Beach House

After our fabulous 4th at the cabin, we managed to leave a few important items at the cabin.  Dwayne left his coat and keys there, and I made a big deal about me having to go back to get them, but full disclosure makes me admit that I left my credit card at the thrift store.  They put it in a safe for me, and I picked it up first thing when we got to the island (and then used it to buy lunch for me and the kids at the Braeburn—yum!).  But since we were there, we decided to hang out at the beach. 

Piper  declared that she wasn’t going to touch the sand at all and vowed to not have any fun (she didn’t get to go to the beach she wanted—these deprived children have at least 4 good beaches to chose from close to the cabin—this one is the Clinton Ferry Beach).  That lasted until she was ignored long enough and then she and Kyla built their own beach house out of drift wood, seaweed, and shells. 

 

They even made a hidden shelf for all their shell dishes!

 

Building codes forced them to build an outdoor kitchen and fire pit.  Don’t mess with Island County regs!

 

I’m not sure what Wesley is doing (though I am just as shocked at you that he’s wearing clothes), but one can appreciate the beauty of our Northwest summers in this shot.

 

Fairy Houses!

Meerkerk Park had their annual fairy house building day.  The volunteers provided gathered sticks, pine cones, flowers, wood, moss, ribbons, and hot glue guns.  Everyone brought their imaginations (I wish I had brought my camera—I settled for a device that technically can take pictures but is overall unsatisfactory). 

My kids didn’t make anything to brag about (their mother had to abandon her even worse attempts), but there are some really creative fairy-fans out there!  We’ll try again next year.

How to Measure Fun at the Cabin

It’s simply the depth and breadth of the bathtub ring once the kids are clean and pajama-ed at bedtime.  Today was a particularly entertaining day, according to this reading.

Ferries, Freedom, Fireworks, and the Fourth

Honestly, it’s hard to beat the Island for the Fourth of July.  Even with a posted 3 hour ferry wait (though it actually was just 90 minutes and went by quickly), it’s worth making over early the day before Independence Day.  We now know to get there early enough on the 3rd to go to Freeland’s Freedom Festival—live shows, food booths, local interests (this year, the new fireboat was open for public tours) and then amazing fireworks over the harbor, first by God…

then by the local community.

  

The actual 4th of July brought a parade through the small Maxwelton Community—the same one we did last year.  I somehow forgot to take pictures once the candy started flying.

 

Back at the cabin, our neighbors had a lot of fun shopping at the fireworks stand.  This year, instead of trying to get the kids to bed at a reasonable hour, I sent them outside to join in the fun.  I have two pyromaniacs and a coward-pragmatist (that’s Piper, by the way).  Kyla and Wesley were invited to shoot off kid-works by the neighbors and when I finally put them to bed after 11pm, they went straight to sleep.

Happy Birthday, USA!  You throw a great party.

Of Mermaids and Teeter-Totters

Ah, the second day of summer and we are at Double Bluff Beach—a family favorite.  We came across a mermaid…

and engineered a teeter-totter.  A great summer kick-off!

 

Our Beach—February Edition

A rare winter day at the beach—dry, not horribly cold, with a low tide. 

All my nincompoops, ahem, children, took off their boots and socks as soon as we got off the rocks and explored their beach barefoot. 

Wesley wore his cape under his winter coat, giving him a duck butt look.

 

Piper loves to get into the clay and give herself an elephant makeover.

 

Kyla’s friend has the sense to keep her shoes on the whole time.  I love those red boots!

 

Kyla really needs nothing more than a stick to entertain herself for hours.  This time, she has a ball of clay to double the excitement.  I’m not sure what it says about her, but I like it!

 

We love our beach…and happy to be going back for hot baths.

Why I Like Coupeville

What to do at the cabin with four kids and a really rainy February day?  We drove up to Coupeville!

It’s small, but the museum has wooly mammoth bones, arrowheads, the first car ever on the island, a history of telephones, and old toys and clothes.  We’ve been there once before, but it’s a great place to wander as it rains outside.

 

A short walk from there is the wharf.  We go there because I like the three skeletons of sea mammals hanging from the ceiling.

 

Cool, huh?

 

There’s more to do in Coupeville (I could wander the Victorian-style homes around town for hours).  But taking four kids to a shop and finding food that fits Kyla’s diet?  We drove back to the cabin and invited cabin friends over for a tea party instead!