Thursday, July 2, 2009

Car bonding

yup, a real live picture

Well, this was it! Our first family vacation out of state in a looooong time. I wasn't super-excited about packing the kids in the car for 14 hours but with the help of a dvd player (I know- weak!) we eliminated any fun family singathons and alphabet car travel games and instead sedated the kids with Barbie, Elmo, and other equally numbing entertainment. And you know what? Bless it all.

Above is Snoqualmie Falls in Washington state. I thought the kids would be speechless at nature's death-fall but they didn't seem too captivated. Shucks. Took me back to "The Fugitive" with Harri Ford, my ol' buddy. Great movie.


On a ferry with R's parents to Lopez Island, one of the San Juan Islands. Some people actually live there, which came as a surprise to me! I always thought those little specks on the map outside WA were just for looks. Goes to show...

The pictures below were from a beautiful beach there on Lopez. We saw sea life--some starfish, a washed up jellyfish, and crabs.

Burying Isabelle's legs in the sand. Good wholesome sand fun.


Cute Liv. The girls brought home about 10 lbs of seashells. I walk into their rooms and am blown over by the smell of sea air and dearly departed fishies. We did bring the beach home with us!


Best hats ever.
Be assured that Sam had his fun too. How can sand +water+boy not equal true bliss? Things did go a little too far when his naughty big sister Iz dumped a handful of sand down his diaper. Poor Bud! That is a place where one needs no exfoliation.

Well, we had a good time visiting R's parents and family on our trip. Now back to figuring out how to hook myself up with a comfy hammock, an icy drink, and an uninterrupted reading hour in that hammock for the remaining days of summer...
.

14 comments:

stephanie said...

sounds like good times! Beautiful picture at the top.

If you manage to get that relaxation time, let me in on your secret

Melissa Rees said...

Geesh welcome back!! Thought you were a goner from the blogging world. What a great vacay! One of these days I hope we go on a real vacation. A wedding in St. George doesn't count!

Nikki said...

Thanks goodness for portable DVD players. We love them too even for little short 1 hour trips!! I'm glad you had fun on your vacation and Sam got a good exfoliated rub on his bumb. Sure bliss I'm sure! Too funny :)

Maria said...

How fun! Looks like the kids had fun. Good for you for making a memorable family vacation happen!

Karen said...

WOW! How awesome that you braved a road trip with kids. I'm glad the DVD player came in handy for you. We tried that once and it made a couple of the kids get motion sickness. DANG! We're not the best travelers around, but it is fun when you get there. It looks like you had a wonderful time. Now just relax and have fun in your hammock!

Megz said...

I'm so impressed with the miles you packed on for family fun.
Yes, you did miss out on precious bonding by not playing the alphabet game but think of the miles saved by not arguing over who saw the letter C first?

who says bums don't need to exfoliate?

Jen said...

After 14 hours in a car with 3 kids I would have jumped off of that water fall - you are a strong woman.
Looks like a fun trip though! Bet the kids loved spending time with their grandparents . . .

LC said...

Richfield must have seemed an easy peasy drive after WA! Glad you came for a great day.
I loved the fun account of your trip. Yeah Beach!

Sherie Christensen said...

I bet R's parents were super glad to have you come. I have fond memories of singalongs in the car but, sadly, my children would all pick the DVD player -- every time.

It sounds like an adventure and it's good to have those. Three cheers for you.

rut said...

We did manage to get the alphabet game in, Megan. We got all the letters but J and V. It was nice of Anika to persevere with me. "Hey, Dad, I'm going to read for awhile, okay?"

Oh, all right.

Kudos and Target gift cards to my wonderful wife for making this happen.

Jennifer said...

Looks like a fun trip! Good luck on the R & R now. When you figure it out pass on the trick :) Loved the hats!

Hayley said...

Alphabet game? What's that? I don't think it has been played in years. I absolutely love the northwest, one of my very favorite places to go.

Looks like some fun times, and cute hats on the girls!

TisforTonya said...

any chance I can pull up an adjoining hammock - holy cats - our car trip was "only" 12 hours and I think I'm in need of some SERIOUS hammock time!

(and we played the alphabet game... the whole trip... still haven't finished actually - leave it to my kids to add a whole new IMPOSSIBLE element!)

Kelly said...

I loved the photos and the funny commentary on it all. The thing about boy+water+sand=pure bliss - so true. We've known that secret for years! :o) I'm glad that your family had a great trip.