Spring Break Getaway

As spring break approached, the kids started a chorus of "what are we going to do for spring break?" and "Where are we going for spring break?" (Basically, Eric and I are idiots for taking them to Disneyland for spring break last year and now have them thinking spring break is actually a fun thing  filled with excitement and adventures. What fools we are!!)

In all honesty, a little getaway sounded great to me, too, so I took a peek at our timeshare's website to see if I could find a near-ish location with openings. Lo and behold! The Birch Bay location (one I've heard good things about from another school family) offers mid-week specials. Perfect!! I booked a two-bedroom condo and started our packing lists. Unfortunately, Eric wasn't able to go due to work stuff, but we talked with him each night ... and whenever I ran into technical issues (sorry for waking you up with a computer question, Sweetie!!)

There are quite a few perks to the Birch Bay timeshare ... first, it is close enough to drive to without too much hassle (1 hour, 45 min), second, it has an indoor/outdoor pool and hot tub (win!), and is close to Canada. Why is the Canada thing a plus? Well, apparently we are slacker parents who have never taken their son to Canada even though it is only about 2 hours away.... and haven't taken their daughter there since she was about 4 months old, and has no memory of being there so it doesn't really count. DUH!!!

We left around noon on Monday (I worked from home that morning to reduce how much time I needed to take off from work and knowing we couldn't check in to the condo until 4 PM) and meandered our way up to Birch Bay. Before leaving town, we stopped at the flute repair place (and found out Annika's flute is basically a POS ... awesome), which put us a bit later than expected but no biggie. We also  stopped in Marysville for lunch at MOD Pizza (win!); yes, I made the kids suffer brief starvation to get out of  Seattle and Everett before stopping so Friday freeway traffic didn't become an issue for us. After meandering around the shopping area in Marysville for a bit (picking up some last-minute items and just seeing what we could see... we were on vacation, time is more fluid on vacation!), we continued north and eventually made it to Birch Bay.

The kids immediately wanted to get into the pool after we checked in, the van was unloaded, and our stuff was sort of put away. OK, why not! Rainy weather? Who cares! I happily enjoyed some hot tub relaxation while the kids played "penguin" (aka going back and forth between the pool and hot tub) until we decided dinner was needed. After we ate, it was "chill out time", which was perfect for everyone!

A panoramic view of our condo

The poos area

The epitome of vacation post-pool relaxing

As soon as the kids saw the timeshare building has an arcade, stopping at it was mandatory for them. Normally, I avoid arcades like the plague, but this one was small and not over-run with too many people.  I agreed that we could pop in before we headed The kids played pinball, a hockey foosball-esque game (really quite fun), and a crane/grabber candy thing. Each kid had two dollars to blow and (SHOCKER) they spent about half of their allotment on candy.

Conor and the hockey game
Final score: Conor 2, Me 1

Once our arcade time was behind us, we took a quick walk across the street to the beach, where rock throwing/skipping, bird watching, and general frolicking took place. Of course, the kids wanted to fill their pockets with all sorts of neat rocks to take home as souvenirs, but I put the kabash on that right away. (I have found way too many rocks in our washing machine to fall for that request.)  The tide was really far out, so there was lots of  space for the kids to run and explore. Annika's ankle and a rock had a bit of a run-in, so as she sat and nursed her scrape, Conor continued to gallop all over the beach.... when it was nearing our time to go, he slipped off of a driftwood log and landed ankle-deep in mud. His shoes, socks, and pants were encased in mud ... on an up note, both of his shoes stayed on his feet!

On our way back to the condo, we came across a phone booth (I mean old-school phone booth ... like the kids Superman would change in). Knowing how rare they are now (and I can only imagine this trend will continue), I stopped the kids, explained what a phone booth is, and took a few quick photos of them in it. Both kids pretended to call Eric on the phone so they could tell him about the beach, Conor's muddy feet, and the phone booth. We also came across a metal totem pole, which got Conor started on explaining all about the symbols and shapes included in the design. (Thanks, Ms. Fairbanks for being such a good teacher ... I have proof that Conor actually listens to and learn from you!) :)

Hello? Daddy? We're in a phone booth!

Peeking out from behind a totem pole

With our arcade and beach time done, we piled into the van and headed north to Canada day (MUCH more appealing than the arcade, in my humble opinion!). I joked with the kids that we were fleeing the county, which caused them to think Canada was REALLY different from the U.S. After spending about 20 minutes in Canada, Annika said, "You know, this doesn't look any different than home!"

The border crossing was a breeze (no lines - woo hoo!) and I gave the border guard a good laugh when he asked, "How long do you plan on staying in Canada?" and I replied, "Oh, we're just here for lunch. Speaking of which, can you suggest a place we can go? Somewhere kid friendly?" He pointed us toward White Rock (a place I knew of from my college days), parked the car, and blindly picked a place for lunch.

We found ourselves at West Beach Bar & Grill and the menu posted by the door looked promising. That was when it occurred to me, I have NO CLUE about the rules about minors going into bars in Canada. Are they allowed like in California so long as food is served, or is it like in Washington where they are strictly forbidden? I caught the waitress' attention and she confirmed the kids were permitted. That's a great thing because the food we had was amazing!! All three of us had burgers and fries. Annika proclaimed that hers was "the best burger EVER" and Conor was sad that he was too full to eat all of his yummy food. (I doubt most adults to could finish all of the food - the servings were very generous). If you're ever in White Rock, stop there for a mighty fine burger!!

Waiting for lunch

After lunch, we meandered up and down along the rows of shops (making a mental note to stop of gelato as our last hurrah of the day) and then eventually wandered down to the beach. Because of the very low tide. we could walk for days without hitting water, it seemed. The kids ran, explored tide pools (filled mostly with very tiny, very fast fish and mucky gunk), dug in the sand, and watched seagulls drop clams onto the rocks and pier in hopes of breaking the clam shells. It was all very easy paced and relaxing... until I told Annika she couldn't climb on top of the huge white rock (ummm.... remember 11 weeks in a cast, m'dear???). I was less fun after that, but I'll happily wear that badge if it means she goes to Ireland with four limbs that function properly!

We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather, especially considering the rainy day we had just the day before. We had blue skies, comfortably warm temps, and a breeze that kept the air from being stale. Per-fect!!!! And the fact that we got to visit a beach while enjoying such weather? Amazingly wonderful!!!

Knowing our parking meter time was ticking down, we pulled ourselves away from the beach, found a gelato spot (yum!), picked up souvenirs from the White Rock museum's gift shop (Conor got a basecall cap; Annika got a little bottle of sand and a magnet), and then we started our trek back across the border, back to the U.S. Once again, our crossing was easy and quite quick. This whole "not crossing the border on a weekend" is really the way to go!!

We wrapped up our day with another trip to the pool/hot tub and then watching Lion King on TV. Can't complain about that, if you ask me!

Day three was our "pack up and go" day. To simplify the process, I pre-packed some of our things the evening before. We had to be home in time for Conor's PT appointment, so timeliness was a constant on my morning radar. Fortunately, all went smoothly and we got out of the condo right on time. The drive home was a breeze (only stopping briefly in Bellingham for gas at Costco) and we had the added surprise of seeing Eric's car in the driveway when we got home. Hurray!!!! I didn't expect him to be home when we arrived. Bonus!

We were tired, but in a good way, and glad to be back home. We had a great time being away, but being back home and with Eric was the perfect thing for us.

Thanks Birch Bay and Canada ... we had a great time!!

Easter 2019

When clothing manufacturers design Easter dresses for little girls, they basically ignore the fact that it is usually well below 70 degrees, often raining, and typically windy on Easter in the PNW. Many a PNW girl has a parka over her adorable Easter dress and has blue toes sticking out of her Easter sandals. No, spaghetti strap dresses and barely-there sandals are not what our sweet (and usually a bit soggy) PNW kiddos require on Easter. Usually.

