Spring Break 2016

We had great weather for our Spring Break. We did another stay-cation this year. We planned fun day trips and activities. At the end of the week I was exhausted! We had a lot of fun!

Early in the week we took the kids to see Zootopia. I liked it! Really good!

Our favorite day of the week was spent taking a ferry ride and exploring our favorite island. And the weather was great!

We took in the beach while waiting for our favorite pizza place to open for lunch. The kids found lots of crabs and other sea life to look at. There was a huge eagle sitting on the beach too. Really fun to see. 

Then lunch. So yummy!

Next up we visited a huge and beautiful public garden. There were trails to walk along and take in all the blooms.

There were also trails into the woods. It was a nice mini hike.

After our hike we piled back into the van and headed off in search of ice cream cones. We found the most amazing little place in the next town. Oh those ice cream cones were good. We walked along a pair and enjoyed the views. No photos since I was licking ice cream. 

Then we made a stop at a little farm. We visited last year and we were eager to go again. There is a little hike to the top of the hill and the views are gorgeous. 

After our farm visit we weren't sure where to visit next. Cam headed down a road we had never been on just to see where it would end up. Well that was the perfect thing to do. We discovered a beach we had never been to and we loved it!!

The kids and dogs ran all over the beach and driftwood.

Tuba had some fun throwing rocks into the water. 

Along the bluff above the beach is a trail. We hiked up to the top and along the trail. The view was amazing!

I love this photo. It can be hard to get all five of them to sit still, look at the camera and smile. Perfection!

We got home close to bedtime....happy and tired. It was a really fun day!

The next day we went on a picnic bike ride. We packed up and headed for the trail. We rode 16 miles...and it was hot and sunny out. We were beat. Okay, I was beat. The littlest kids were tired and the bigger kids were fine and Cam was just getting warmed up. And don't forget he is pulling Tuba in a trailer. The man is a machine. Did I say how tired I was?! Seriously.

We took the kids to the beach the next day. We packed lots of stuff and arrived at the beach to find out it was colder than we expected. And windy. And we were under dressed. Cam and I piled all the beach towels on us as blankets. The kids played and swam. Crazy!! Plus, then we had to give them the beach towels to dry off with. Brrrrrr. I was happy to go home. 

The rest of the break we spent working in the yard, doing laundry and getting ready to go back to school/work. This pic of Kali is just about how I felt at the end of the week. 

Needless to say I was happy to have a quiet and EMPTY house on Monday morning. I love my family and we know how to have fun. And then, I like a little solitude to balance it out. 

Island Time

On Friday of our Spring Break...which was now so long ago I fear I'll never catch up with posting...we took a ferry ride to our favorite island.

First stop was our fav pizza place. It's SO good. The marinara sauce is divine...a religious experience. I order a side of it to pour over my pizza. AND...the kids and Cam know to order their own 'cause I'm not sharing!!

A walk on the beach is always needed after pizza.

The weather was rainy with intermittent sun breaks. We wanted to explore a new town but as we arrived the rain was beginning to pour. We headed indoors to a fun wine shop, coffee shop. I bought two yummy homemade pies while Cam pursued the wine shop and made a few purchases. 

As we came out the rain stopped so we decided to hike to the top of the hill. You can see the water on both sides of the island from the top. It was beautiful!! 

We live in a beautiful part of the world!! Rain...yes....but it makes everything so green and lush.

The fab five!!

And the terrific two!

Back where we parked there were art galleries and a cheese shop. Such fun!

And...there was this lovely pond and an Audubon platform overlooking a preserve. We saw so many beautiful birds.

It was a magical day full of good food, sunshine, rain clouds, and new adventures. Oh, and all my loves!

International District

On Thursday we took the kids to the big city. We have been wanting to explore the International District and eat in China Town. 

I looked online for restaurant recommendations and picked one. I really wanted good Chinese food....not the American version of fried congealed saucy junk you usually find around our town. I had high hopes...and said a few prayers. 

We were seated by a  very friendly woman. This is a BIG DEAL! When you walk into a restaurant with five kids you are often not warmly welcomed. We were off to a good start. 

We could tell the decor was a bit dated....and there was a large broken window near us that had a board nailed over it and cold wind coming through....and there was a huge water damage spot on the ceiling above us. Eeeeeks, Cam and I nervously giggled to each other. 

But, it was clean and that goes a long way.

The kind waitress brought hot tea and the kids were thrilled!! 

