Monday, May 30, 2016

Camping Adventure!


Doug & Kelly had booked a weekend in Bellingham/Lynden for Memorial Day weekend, but since Doug is still recovering from his scooter accident, they couldn't go, so we got to go!


The weather was nice when we got there late Friday night, but by midnight, it was POURING down rain.  I was so grateful to be in the motorhome and not in a tent!



I forget how nice KOA's are, they have a big playground, a "heated" pool, putt putt, you name it.  We had a great time, even with the rain.  The people seem a lot more friendly too, I think the whole experience is a little more family-friendly than camping next to a bunch of drunk 20-somethings at the state park.




Parker spent most of the trip "fishing". We forgot to bring the kid's fishing poles, so he was fishing with my pole, but no hook.  We weren't really interested in actually catching a fish, and considering Parker's casting skills, I wasn't super excited about digging a fish hook out of my forehead either.



I bought this cover at Costco on impulse the day before we left.  It was a GREAT purchase, we set it up next to the campfire and we could stay dry-ish in the rain.


Yes, Cecily is wearing a sleeveless dress in the rain while the rest of us are wearing as many layers as we could find.  That girl is crazy.




I almost bought roasting sticks at Costco also, but I resisted the 2nd impulse purchase because "I'm sure we have some, right?"  Turns out we didn't.  So, Keith made-do with a hatchet and some kindling...it didn't really work and we bought some in the KOA Kamp Store the next morning.




Oh, the door drama!


So, the main motorhome door has always had two locks, the main door lock and a deadbolt.  The deadbolt has never worked (the lever inside is missing and the key won't turn), but we don't really need it so it's fine.

Then, Saturday afternoon, Cecily & I went inside to read a book, and several hours later, when we tried to go outside, we couldn't.  We tried everything, up to & including breaking the key in the door, but no luck.  Fortunately, we could climb in & out through the cab, but it was less than convenient, especially in the pouring rain.


Once we got home, Keith set to work trying to take out the old door lock out.  We started small, trying to drill into the casing to turn the lock, but by the end, Keith had to saw straight through a 1" x 3" block of solid metal to dismantle the thing.



Three hours later, he had the lock out.  It only took us another hour to install the new lock (which could have been done in 5 minutes if the thing had come with directions).


Tuesday, May 24, 2016

"Look Mama! I'm wearing boots!"



...and she put them on with dry-erase marker, so they're on there for good.

I went shopping and bought Parker a new hat, and Cecily (apparently) a new dress.  I think it might be a touch big for her.


Our local Fire Department had an open house.  It was really fun, we saw them saw open a car, we got to climb in a fire truck, and try out the night-vision goggles in a "smoky" room.


Parker's self-portrait:


He told me that the horn growing out of his head is his mohawk.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Breakfast

Today, we had strawberry shortcake for breakfast, because I'm awesome like that.


Tell me how this is different from pancakes with strawberries and maybe I'll feel guilty about it.


Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Spring Break - April 17-20

We started Spring Break out with a trip to The Great Wolf Lodge with the Hawkins





After 4 hours in the pool, we were ready to dry off and get some dinner.  These are some of our very favorite people and we had such a great time with them.


The kids got their own "room"


We were excited for the kids to have their own space to fall asleep and give us space to watch a movie or whatever...of course we ended up with Cecily falling asleep in our bed and kicking me out to the chair.  Oh well.


We spent one night at Brian & Sandi's, the kids enjoyed visiting the near-by playground.  Amber didn't seem so excited about the soccer.


We were able to meet-up with Nicole, my roommate from College.  It's been years since we've seen each other, but we caught up again like no time had passed.



Then on to Albany to see the Gerigs.


As always, we are so busy having fun with Jeff & Katie & kiddos that I hardly have any photos.


On Wednesday, Jeff took the day off and we headed over to Newport for an adventure.

We visited the Newport Aquarium, we'd been there before after Brian & Sandi's wedding, but it was great!  They've added a shipwreck/under-water salvage section that is FASCINATING.  They totally put the Seattle Aquarium to shame.








After lunch, we headed to the beach.  The weather was a little iffy, but that didn't stop the boys from running up & down the sand cliffs.



On our way home, we stopped at the Olympia children's museum.




Cecily was in a bit of a mood for most of the visit, but we still had a great time.


This was her favorite part, taking care of the babies.  Cecily has decided that she's going to be a "Family Doctor" when she grows up so she can work on "babies and grown-ups and old people"