Saturday, May 2, 2009

Our Ocean Getaway


When Gregg got his schedule for the month of May, he mentioned that he had a stretch of days off at the beginning of the month, and one thought immediately came to mind. "Good - let's get out of here. We need a change of scenery." Gregg agreed, as long as it didn't require getting on an airplane, and we decided that both kids had yet to experience the ocean, as Macy hadn't been there since shortly after she turned two.

So, being excited about this adventure, I mistakenly mentioned our plans to both girls, two weeks in advance of our departure. You would think I would know better by now - but I forgot that the concept of time/patience/waiting is completely foreign to a 2-year old. So...for the next two weeks...this is what I heard every single time I laid Morgan down for a nap or bedtime: "When I wake up from my nap...I go OCEAN!!!" Then silly Mommy tries to explain the number of days that we have left until we leave, which was met by whining and screams of "NO!!! We go ocean when I WAKE UP!!" So....I let it go, letting her fall asleep with happy thoughts of the leaving for the ocean. Lesson learned? Next trip will be a complete surprise.

However, when we finally left for the ocean....the entire house was buzzing with excitement....car packed, snacks packed, dogs dropped off, starbucks in hand - we're on our way!!!

When we left our house, the temps were creeping towards 70, and we thought, as always, it would be 5-10 degrees cooler once we got to the coast. But as luck would have it - the temperature reading in our car never dropped a single degree - thank goodness for small miracles! It was a BEAUTIFUL day! We drove right onto the beach when we got there, which was met by squeals and giggling by the girls - they could not believe that we were "driving on the beach!!!" Shoes & coats were quickly discarded, buckets & shovels were retrieved from the back of the car - and they were off! What fun it was to watch their excitement with being able to run endlessly on the sand, dig to their hearts content, splash around in the water, and watch their fairy princess kite take off so quickly in the wind! We all had a blast.





But the fun didn't stop there. Part 2? The hotel POOL. Oh my, we could not WAIT to get there..."Can we swim now? Is it time to check in? Can we go to the pool now? Morgan - get your swimming suit! Is it time yet?? Pleeeeeeease?" Finally....we made it to the pool, and the next morning? We were in the pool by 9am. Thank goodness for a decent latte in the hotel lobby.

Overall...it was a great getaway with beautiful weather...and was exactly what the doctor ordered. (we're choosing not to remember the torrential downpour and screaming tantrum coming from the backseat during the trip home).... :)

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Seriously???


On March 15th?? In Western Washington?? With spring just 5 days away??

Really?

The girls are no longer interested in snow. And neither are their parents. Macy just wants to know when she can start wearing sundresses.

Sigh.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Catching up

I know, I know. I've totally neglected the blog and haven't posted pictures in weeks and weeks. I've been on picture taking/blogging hiatus.

Let me see if I can explain. After celebrating Thanksgiving at two places, our trip to Disneyland, Morgan's 2nd birthday, Macy's 5th Birthday, Zoo Lights, 2 attempts to see Santa, multiple snow storms, Macy's Christmas program, Christmas Eve with the Jumps, Christmas Day at the Miller's, and preparation for, and then leaving on, a 10-day trip to Miami and cruise to the Eastern Caribbean??? I was exhausted. And I don't believe I set my camera down for 1.5 months, and took approximately 1000 pictures. So...when we finally got home in mid-January, we unpacked and attempted to settle back into a normal schedule and catch up on things in our lives. Oh yeah, and catch up on work after missing 3 weeks of it during December and January.

It's taken a little while. :)

For the last couple of months, life has pretty much consisted of preschool, gymnastics, indoor soccer, cleaning out closets, and watching the snow fall again & again - this winter has just been crazy weather-wise! When it snowed again a couple of weeks ago - I excitedly pointed out the back door to show Macy when she woke up, and all she did is glance over and say "I want it to be spring now." I know, Macy, I know.

However, after being very patient, we got our first glimpses of spring this past week. I FINALLY picked up my camera again, bundled up the girls (still cold - did I mention it snowed AGAIN?), and we headed outside. And it felt so good to get out and have them play - they loved it. Here are a few pictures from this past week: