Ocean Shores {April 7-8}

As I mentioned we didn’t have many plans going into spring break.  Justin was in Houston the first few days and we had some dental and doctor visits scheduled.  When my friend Sommer saw that we would be having 80 degree temps late that week she proposed a trip to the coast.  I moved around some appointments and we were excited to join the fun.  The kids and I left first thing Thursday morning and were the first of our group to arrive in Ocean Shores around lunch time. 

We’ve been to Ocean Shores a few times and never before have we had weather as perfect as today. We spent all afternoon enjoying the beach.

The water was cold, cold, COLD! 

   

We walked down to the beach from our hotel and had a huge area all to ourselves.  Most of the other beachgoers were parked next to the public access areas, which worked out great for us.

The ocean breeze was perfect for flying kites.

Carly loves these gaucho pants – Abigail calls them her grandma pants.

Easy enough for even Drew!

A group of horses seemed to come strutting around about every hour.  Fun to look at, but not so fun when they pooped all along our beach.

We brought lots and lots of snacks to the beach.  Drew enjoyed blowing through the veggie straws.

Abigail is at a point in her life that an important part about any outing is getting a great picture. 

Including us there were six families in our group – four of us from church and then two non-member friends of Sommer’s.  The kids all got along really well and had a great time.

We thought we had all the kids gathered for this picture, but afterward realized we were still missing a few – oops!

And the Moms of these crazy kids!

We packed it up and made the trek back up to the hotel where we ate pizza out on the grass and then let the kids play in the hotel pool until bedtime.  I offered Carly $5 to entertain Drew in the pool so I wouldn’t have to get in – money well spent!

The next morning we took our time eating the complimentary hotel breakfast and lounging around in our rooms until we were brave enough to bundle up to head down to the beach.  Going from sunny and 70’s to frigid and 50’s was quite a different experience.

Turns out it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable so we packed it up and headed to the local ice cream shop before making the drive back home.

Two days without naps and Drew waits until were 10 minutes from home (on a 2.5 hour car ride) before he falls asleep – figures!  Thankfully, we were able to let him keep sleeping in the garage while we unpacked everything.

(you may have noticed we hit up Chick-fil-A in Tacoma on the way home)

We weren’t quite ready to end our fun so Sommer invited us over to her house that night for a BBQ and to hangout.  Such a great little staycation and proof to me that I can do these sort of adventures even with five kiddos in tow. 

NCAA Championship – Houston, Texas (April 1-5)

Justin:

If I had a bucket list, the Final Four would be on it.  It started in May 2015 when I entered two applications into the NCAA Final Four lottery, one of which was accepted.  This trip was all about basketball and food with some patience testing along the way.  

Darin and I booked our trip to Houston for the Friday night red-eye (upgraded to first class thanks to Darin) while my dad flew down the day before. He picked us up at 5am and we headed straight to the hotel to get some sleep.  Next we made a trip to Rudy's BBQ where we filled our tray with pay by the pound brisket, prime rib, sausage, ribs, coleslaw and creamed corn.  I thought it was cool that they let you sample the meats.  I really like this place.  Definitely coming back the next time I make it to Texas.

I was able to invite Derek Rowe, a college roommate, to take the 4th ticket and we met up with him at his house before the game.  His wife Heather dropped us off at NRG Stadium and the venue was carnival-like outside.  We took a few pictures on the lower level then headed up to our seats.  I knew they were center court but I figured I would be watching the big screen the whole time.  I was pleasantly surprised as our view was actually good enough to watch the live action play.  

Both games on Saturday night were not even close.  Villanova had the hot hand and beat Oklahoma in the biggest lopsided win in Final Four history.  North Carolina beat Syracuse in the second game pretty handily.  The four of us had a good time but would have preferred some closer games.  We ended the night with a Tex-Mex dinner at Pappasito's before heading back to the hotel.  It was fun to catch up with Derek.  I had not seen him in 10 years but it did not seem that long at all once we got together.  

