Spring Break 2010

I always try to make spring break fun for the kids. I want them to be able to go back to school and feel like they had a nice respite. This year, on Monday we all went to see How to Train Your Dragon. Reviews of the movie range from amazing (Elizabeth) to ok (Jacob) to "ouch that was expensive!" (me). I thought it was a good movie and brought tears to my eyes a few times. I'm sure we'll buy it when it comes out on DVD. We did some shopping at Target and Costco after the movie and to give you an idea of the chaos, I paid for, then walked out of Target without my purchases because I was busy keeping track on where the children were! Tuesday we took a bike ride to the Local Scoop, a restaurant in town with an ice cream counter. It was Elizabeth's idea to do the bike ride but I think she had second thoughts as she peddled uphill against the wind to get home.

at our destination

I'm the one in pink reflected in the window

I did the math and this year is the 10th year I've brought the children down to Ocean Shores. We did our newspaper delivering on Tuesday and Wednesday morning and then headed out. Our first stop with the Grand China Buffet in Everett. The kids love it because they don't have to wait for their food and they can choose just what they want to eat.

Tummies filled to the rim, we spent the next three hours driving to the beach. For the past 7 years, we've stayed at the Quinault Beach Resort. I've loved staying there because they are the closest to the beach and have a great pool with floor to ceiling windows looking out over the ocean. Unfortunately, they raised their prices this year and I couldn't afford two rooms at the new rate. This year we ended up staying at the Best Western Lightouse Suites, which is the 2nd closest hotel to the beach. The "lighthouse" in the name is the cupala you can see in the photo. You can stand up there and get a 360 view. There is a walkway on the outside but it was closed due to the storm weather. The manager of the hotel had to find me to let me know that a certain 17 year old teenager was seen climbing out of a venilation window and doing pull ups off the gutter. Aparently he wanted to walk around on the outer walkway. Do all teenage boys have a death wish? The first night we were there, he went swimming in the ocean at midnight without my knowledge. It's a good thing I love him so much or else I would kill him!

The rooms here are a lot larger than the Quinault and it's nice that they have a microwave so I don't have to bring one from home. (Jacob finds bringing a microwave from home the ultimate in hillbilly tacky. I call is economical!) They also offer a deluxe continental breakfast which makes it nice for the kids. We've never gone out for breakfast so we aren't saving any money, but it's nice to keep the sticky breakfast mess out of the room. The kids enjoyed the make your own waffles, muffins, and bagels. The biggest drawback at the Best Western is the pool. It's a lot smaller than the Quinault and looks out over the parking lot. The kids don't mind the size but because it's smaller, it's MUCH louder in the pool area. I actually went to Ace Hardware and bought ear plugs which make hanging out in the pool area way more pleasant! We generally spend 3-4 hours a day at the pool so getting through it without a headache is huge if you're going solo like I was. We have a big bin of pool toys: snorkels, masks, balls, diving toys, flippers, things to float on. It's funny to look around the pool and see kids everywhere using our toys, not just my own. When we leave, the pool looks pretty boring.

Our fearless Miriam had watched other children jumping into our inner tube from the side and decided she could do that too. Here she is.

Isaac and Isaac decided to use their allowance money to rent these fun bikes for an hour.

Since we WERE at the ocean, we did spend a little time at the beach! You have to know that the beach in March/April in Washington is not a lounge around in a bikini kind of beach, it's a bundle up in winter clothes and almost be warm enough kind of beach. On Friday, they had a "10 year" storm that brought sustained winds of 50 mph with gusts up to 70. We didn't go to the beach that day but Isaac did learn that kites don't like 50 mph winds.

The Isaacs were the only ones brave (or crazy) enough to go in the water.

Jacob and William built a sandcastle.....

while the rest of the children stayed warm in the van.

The beach in Washington is a state highway and cars are allowed to drive along it.

It wouldn't be a vacation in my book without ice cream. I absolutely LOVE ice cream but when I'm at home I'm able to resist. Something about vacation causes me to throw caution to the wind and I gleefully consume ice cream on a daily basis. We braved the wind storm that was so strong it was difficult to open the car doors so we could go get ice cream!

We can never seem to go anywhere without looking like a real hillbilly family. Here's the van packed and ready to head home. The back inside is also filled as are the areas around the seats.

We stayed for three nights which gives us two full days at the beach as well as our two travel days. I've decided over the years that two nights just isn't enough. Four might be perfect but we always have to weigh play time with cost. Just getting the two rooms was a reach. The maximum occupancy of the rooms at the Best Western was 6 and while I know I could have squeezed the seven of us in, I just wouldn't have felt right about it. As long as we were paying for two rooms, I decided to let Isaac bring a friend.