Since my brother and his family were already planning on being in Washington for Brynn and Garrett's baptism and their spring break, my family decided a few months ago to make a mini family reunion out of the week with two little get-aways.
First stop: Fort Worden
One of my sis-in-laws reserved an officer's house at Fort Worden in Port Townsend for Monday through Wednesday, March 30-April 1st. Now a state park, Fort Worden was originally built as one of three military bases in the late 1890s to guard the entrance of Puget Sound. It is located right on the water and has all the relics one would associate with an old military base: barracks, officers' housing, bunkers, and gun batteries. It's a child's ultimate playground! And, as always, my mother's "weather prayers" were answered as it drizzled on and off Monday (the afternoon we checked in) and rained/snowed on Wednesday (the morning we checked out), but was a beautiful, crisp spring day all day Tuesday after a rainy beginning. So, we were really able to enjoy the outdoors on our one full day there.
This is a photo of the very cool officer's house we stayed in during our two nights there. It is one of eight houses built in the early 1900s for the officers stationed at Fort Worden. These homes are actually duplexes, so we stayed in the left half of this huge, old house that had four floors and six bedrooms! (However, much to Chris' dismay and attempts to pick the locks, both the basement and top floor are permanently blocked off to guests.) Regardless, this house made for some great hide-and-seeks games with the nieces and nephews. It also has all the features that I love in old homes: a wrap-around porch, high ceilings, tall doors, huge moldings, a grand staircase in the entry, built in nooks and bookshelves everywhere, fireplaces in most of the rooms, and even decorative tin ceiling tiles in the formal living room and dining room.
A shot of the Officer's Row where we stayed. The last house on the lane (the far left) has a stunning view of the ocean. And, no, we didn't stay in that one.
Some of the silly cousins climbing in the large tree in front of our house!
Ron, my mom, and I enjoyed a walk on the beach in the wind and sunshine while Lia and my dad/babysitter were both taking their morning naps. Yes, his schedule parallels a one-year old quite nicely these days. :-) Here Ron and I are on the steps leading down to the beach.
My mom and I next to the pier.
A shot of the beautiful light house located on the point of the bay. (Please ignore the eye sore to the right. Why did they have to put that tower right there?! Rebecca, can you photoshop that one out? :-) )
The bay on the other side of the light house.
In between baby's morning and afternoon naps, we bundled her up and headed out for a second walk. Here is the fam on the porch before venturing out.
Since both of my parents and two of my nephews all have birthdays between the days of March 29th and April 15th, we decided to hold a joint birthday dinner/party while we were there. Here is Mr. B getting ready to blow out the candles on his "Spy Gear" magnifying glass birthday cake. Please note that Vivi is already in her pajamas by this point in the evening (a trend that began that day that several of my nieces followed...pjs by 4 in the afternoon...don't bother asking why because I simply have no idea).
Second Stop: Great Wolf Lodge
My family then headed off for two more fun-filled days at the Great Wolf Lodge south of Olympia for Thursday and Friday, April 2-3. This hotel is only a year old and is a child's dream and my father's nightmare (it's stimulation overload from beginning to end). :-) It is an irreverant blend of a Las Vegas strip hotel, Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn, and Wild Waves Water Park. If you can handle a millions kids, noise, chaos, and something going on in every room, corner, and cranny, bring your family for some non-stop entertainment! Since I live less than an hour away, I opted to just come down with Lia for one of the two days (Ron couldn't come because he had to work). We headed down on Friday, April 2nd, to play at the indoor waterpark with my family for a few hours. My mother kindly took my baby for the majority of the time and kept on commanding me to "Go Play!" as long as I checked in with her every 15-30 minutes! Thanks, mom! So, I was able to go down several slides with assorted members of my family. I actually felt like a kid again. 
Here is one shot of the incredible, indoor waterpark. You have to appreciate the timing of this picture as just when I went to snap it, the large bucket at the top of the structure (that fills and empties every few minutes) dumped out and over the innocent masses below. It's quite the deluge!
Another shot of the waterpark--this one is of the giant wave pool.
I included this picture because this was the look on Lia's face the whole four hours we were there! Normally a very happy, smiley, and friendly little girl, my daughter was the complete opposite the entire time. She just didn't know what to make of all the noise and grandeur of this place and was very unsure and clingy to grandma and me while we were there. Poor little lamb.
Classic cousin pose. Riley and Lia were placed side by side at the edge of the baby pool for a quick pic. When told to "smile," Lia promptly began crying and Riley covered his eyes. Makes sense. Doesn't Lia look adorable in her watermelon swimsuit?!
Mommy and daughter in the baby pool. Please note Lia's unsure look.
What I could round up of the family for a picture....the other half couldn't be found due to the siren call of the slides. Pictured are Grandma (doesn't she look great for 67?!), Lia looking the wrong way, big, bad 12-year old Spence, Sue closing her eyes, Brent with his cheesy grin, and two of the three "triplets," Vivi and Mae Mae.
I like that picture where Lia is screaming in the pool. Looks like I was a lot of fun!
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