Camping at Beachwood...lots of pics!!

Last week was finally a full vacation week for Jason!! We were all so excited about this because it meant that we could finally plan some camping time. Of course, the weather was suppose to be very yucky the week we would be camping. Normally, we would go camping with our tent but the thought of getting soaked during the week was enough to want to just stay home but some friends of ours let us use their motor home...thank you Wade and Corrine!

Monday, we headed out first thing in the morning. Originally, when I called Beachwood to see if we could get a spot, they told me that we would be in overflow with power hookups and maybe water. When we arrived on Monday morning, they told us we could pick any site we wanted, any where in the park...this included the full hook up spots!! God is so good!! So, we found the "perfect" spot and got camp set up. We ate lunch and then Jason had to head to Bellingham for a dental appointment. The kids and I just hung out in the motor home since it had started to rain. I am so glad that I had decided to pack the portable DVD player and all of the movies. Ethan was glad that I packed it too because that's what entertained him while daddy was gone.
The girls hung out on their bunk playing with Brenna's Nintendo DS.
Monday night we had dinner with Mom and Duane at their place at Birch Bay Leisure Park. They served a fabulous steak dinner. I only wish I would have gotten a picture of all the food.

Ethan thought it was great that he could wear his daddy's Huskies hat. I love this little grin!! The three kids waiting so patiently to eat...they were stealing croutons off of their salads.

It was raining, again, when we left Mom and Duane's. We were so thankful that we were going back to a motor home and not a wet tent. We got everyone tucked in and were able to sleep for a short while before we were awoken by the down pour of rain. It was so loud that it woke the girls up. So, there we were...4 of the 5 of us awake listening to the rain. Ethan slept right through it...didn't move muscle. Alyssa, the poor girl was so tired but couldn't sleep because of the rain, ended up crawling into my sleeping bag with me and crying herself to sleep. I eventually had to get her back to her bed if I was going to attempt to get any sleep. A sleeping bag is not big enough for this mommy and her restless sleeper.

Tuesday was a nicer day so that afternoon we headed out to Birch Bay for a little while. The kids roamed the beach looking for "treasures".
Jason helped Alyssa and Ethan find baby crabs under the rocks.
Brenna had fun walking in the water.
It was fun to see the kids working together to find "treasures".
After the beach, the kids were begging to go swimming. Personally, I didn't think it was that warm to want to hit the pool. So, we put the kids in their suits and we sat on the side of the pool and watched.

They loved to walk on this berm each time we headed to the pool or playground. Ethan has become quite the little fishy and wore the goggles on his forehead more than he did on his face. I think he just wants the goggles because his sisters wear them.
The girls having fun together and watching this little girl swim right in their path of play. (The little girl was completely oblivious to all of the other kids in the pool.)
It was great to watch the kids jump off of the side of the pool and not be afraid of the water. All of those swimming lessons are really paying off! We decided that we have hit a new stage in life...all three of our kids can be in the kids pool without us. No worries folks...we were watching them constantly. They were never left unattended...I promise!
Ethan decided that if the girls could do it, so could he!
After swimming, we took time to play volleyball. We had driven out to Beachwood the weekend before and scope things out and noticed that they had put a new volleyball net up so we were sure to pack our volleyball. Brenna is going to play volleyball this fall with the Lynden Youth Sports so it was fun to get some practice time in with her. She is built perfectly for volleyball and looks like a little natural at it. (Yes, the ball went over the net here...she was so proud of herself!)
We played a little 2 on 2...Mommy and Brenna against Daddy and Alyssa. Poor Ethan got a little bored during this time. He didn't really understand but was so patient and knew that as soon as we were finished we would take him to the playground. Unfortunately, it wasn't close enough for him to go play on while we played v-ball.
Once we did make it to the playground, this is what he did..the goof ball! He laid here for quite awhile before finally deciding to head for the slide and swings.
Jason and the girls on the teeter-totter...it was all the girls could do to get Jason up in the air. It was funny to watch them struggle and try.
After the playground, we headed for the Kids Clubhouse where they have video games, ping pong, air hockey, tv room with toys, and a craft area.Tuesday night was hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner.
We did have some time by the fire and were able to get a marshmallow for each of the kids roasted but it started to rain, not hard but hard enough that the kids didn't really enjoy their time by the fire.
I thought this was pretty special...Ethan and Daddy eating lunch together on Wednesday. It was so fun to sit and watch them interact and talk about our week up to that point. Wednesday had been another fun filled day and just when I was beginning to think that we were going to get through this camping trip with no injuries, Ethan took a BIG tumble. The sad thing, he wasn't playing or goofing around. Jason had taken him for a walk to take the garbage to the dumpster and on their way back...not far from our campsite thankfully...Ethan just fell face down. Yep, tripped over his own toes. It wasn't until this injury happened that I realized that I didn't pack the ice packs. I had nothing frozen in the freezer because we had pulled that food out and eaten it. What to do? I decided that the water bottles that had been sitting in the back of the refrigerator were cold enough to be used as a cold pack on his little head. He was such a trooper. It did get a little bump but nothing serious. We watched him throughout the evening and decided by bedtime that we didn't need to worry about a concussion.
Once we got Ethan cleaned up and the dinner dishes finished, Mom and Duane came to visit us for awhile. It was fun to sit and chat and to enjoy some time by the fire! We tried something new...we made s'mores but instead of using Hershey bars we used Reese's Peanut Butter Cups...thank you Uncle Tyler and Aunt Tanya for sharing this secret with us. I realize that some of you may have already known about this but this was a first for us and wow, were they good! I usually will just have one s'more...not this time...two please!

It was great to get away but it was nice to get home and get everything unpacked and the motor home cleaned out before the rain came Thursday afternoon. We had talked about sticking around camp for awhile on Thursday but once we heard rain showers were on their way again, we packed up after breakfast and headed for home.

The trip home was a whole 'nother adventure and some of you know the story. As for the rest of you, I will spare you the details and just end with...the van should be back with us tomorrow (Tuesday afternoon)...it got a little "sick" on the way home from Beachwood.