This year, Easter's weather was GORGEOUS and we didn't freeze. Why? We lucked out. Also, having Easter at the end of April didn't hurt. March Easters result in much more frostbitten egg hunters.

Our Easter fun started out at home the day before Easter when we finally found some spare time to dy our Easter eggs. This year's efforts were quite creative; Eric decided to use candle wax to control where the dye was allowed to touch the egg shell. Annika and I tried used rubber bands to create stripes on a couple of eggs. Conor played with creating multi-colored eggs, and even made an Irish flag egg. It always feels a bit sad to crack into the pretty creations, but the deviled eggs we enjoy on Easter eases the pain a bit.

Some of our eggs

Easter morning's festivities started with the kids digging into their Easter baskets and discovering what goodies the Easter bunny left for them. (Eric and I happily slurped our Easter coffee as the kids plotted out which candy would start their sugar highs.).

Loot!

After baskets, the kids and I got spiffed up (aka out of our PJs) and headed to 10:30 mass. We needed to be there a bit early because Annika was slated to be one of the altar servers. I took advantage of our early arrival and snapped a couple of quick pics of the kids in their Easter attire before mass, just in case rain came in any time soon. (The spirit of a true PNW person ... do it now, who knows how long the rain will cooperate with us!)

Quick pre-mass photo

Annika altar serving during mass
(I didn't get struck with lightning for taking a photo during mass, so I'm guessing God is OK with it)

We caught our collective breath at home for a few minutes after mass. That might be a bit of an over statement. We went home after mass, which started "Destroy the Pretty Eggs" phase of our day. Eric and I feverishly peeled the eggs, many of which resisted our efforts and didn't make it onto the plate of deviled eggs. I did get enough yolks to fill the egg whites that didn't look like they were doing golf ball impersonations with the number of divots (or "diggots" as Annika says) they wound up having. I beautifully piped the yolks into the whites, dusted them with paprika, carefully covered them loosely with foil, and proceeded ti flip the plate of eggs over onto the eggs as I loaded them into the car. Yup - I'm THAT impressive. Fortunately, the foil kept everything together .... just a bit more smooshed than I'd hoped for. Oh well...  they still tasted great!

Once the smooshed eggs and the rest of our meal contributions (hot crossed buns, bunny-shaped dinner rolls, and lemon bars) were loaded in the car, we headed across Lake Washington to celebrate Easter with some of our extended family. My brother (Troy) and sister-in-law (Staci) graciously hosted the family Easter dinner. Lucky for us, Mother Nature decided to be kind and gave us a day that made us want to be outside and enjoy the deck. Cousin Ian set up a little egg hunt for the kids (an Easter must at this point), which will be sorely missed once Ian spreads his wings and heads to college next year. (Unless he comes home for Easter, than all is saved!)

Easter egg hunters

Our little bunnies

We ate our fill (and then some), toasted the holiday and beautiful weather, and had fun catching up a bit. My sister (Suzanne), brother-in-law (Randy), niece (Anna), and nephew (Robert) were also on hand to celebrate Easter. (Once again, I cannot begin to express how much we love having Frisches living here in Western WA!!! Four out of six so far ... now we need to work on getting Abby and Emily up here!)

 

My loves

The kiddos and their mama

Troy, Randy, and Eric toasting the day

Anna and Robert's inventive method for cooling their beverages

We drove home in a food-induced daze and practically fell into bed upon walking through the door. Thanks to everyone who made the day fun and filling. Now. to clean up the Easter decor and put the baskets away until next year.

Woodland Park Zoo Visit with the Minniches

We have family friends who we don't get to see very often. Actually, we have A LOT of family friends we don't get to see as often as we'd like because life is too stinking busy for most of us!! 

One of those families is the Minnich family. We've known each other since I was pregnant with Conor and it has been a treat to have our families grow up together. It seems that no matter how much time passes between visits, it is very easy to just pick up where we left off ... even for the kids.

Once Elaine and I realized both of our families had the same day available (GASP!!!), we booked it and wrote it in pen (YES, PEN!!) on our calendars. (OK, to be honest... I put wrote it in dry erase pen because that's the kind of calendar we use, but it was still written in pen.) 

