Planes, Trains, Boats and Automobiles

We flew to the Pacific Northwest for our first family vacation with Oliver (July 11-17).  We enjoyed the cooler West Coast weather while hanging out at a beach house on the Straits of Juan De Fuca that we rented with our friends.  We all have little boys who were born just barely within 1-year of each other (September 2010, January 2011 and August 2011).  Oliver is the youngest.  Our trip included a metro to and from the airport, the plane ride to and from Seattle, a ferry ride to and from the Olympic peninsula, and travel time in the car.  Oliver was happy and enthusiastic for the whole trip, with the exception of car travel (to my surprise he was amazing on the long plane rides).  He was fine if I rode in the backseat with him (slightly less so if I sang songs to him and rubbed his head from the front seat), but he did not like being in the back of the car (without a mirror like we have in the car at home) by himself.  After we figured this out and I acquiesced to his request, the drive was much more enjoyable for everyone.  Oliver made friends with everyone he met along the way and seemed to soak it all in.

The rental was right on the beach and it was a nice big house for everyone to be very comfortable. The views from the front and back side of the house included the Olympic Mountain Range, wetlands, the Straits of Juan De Fuca, Dungeness Spit and Lighthouse with Victoria B.C. in the distance, Mount Baker, the San Juan Islands and Whidbey Island.  Although we did not have the best weather during our stay, we had a couple afternoons with clear views and the lightening storms were amazing to watch over the water.  Because of the weather and a cold that got passed around to each family, we only did one afternoon of hiking along the Dungeness Spit.  It was a beautiful day and Oliver got his first views of the ocean and mountains.  I have to say the best part of the vacation was spending several days with my two favorite boys.  The next best part was hanging out with our good friends and breathing the fresh air.

On the ferry:

The Lavender Farm ("Purple Haze") that we stopped at on our drive to the rental (best part was all of the lavender flavored ice cream at the farm (e.g., lavender white chocolate and lavender peppermint-yum!): 

Views from the Rental:

Short Hike to Dungeness Spit (note the unplanned matching dad/son hats) and our walk along the Spit:

 Oliver's great view during bath time each evening in the kitchen sink:

Playing on the beach at the rental (I thought Oliver would think the water was too cold, but he LOVED it):

Our last night after driving back to Amy and Byron's, I realized we did not have any pictures of all three kids.  It was late, Oliver had already eaten (still mostly on DC time) and was very ready for bed.  As a result, all I could get were these pictures where my usually happy smiley little boy, was not so happy or smiley.  I love the expression on Arlo's face in the second picture (after Wyatt had spilled his dinner and Oliver hit his breaking point), "I am exercising patience, but could someone please deal with these children so I can finish my dinner!":