2nd full day at the beach

standing on the beach with our hotel in the background

Sleeping with Miriam
Our 2nd night at the hotel I got the joy of sleeping with Miriam.  The hotel pool water must not be balanced correctly because all the kids had rashes after swimming in it for two days.  Miriam's rash was burning like a sunburn and she wanted to cuddle with mom instead of sleep with Gabriel on the hide-a-bed.  To say she is a restless sleeper is to leave a lot out.  Her little six year old body takes up more room than a few adults!  During the night she: talked in her sleep, twined her hands through my hair, apparently ran a marathon in her sleep using my back as the pavement, ended up upside down on top of the blankets, and hogged the bed.  Not a very peaceful night.  She was still sleeping when I took Gabriel and William down to the breakfast area.  When we got back, we woke her up on accident so she went and crawled into bed with Jacob.  What a girl!

Horseback riding
My mom had given each of the kids spending money and the girls chose to use theirs on a horseback ride down the beach.  They got an hour's ride for $20 each.  They thought it was the most fun when their horses went fast.  They had a great time and plan to bring enough money next time to get to go more than once.  They might have to space their rides out though, they were pretty sore the next day!

Elizabeth with Kodiak

Anastaya with Rough

A run on the beach
Friday morning Jacob decided to go for a run.  He set off down the beach with an empty stomach and no water.  He ended up running four miles down the beach and four miles back.  He was hobbling by the time he made it back to the room.  He hasn't run since the end of cross country.  Apparently he doesn't believe in moderation.  He was sore and sick to his stomach with blisters on his feet.

Yummy Treats
We took the kids into town to Murphy's Homemade Ice Cream because no vacation is complete without ice cream.  The flavors we indulged in:  tropical sorbet (William), Vanilla (Miriam), Root beer Float (Gabriel), Chocolate Chip Mint (Boma), Praline Pecan (me), Coconut Almond Fudge (Anastaya), Rocky Road (Elizabeth).  The Isaacs and Jacob decided not to come with us.

Hey girls, leave my ice cream cone alone!

buying candy

That night, my mom and I left the kids in the room to enjoy a dinner of toasted cheese sandwiches and tomato soup made by Jacob while we went to a small Italian restaurant in town, Pasta de Vine.  It opened recently and we were very happy with everything.  The service was great, they served us Crystal Springs water in our glasses instead of yucky Ocean Shores municipal water, and the food was very tasty.

I had the seafood cioppino, it was great!

(Except the Havlick in me wanted bread to dredge through the sauce)

My mom got seafood lasagna which was also tasty.