Sunday we considered leaving Monday morning, but decided to stick it out. I'm glad we did, because Monday night all the planets aligned for a "parents party" of wine, games (Dr. Seuss trivia and yahtzee), and lots of laughter. Overall, a fantastic weekend. We need to do more of these!!

There are 19 more photos of our Ocean Shores weekend.

the thrill of the ride

20 adults + 6 children + 3 houses + many, many inches of fresh snow = winter snow fiesta 2007.

J and I snowboarded Saturday morning then...

'Twas Saturday night, and all through the house
the rain pitter-pattered, like a whole herd of mouse.
The snowboards were hung by the door with care,
in hopes that the powder soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of snowflakes danced in their heads.
And papa in his 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

The next thing we knew, the son greeted the new day,
and everyone at the "wake and bakery" had one thing to say:
"Visibility is low, but the snow couldn't be sweeter."
We couldn't have asked for anything neater.

For two and a half hours we swooshed down the slopes.
We hooted and hollered and acted like dopes,
for nothing tops the thrill of a ride
like butter and chocolate, oh how we did glide!


That afternoon was our shift at the "daycare center" (i.e., the living room in our house). I plotted out the predicted diapering, nap, play and snack times for each child then updated the chart with the actual times as we navigated through our 4 hour tour. Thankfully, we had another adult to help us, and it went smoothly.

It was the Land Bruiser's first family vacation. Before we left I wasn't so sure it was the right vehicle for the trip, but less than 30 minutes on the road it was clearly the right decision. We hauled three humans, two canines, and all of our stuff - it is astounding how much we can pack for a weekend (although, what is more astounding is that of the 5 items that I *had* to pack, I forgot to pack Z's allergy medication. J's quick thinking and calling remedied the situation with a detour through Bellingham). Plus, with all the snow, we had to put the Bruiser into four-wheel drive to get to the ski hill. woo-hoo!

I still can't believe we didn't snowboard at all last season. I'm thankful we had this trip and hope we can get up at least once more this year. Sharing with other families works really well and I look forward to more of that.

I can't wait to strap some wood onto Z's feet. One day, he'll be at lessons and J&I can take off for an afternoon on the slopes. Then, the day when we'll be snowboarding (or skiing) as a family...hooting and hollering together. Or...will Z be too cool for us? Will he even like the snow? I like to dream that he will and that family vacations on the slopes will be times that we will all remember fondly...much like all the snowboarding over the last 10 years has been some of the best times that J and I have shared.

mmm. It tastes good.