The Hartsell House: Aug 14, 2009

Friday, August 14, 2009

More Cousin Bonding Time

When we left Pac Beach we took the scenic drive through the Olympic National Park. We had wanted to stop at the Hoh Rain forest....but the weather wasn't great, we didn't bring strollers or rain gear....so with three little ones decided we needed to plan for that trip next time. The rest of the family headed home but we decided to extend the vacation a little bit. We stopped in Sequim and found a nice hotel for the night....with a POOL which is what the girls were excited about. We went out for a yummy dinner first and then went back to take a dip. The girls have only been in a real pool a couple times and so they were excited. Emma LOVES the water and thinks she can just take off. She loved the hot tub and swallowed a good amount of water walking down the steps thinking she could just go all the way on her own!! Angelica was still a bit timid and loved to SCREAM partly with excitement and part fear. So after awhile of getting to her to calm down and listen to me so she wouldn't swallow water...she did GREAT. The puddle jumper float we have is AWESOME. She finally let me let go and was swimming on her own. By the end of the night she was going the length of the pool....as long as we chanted "Arms out like a T, nice and calm" over and over. We were so proud of her and I know with more pool time she would do great! I loved being in the water because I felt so buoyant and so NOT pregnant! Albert was cute and loved the water as well.

The next day we checked out, did a little shopping in the cute town of Sequim (it is dangerous to let me and Megs go into a scrap booking-stamp store!) and then headed to Hurricane Ridge. Of course we picked probably the worst day to go as it was rainy, overcast and VERY foggy. It is a windy drive up and supposedly very beautiful.....we got glimpses of it on the way down since it had cleared some...but definitely need to do the trip again on a clear and sunny day! The big lookout on top was well, all fog! oh well, we enjoyed perusing the gift shop, the information lodge and grabbing some lunch in the cafe before we headed back down. We think it would be a lot of fun to go snow tubing there during the winter!!!

Where the view should have been!!

Notice the shirt, Grammy & Grandpa??

Emma LOVES Bears

This first video is Angel just trusting me to let her go on her own, and the second is when she was doing great and swimming the length of the pool!!!

Bowling 101

The beach resort had a small 4 lane bowling alley so we decided to give it a go. We first headed to the park nearby and let the girls played while we waited for it to open. Angel is getting very brave with what she will attempt to try and play on now....makes mom a bit nervous sometimes!! Then it was off to bowl. We had one lane with the bumpers up so Angel could play and then another lane that my dad, Pepe, Megs, Alli, Michaela, Jason and I played on. I wasn't sure if Angel was going to enjoy it or not....SHE LOVED EVERY SECOND and played the entire time!!! We taught her to walk up to the line, spread her feet, place the ball and push hard....and she did great!!! She was so funny....she would watch it every time and wait to see how many pins she knocked down....and when she would get them she would jump in the air and cheer and then give everyone high fives!! So cute. She was definitely our little cheerleader and would do the same thing when we did well. She knew which ball was hers and by the end of the time was doing everything all on her own...including finding and carrying her own ball. Maybe we have a little bowler on our hands.....which that gene does seem to run in the Hartsell side of the family. Jason and I had not been bowling in six years and were not sure how we would do. I was having some great luck and doing quite well......even better than my hubby until the pressure was on and he started catching up. But great ending.....he scored a strike at the end of the game and ended up only being one point behind me and had another bowl to go. So I was joking (not really) and yelled "Gutter Ball" and guess what? It was!! So I ended up beating him by 1 point!!! We both broke 100 but my dad still came in first!! We need some more practicing!!! It was a lot of fun and we will have to take Angel again soon!!!

Beach Fun

The girls loved the water....Emma especially loved walking into the water and then running away from the waves....they both got their pants soaked!! Angel enjoyed finding shells and treasures on the beach and then spent most of her time playing in the sand. Jason was trying to build a big sandcastle but the girls had fun knocking them down and sticking feathers in it! It was so neat to see my parents and my grandparents with my girls...what special memories they will have!! We were laughing really hard because Angel's pants kept dropping lower and lower but she just kept on playing! They would have stayed for hours except Emma (who was drenched from going in the cold water) was shivering and ready to get warm. Such a peaceful spot and hope to get back one day soon!!

Walking with Meme

Jason throwing Alli into the ocean

Emma heading for the water

Emma with Pepe

Emma with Meme

Alli and her friend Michaela braving the cold waters

Angel searching for treasures

Let the sand fun begin!!

I wonder who is having more fun?

PRICELESS!!!

Pacific Beach Vacation

After the wedding festivities, we headed off for a little vacation with the remaining family members. My dad had rented an Oceanside cottage at Pacific Beach Naval Resort. So my parents, grandparents, sister Alli & friend, my family and sister Megs and Albert all enjoyed a few days of fun activities, relaxation and recuperation. While the weather was a bit cooler than we would have "liked" we lucked out that it wasn't rainy and yucky the whole time we were there. It was so beautiful, quiet and peaceful and had lots to do. The girls loved the huge backyard to run and play in and mostly feed the seagulls all the remaining bread and french toast we had. Dad and Jason tried to get the kites to fly, Alli and Michaela enjoyed several COLD runs into the ocean, we found LOTS of sand dollars on the beach, the girls LOVED getting in the water and mostly building sandcastles (as did hubby!), and mostly just being together. The complex has a beautiful exercise room, hot tub room (it was HOT!), game room, restaurant and bar, gift shop, coffee shop, and a fun 4 lane bowling alley plus lots more. Wish hubby was still military so we could take advantage of this little perfect getaway more often. The cottage was beautiful, clean, spacious and stocked with everything you would need! If you have a chance to go, take it!!! Thanks dad, it was a great getaway! Some cute pics and videos to follow!