Sunday morning we slept in, watched the first session of conference, then headed out for more barbeque.  This time it was the highly recommended Killen's on the southeast side of Houston.  We arrived to an hour long wait.  I am sure the rest of the line loved the free beers that were passed out. The food was great and worth the wait though a close second to Rudy's. 

Following our late lunch, we visited Johnson Space Center for a couple hours and that was all we needed.  Overall interesting but not super impressive. 

We hit Fuddrucker's on the way back to the hotel. 

Darin and I got in a 3.5 mile run Monday morning.  Quite a bit warmer than home.   We got cleaned up and made our way to lunch at Pappadeaux's Seafood Chicken.  We each ordered the Cajun Combo that came with a large catfish filet and shrimp creole.  Very good. 

There is not a lot to do in Houston so we decided on the Batman v Superman movie.  Next we met Derek at Fadi's Mediterranean, then we were off to the championship game.

And what a game it was!  Back and forth.  Exciting.  UNC up at the half.  Then Villanova pulled ahead by 10 points with 4 minutes left.  Then UNC came storming back and tied it with 4 seconds to go when Marcus Paige hit a double clutch 3 point shot.  The crowd roared and hundreds of seat cushions went flying across the stadium.  The crowd favored UNC and it looked like the game was going into overtime.  And then one of the greatest shots of all time, a miracle buzzer beater by Kris Jenkins to win the national championship.  

I was stunned, amazed, and grateful to have been an eye witness to this historical sporting event.  Actually hard to put words to it.  So glad I was able to experience it.  Just absolutely thrilling.  I am sure it is something we will talk about for years to come. I get the chills just thinking about it.

Spring Break 2016

Last week was spring break.  We went into the week without any plans, but it turned out to be a really enjoyable week and we had wonderful weather with it.

Friday, April 1:

• Abigail brought her friend Kaley home with her from school.
• The kids had piano lessons and then everyone spent the rest of the afternoon outside.
• The girls each met up with friends on “the ridge” – basically that means they roam around the small IGA store, walk along center and usually end up treating themselves to candy, frozen yogurt, or Starbucks.
• Abigail stayed home with the three youngest while Justin and I used a Groupon to try The Original Pancake House.  I decided against French toast (my usual breakfast of choice) and tried the house specialty – a Dutch Baby.  It was yummy – basically a German pancake which I haven’t had in years so it was a great choice.

• Justin had just enough time when we got back to pack up and head to the airport to catch his flight to Houston for the NCAA Championship games.
• Just as I was putting the boys to bed we had an alarm that started chirping, every, single, minute.  I tried to replace the batteries and even pulled the dang thing from the ceiling, but it was relentless.  I knew I wouldn’t get any sleep until we got it stopped so I resorted to calling over our home teacher to help me solve the problem.  An hour later we had fresh batteries in every alarm in the house, reset the circuit breakers, and had tried everything else we could think of.  Turns out it may have been a carbon monoxide detector in the boys room causing the problem.  Whatever it was, problem was solved (though the alarm in the boys room is still disabled) and the boys finally got to bed at 10pm.
• Carly stayed out late eating pizza and having a late night with friends and missed all the excitement.

Saturday, April 2:

• We all slept in until it was time to get up for General Conference
• The kids quietly sat through the entire morning session – I was impressed and shocked.  Abigail and Carly each brought down a chair to sit in.  Drew booted them both on many occasions throughout the weekend.

• We did ‘jobs’ in between sessions
• Drew napped during the second session and the rest of the kids played Conference BINGO while listening to the second session
• After conference the kids spent the rest of the afternoon outside and enjoying time with friends
• Truly it seemed like the perfect day – wonderful messages, cooperative children, and even some productivity mixed in with some fun.