A lot of tea was consumed....with sugar of course.

Moses got ready for the main event and was excited to use his chop sticks. 

We ordered four different lunch specials. There was a TON of food!! The kids were in heaven! They LOVED it!! The nice waitress brought extra fried rice just because she knows kids love it. She's right! The kids are still talking about how good the food was. 

Now, if you want to know the truth...Cam and I thought the food was okay. Actually, I think what I said was, "well, it wasn't disgusting". Ha!! It wasn't the best and it wasn't the worst. And...the bonus is that the whole lunch cost us $34.00. No kidding!!! There was so much food left over that the kids ate it for dinner. 

After lunch we hit the streets to explore China Town and Japan Town. There are two distinct areas of the city with shops, restaurants, and businesses. 

We went to the huge international grocery store that we love. It's so much fun!! Everyone got our favorite Hawaiian juice and some rice treats.

We found a huge beautiful community garden on a hillside. You can walk all around and look at the plots and see what is growing. There were even chickens! 

We found some bamboo and it's Cam's favorite plant so we had to get a photo. This would be a good time for all reasonable people to leave a comment telling Cam NOT to plant bamboo in our yard. 

We went to a noodle factory and they also make fortune cookies. We bought a humongous bag of them. They were so good and the kids loved reading the fortunes. 

The best thing we saw was very somber. We spent time telling the kids about what happened in Japan Town during WWII and how the Japanese were rounded up and interned. Many of those families lost their businesses and property. I read a great book called On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet a few years ago. The book is about that time in our city's history. There is a hotel featured in the book and the building is still standing. There is a tea shop there and we brought the kids to visit. I had the most delicious cup of tea.

I was enjoying looking at the photos on the walls when a man sitting at a table asked me if I'd seen the window in the floor. I hadn't seen it so I walked back to look. A hole had been cut in the floor revealing the basement below. In the basement are items that were left behind by families leaving for internment. In the book I read about how people put all of their things into storage and some never returned to claim it. It was moving to see those items frozen in time....a baby buggy, suitcases, clothing, boxes. It's a shameful part of our country's history. We showed the window to the kids and talked lots about it.

It was a good day. Family fun and history lesson all in one. 

On our way home we decided to stop at a big park that we've never been to. It was the perfect photo opportunity. I recently dubbed my kids, "The Fab Five" and I think this pic sums that up perfectly. for a laugh...look closely at Sis's face. She is such a hoot! 

In turn, one of the kids said Cam and I are, "The Terrific Two". Nice! 

More adventures to come....yes, we were exhausted after our staycation. 

Spring Break...more of it

Whoa...we just finished up Holy Week and Pascha. I still have things from spring break to share and then even more from Holy Week. I'll have to post daily to get caught up. 

Here goes more of our staycation....

Cam worked Tues. and Wed. On Tues. I took the kids to the library and out for treats. They got gobs of books and since it was vacation I let them check out some movies too. We love our local library. What's better than an afternoon of free fun?!

On Wednesday I took the kids to the beach. Sunshine and log jumping and rock throwing fun. Plus, out for ice cream treats too. 

Cam got home in time for some deck happy hour in the sun. Bliss!

Spring Break

We just had a whirlwind week of Spring Break! We didn't go out of town this year....didn't have the extra cash after buying patio furniture.

But, we did lots of local day trips and had a ton of fun!! Cam took off Mon., Thurs., and Fri., for some long weekends.

Monday's adventure was a bike ride. We rode our favorite trail and took in the beautiful outdoors. The birds were singing and everything was in bloom. Magnificent.

We packed a picnic and enjoyed the sunny day. 

At the end of the trail is an old barn....and a resting area. We refueled with snacks and drinks. Really healthy snacks...NOT! It's vacation so we allowed total junk food. Red ropes and Doritos are delicious eaten in the sunshine. I did pack some cantaloupe to balance it out. 

Our kids are awesome...although I include myself in the awesome part too....we rode 16 miles!! Cam likes to point out that the kids are awesome because they rode 16 miles on BMX bikes.

AND....why oh why oh why do I have to see a snake while out enjoying the day??!! I screamed and held my legs straight out to the sides. That nasty garter snake tried to bite me with it's HUGE fangs, and then it chased after me in a side winding motion and lunged at me so it could squeeze me to death and eat me. Seriously...this is all true. Mostly true anyway. I hate snakes. Blech....*shivers*