Valentine's Day

We decided that our family needed some time away so we went to Ocean Shores for Valentine's weekend. Being a native of Washington, I should have known that the ocean in Feb isn't the best idea, but I was so looking forward to some good quality family time I bought beach toys, kites, and dug the kid's sandals out of our summer things. Such an optimist. Our first day was freezing but that didn't stop Jon from breaking out the new sand toys and making me this. He is adorable!

We also brought along some bread to feed the seagulls (note to others, the park ranger will eventually come by to tell you that there are actually signs asking people NOT to feed the seagulls-who knew?) It all started out simple, a few gulls flew over and Caden thought it was great...

.

..until they swarmed him and started pulling the bread right out of his hand. He turned tail and ran for the van.

You would too if this was coming at you. I'm not zoomed in on my camera at all. They literally hover above you, inches away, no fear at all. Caden and I worked up our courage again and got through a whole loaf of bread until we were chastised.

Ella was not so sure about the whole thing. She is not a great fan of the cold so she kept warm by running at the seagulls making them scatter. It was her bliss to watch them fly before her with the added benefit that it really ticked Caden off. After a while though she opted to take her bread into the front seat of the car and eat it herself. She is so cute. There was a little dog on the beach and and she was concerned that the seagulls were going to eat so she tried to tempt it into the car with her by offering to share her partially stale bread. Didn't understand why the little beast refused her offerings.
The waves were huge this day, the biggest I've ever seen them in Washington, it was fun watching as the tide came in. We collected sea shells, made foot prints, watched people fly kites, saw horses, and generally just enjoyed being together. That night we swan in the hotel pool (you really didn't expect me to post a picture that depicted me in a swim suit did you?) and warmed ourselves in the hot tub until we were all so exhausted we feel into bed with out complaint.


The next day was chilly but beautiful. We took the kids to the family fun center where we rode go carts, bumper cars, played in the video arcade, ate at the best ice cream parlor, and poked our heads into a couple of the local shops.

This is me and Caden beating Dad and Ella to the finish line of the race track. His smile says it all. It was such a nice time to just enjoy the kids, play and wrestle with them, eat dinners that we didn't have to prepare or clean up from, see things that are out of our every day experience, and just enjoy each other's company.



PS-This isn't how the post looks at all when I'm writing it. The spaces between the photos are really annoying. Any suggestions on why it looks so different on the published post verses the draft? Is it the size of photos I'm using, or the template I'm using for the background?