The Driskill Family Vacation

Running wild at the rest stop. Ava was trying to get all her "sillies" out.

Ed's splashing Ava in the pool and Jack's hanging out in the hot tub where it is safe and warm (like his mama!)

The boys at the game...nice seats and a good game but more importantly a really short game. I've been to many baseball games in my life including what seemed like hundreds of Ed's high school and college games (double-headers even!) and this was the first one I have been to that lasted a mere two hours! The kids liked the game and they especially liked the carmelcorn and it so nice we didn't even pull out the coats till the fourth inning!

We headed straight to the beach and Jack started throwing rocks in the water which he did pretty much the whole rest of the trip!

Yes, it was chilly!

The flowers were actually as pretty as the ones we would have seen in Hawaii but I'm pretty sure Ed would not have even packed a coat for Hawaii.

The kids were already bathed and in their jammies but we had to head to the beach for one more look at the sunset.

We headed to the public beach to look for shells but it was so chilly we stopped to make a cozy fire and here is Ed roasting a marshmellow about two seconds before the State Park official rushed on over to make us put it out. Ava got her smore though!

We found a playground!

Ava's new favorite pose at the tide pools.

Thinkin' deep thoughts.

This is not a great picture but it makes me super sentimental--she actually looks big enough to go to kindergarten! And, yes the sun did come out.

Supper the night before we left on the "lawn" by the beach.

Ferry ride back to Seattle. This time we got big bowls of chowder to fuel up before a shopping trip at Ikea.

Instead of our anniversary trip to Hawaii, we took the kids to the Washington coast for a mini family vacation. After a short stay in Seattle (at a great hotel!) for a Mariners game and dinner at Red Robin (of course) and a whole lot of exercise for Ed who toted Jack in the backpack for miles up and down the Seattle hills, we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island to stay in a great house we've visited many times right on the beach. The house is nice for many reasons but most importantly, it has separate rooms for each kid and us and we all know that a good sleep means a good time! It was pretty chilly but no rain and actually quite a bit of sun which means I spent naptimes reading on the beach (my favorite vacation activity!) and Ed got to golf at a great course. After a few days on the beach, we headed home with some shopping stops along the way and a good eleven hours after we left the house, we got pulled over just as we drove into Pullman. However, no ticket for the Driskills and Jack was happy to report that he was a "nice copper" but I think he took one look into our car with the toys and food and shopping bags everywhere and he just felt sorry for us and sent us home instead!