Sunday, April 3:

• The kids were a little less captivated this morning when it came time to sit down and watch conference, but they all stayed in vicinity though there were some fusion beads created and we broke out Conference BINGO again during the afternoon session

Monday, April 4:

• Katie and Drew wanted to join me at the Y this morning – ended up being my only workout during the week (ho, hum) 
• The girls stayed home getting their chores done – they both had been invited to go to the mall with friends. Abigail for a birthday party scavenger hunt and Carly just for fun.
• Jason and Katie played with friends while Drew napped and I had the strangest feeling of actually being bored.  It was wonderful – I sat down and actually watched a TV show… something that rarely happens.
• Carly was once again at a friends until late evening (8:30pm) and then the girls and I stayed up playing Settlers of Catan

Tuesday, April 5:

• I think my favorite thing about any break is lazy mornings and sleeping in
• I spent most of today going through old kids clothes and getting them listed on Craig's list
• The kids spent the ENTIRE morning playing RISK

• Carly spent afternoon with yet another friend, Casey - then she had a lacrosse scrimmage
• Abigail had a babysitting gig that afternoon
• And Jason and Katie were once again outside all day riding bikes and running around with the neighborhood kids
• The kids were excited to have Justin return home from Houston – the first thing he showed them was the replay of the amazing end to the championship game (he’ll have to write up a trip summary since he made it clear that that game will be talked about throughout history!)
• Homemade pizza for dinner
• Abigail gave a great FHE lesson on education.  We’re working our way through all the topics listed in the Strength of the Youth pamphlet
• For our FHE activity we finally checked out a recently renovated park nearby.  There was a family from our ward there that we haven’t had a chance to visit much with before so it was fun to get to know them better and the kids enjoyed playing with their kids. Carly was so great about helping Drew do the zip line dozens of times – over and over and over – she’d get him situated and follow along side the whole way across keeping him safely on.

• Another night staying up late playing Settlers of Catan with the girls and another win for ME!

Wednesday, April 6:

• Abigail and Jason each had a cavity that needed to be filled so the three of us made the trek down to Auburn
• We hit up Walmart before their appointments
• Then Sam’s Club afterward
• More time for the kids to hang out with friends that afternoon/evening 

Thursday, April 7 – Friday, April 8:  Ocean Shores (post to come!)

Saturday, April 9:

• We talked about visiting doing a day trip to the tulips, deception pass, and fort Casey today, but decided we hang out at home instead
• Justin spent the morning hiking/running up and down Mount Si for his first time.  The guy he went with sure pushed him along and Justin felt quite sore for the next couple days (it’s a steep 4 mile climb).  Pretty amazing views.

Haystack rock

• I’m glad we stayed home cause we were quite productive in the garage and I finally got the wood floors cleaned – always such a process
• Justin and I decided to squeeze in a date that evening.  Making some returns to Bell Square and catching a yummy meal at the Cactus.

Fry bread with beans, chicken, and guac – yum!

Sunday, April 10: 

As we were heading off to church Drew insisted on putting on a tie like his big brother 

   

The day we’d been dreading for months finally arrived – doomsday = ward reorg day.  It was a solemn day for our family knowing (through months of rumors) that our neighborhood would be moved to the Mount Si ward across the parkway.  New ward, new building, new everything.  Fast and testimony was somewhat normal (albeit emotional) with lots of references to the changes taking place.  Then we all stayed in the chapel during second hour when the official boundaries were announced and the names of the families moving were presented.  The stake presidency and the two bishops effected by the changes all spoke.  Then there was Relief Society – I found a spot in the back row and visited with some ladies.  My friend Lauren from our presidency was conducting and got emotional right away, which had a ripple effect.  Overall just a hard week – knowing that we wouldn’t have the same opportunities to associate with many of these families.  It’s been such a great ward for my family.  I know we’ll be fine and we’ll meet some wonderful people in our new ward, but change is hard. 

We had dinner at the Reynolds that evening – such a great family and friends I know we’ll have for many, many years to come.  That evening – yes, just hours after the boundaries were announced our new bishop came over to meet with Justin and I.  He actually coached each of the girls shortly after we moved in so we already know him a little.  Just a friendly, welcome to the ward visit, but I’m sure it won’t be long before I’ve got a new calling.  (Justin’s calling as the family history director for the Issaquah building is a stake calling so he’s not necessarily up for grabs)