To celebrate Henry's 8th birthday, we went on an adventure to Cama Beach State Park.
When we arrived, it was very windy but that didn't stop the boys from tumbling out of the car, racing to the beach, and playing tackle football.
We explored the area and found the Center for Wooden Boats - beautiful antique wooden boats which have been restored by volunteers.
But the beach was a lot more fun.
After the winds died down, there was a whole lot of this... football. And more football. We also took some hikes nearby the cabins and the boys found a "secret hideout." I don't quite know where it was - it was secret, after all, but they sure spent a lot of time there. And then they came back and played more football.
Then it was time for dinner, presents, and cake.
Just before bedtime, the boys enjoyed freeze-dried ice cream sandwiches.
They tasted just like an ice cream sandwich, if you could get over the chalky freeze-dried taste. We were really roughin' it.
Some friends spent the night in the cabin next to ours. As it turned out, they had a spare bed, and I managed to save that one for myself. Meaning... Dan got to stay in our cabin with all the boys and Alice. Let's face it - Dan does better than me with just a few hours sleep. I think it worked out pretty darn well. Dan told me they were asleep by about 12:30am. However, I took this photo at 6:30am. And, this was after we all ate breakfast! We were looking for whales which had recently been seen in the area.
We didn't spot any whales this morning, but we did have fun exploring the beach.
The cedar cabins were so cute... Cama Beach State Park is a historic fishing resort from the 1930s. The recently restored cabins are now open to the public.
Reese, enjoying the shore.
The boys...
Henry, Merrick, Rome, and Reese. Yes, they are in their PJs.
The best part of the early morning was skipping stones on a calm stretch of water. Reese set the record with 6 skips.
Alice was a good sport and kept up with the boys.
Ahh.. a peaceful morning.
Did I mention that it rained during the night? A lot? The mud was incredible.
Of course, that's where the boys chose to play football.
Our cabin.
Then it was time to go... Dan left early to go in to work, Rome stayed behind with his family, and I loaded up three boys and one girl and headed to Camano Island State Park, just down the road. It was lovely - so glad we went there!
We went on a great hike, through the madrona trees, on the edge of the cliff. Seriously, there were huge STAY ON THE TRAIL signs everywhere. We peered over the edge at one point, and it was a straight shot down the cliff to the rocky beach. But a very cool hike, as long as we stayed on the trail.
After that hike, we drove to another section of Camano Island State Park and followed the trail down to the beach. The kids had fun playing on the beach and in the trees.
And... we found a shipwreck! One of the camp rangers told us about it - it washed ashore recently.
Then it was back to the trailhead, a picnic lunch, and more football.
Every single kid was filthy. But they were happy. And Henry had a fantastic 8th birthday party.
No comments:
Post a Comment