I think there's something in my ear...

Ben got his hair cut today. While the woman was cutting it, she bent his ear over to cut the hair behind it. I overheard their conversation:

Hairdresser: "Good thing your ear is so flexible."

Ben: "That's because there's no bones in it."

Hairdresser: "Really? Then what's in it?"

Ben: "Ear wax."

Old Man Beach

I know, it's a strange name, but it's a great beach! (There's historical significance to the name, if you can read this plaque.) It's only five minutes from our house, but we'd never visited until today. I'm hooked! I think I'll start rating the beaches and parks that we visit. Old Man Beach earns 4.2 out of 5 Starfish. Here's my grading criteria:

Beach: 4 Starfish

The beach area is very nice, but a little on the small side. I could see it getting very crowded on a really hot day. We were there when the tide was on the way back in, so there was still plenty of room for the kids to play. When the tide is all the way in, there isn't much sand.

View: 5 Starfish

The view is spectacular. Cascade mountains to the east, Agate Pass bridge to the west, Bainbridge Island to the south. It's a great place to watch the boats come through Agate Passage.

Swimming: 3 Starfish

The currents are pretty strong, so I'm not sure it would be a good place for the kids to swim, but they didn't try. It wasn't quite warm enough yet. Matzo had no problems, though!

Ammenities: 5 Starfish

A bathroom with flushing toilets, running water, and soap! And a beach shower! Also has a nice grassy area with 3 or 4 picnic tables and BBQ grills.

Accessibility: 4 Starfish

Being so close to our house is a huge bonus. The parking is limited, though. The path down to the beach is on the steep side, but it is paved. Since I don't have babies anymore, I usually don't have huge quantities of gear to lug around, so the steepness didn't bother me.

So, there you have it, 21 Starfish out of 25 possible, an average of 4.2 Starfish!

The kids spent most of their time digging a big hole. They wanted to make it deep enough for Ben to stand in with only his head sticking out, but hit water too soon and it started caving in. They're going to try again next time, because there definitely will be a next time! I'm so glad beach season is here.

My Little Addicts

The hummingbirds have found my new feeder and I'm feeling a little guilty about being their drug supplier. They can not stay away and fight each other over whose turn it is. I snapped these pictures yesterday. I tried to get all four in a shot, but they're so fast! Every time I whipped out the camera it scared them away. I tried to stand very still, but was only able to get pictures of one at a time.

Girlfirend's Retreat

My friend Brooke invited me and two other friends to spend last Saturday and Sunday with her at Ocean Shores. She was feeling the need to take a break from being a mom and reconnect with herself, and I was only too happy to help!

I feel like I got an extra night away from mommy-hood, since Friday night was the annual father/son campout (which I was going to post about, but Brad wasn't feeling well when they went and didn't take any pictures) and he took Nathan and Ben. I spent Friday night with Jillian and Kylie, first at Teryaki Town for dinner, then Mora's for icecream, then dropped Jillian off at a birthday party and Kylie took me out to see the new Star Trek movie.

When the husbands got home Saturday morning, the wives took off. We headed out to Ocean Shores and ended up at Collin's Inn and Seaside Cottages, the perfect spot for relaxing. The cottage we stayed in was beautiful, only a few months old, and right by the beach. Waiting for us was a beautiful boquet of flowers and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries with a card that said "To our Wives, with Love from the Husbands."

I felt so refreshed spending time with friends away from daily responsiblities and children's demands. Standing on the porch watching the sunset was bliss.

Sunday morning, I went for a long walk, and I learned something about myself. I might be able to be a jogger someday if I lived in Ocean Shores where the roads are all totally flat and there are bright yellow fire hydrants every 1/8th of a mile encouraging me to "just jog past two then walk past two, and repeat..."

After we checked out of our cottage, we drove down to the beach and sat in the warm sand. Although the sun wasn't out like we were expecting, it was still nice to listen to the waves and run my fingers through the sand without worrying about anything.

It was a wonderful weekend. I learned a lot about my friends, too. I learned that Outi can laugh and cry at the same time, and make me do the same. If I'm ever in a brawl, I want Mariann on my team. And if I ever go elk hunting, Brooke's the babe to bring along to call the elk!

(Sorry the video is tilted wrong. I always forget that I can't turn the camera like that when I'm video taping!)

37 years ago...

a baby girl was born.

And now that I've figured out how to use my scanner, you get to share in the joy of my first three birthdays...

I still like to lick the candles,

and love opening a brand-new box of crayolas,

and I wish I could get my hair to be this cute again!

Itchy Eyes

Has anyone else noticed the over-abundance of pollen in the air this year? I've never seen it this bad...even when it rains and I think the air will clear, it rides on the waves of water over our driveway. I normally have mild seasonal allergies, but this year I want to tear my eyes out! They have been itching like crazy for at least a month. I finally broke down and bought some allergy eye drops. Guess what? They make my eyes burn! So now my eyes itch AND burn! I'm starting to question whether Spring is really my favorite season...

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all you wonderful women out there are having a wonderful mother's day, whether you are a mom or not! We all have moms, and even if our relationships with them aren't the best, we can find something to be grateful to them for. I feel so blessed to have a great mom, and to live so close to her. Except this year she's in South Carolina visiting Tyler, Rachael and Hudson. Brad's mom is also out of town, in Hawaii meeting little Jane. So our traditional mother's day dinner will be a little quieter this year.

The kids woke me up this morning with a delicious breakfast in bed. They made bacon and eggs and crepes filled with a yummy strawberry sauce. And they gave me wonderful presents: Jillian gave me a bag she sewed all by herself and a marbled paper box she made, Ben gave me several pairs of earrings, and Nate and Kylie gave me a beautiful glass hummingbird feeder.

Our church meeting was very nice as well. Somehow, the two speakers on the program weren't ever asked if they would speak, so the meeting was opened up for people to talk about their moms. I loved the fact that some of the first people to get up were three teen-age boys. All three brought tears to my eyes as they talked about how much they each love their mom and appreciate all the sacrifices she makes for them. One was especially touching, a young man who has come from a difficult background, whose family was literally homeless when they moved here and has gotten into some trouble in school, talked about how strong his mom was and how she worked so hard to keep their family together.

I also loved hearing from Katie about the importance of the little things we do. I need to make sure I take advantage of the everyday opportunities to spend time with my kids before they're all grown up. So when Jillian complained of not feeling well and didn't want to go to her Primary class, instead of sending her to sit with Brad, I let her come and help in my Sunbeam class. It's a good thing I did, too! The kids were very excitable today, to say the least. Hopefully they got all their extra energy out so they could let their moms relax this afternoon...