We did the full zoo circuit!! As promised, the kids got to ride the carousel (definitely a special treat for them.... I'm too cheap frugal to pay for that very often) and had a marvelous time. Meanwhile, Elaine and I stood on the sidelines talking about how middle age is taking its toll on our various joints and eyesight!! HA!!! (Just you wait, kids ... one day, you too might experience vertigo because of riding on that darned carousel!!!) 

After the not-dizzy kids exited the ride, they and their creaking-jointed mothers wandered to the Northern Trail section of the zoo. That's where the grizzly bears, elk, gray wolves, mountain goats, etc. live. The kids played in the "wolf den" (Yes, all four of them did squish in there!) and (impressively) all got out without assistance from the fire department or any other rescue teams. (Elaine and I  ... and our old joints ... would not have had the same outcome.) One of the grizzly bears was ever so kind and even smiled when I took its picture (sure, it probably had a muscle twitch in its lip, but I am choosing to say it smiled. IT SMILED, I tell ya!)

Conor and Grace in the wolf den

"CHEEEEEEESE!"

 

Silly kids with elk in the background

 

The moms

One of the best parts of the zoo is the Willawong Station, where people can feed the various birds that flit and fly around. They are all beautifully colored and most aren't overly shy. No, they didn't smile like the grizzly bear did, but he kids sure did when the birds landed on their arms and started to peck at the feed sticks!!

"Hey, Mom! Look what I found!"

Sheer joy

 

Her pre-teen height helped her reach the birds that were less interested in the flight to her

Conor feeding his green feathered friend

We also made sure to stop by the meerkats, komodo dragon, flamingos, emus, wallabys, zebras, tapirs, rhinos (having a little down time in their indoor bath), ostriches, penguins, and more. We covered A LOT of ground during our visit. (My joints are still in recovery mode thanks to me not wearing my running shoes ... fashionable boots have NO place at the zoo!)

"Hey. Whatcha doing?"

The kiddos riding the komodo dragon statue

Conor the lion conquerer

The one thing we didn't do was re-create the photo of Annika and Ethan at the zoo when they were just on either side of 3 and walked around holding hands in their little kid rain coats. Next time for sure!!! 

When they were so wee

A special thanks to Elaine, Ethan, and Grace for taking the time to drive over to Seattle and spend time with the crazy ol' Olson crew!!! 

Annika's Amazing Croissants

For quite a few weeks, Annika has talked about wanting to make croissants. I cannot lie ... I basically LOVE the fact she wanted to take on croissants. 

The issue ... ok, not issue, exactly .... the important thing to keep in mind is croissants are not a quick baking project. It isn't like the "Hey, Mom? Can we make cookies?" type of request that we can basically do at the drop of a hat. Laminated dough takes time. The ingredients have to be assembled, the dough has to rise, and then it has to be rolled, folded, rolled, folded, rolled, folded, chilled for 30 minutes (and repeat two more times). Typically, I like to make croissants over the course of a weekend; the dough is made, rises, and has its three rounds of rolling/folding on day 1. It spends the night in its plastic wrap sleeping bag in the fridge, and then day 2 is when we cut/shape the croissants, let them rise in their sauna, and then we bake them. 

Annika did a fantastic job! She was careful with her measurements and paying attention to the details. She listened well as I explained why certain things are done. As she beat the butter in the mixer, she proved (once again) that she's my girl by exclaiming how much she loves the smell of butter.

Annika adding the dry ingredients to the mixer

I'd like to throw out a huge bit of praise for Annika. She has been out of her cast for a smidge over a week, and was already battling dough with a rolling pin. That's not an easy task with two fully-functioning arms, and there she was persevering (Eric!!!) with one arm that wasn't quite up for that sort of task yet. Yes, I did help roll out the dough when she needed some assistance, but even that impressed me... she was willing to recognize when a helping hand was in order. (That's something I still struggle with. "I do it b'self!")

Rollin', rollin', just keep rollin'

After our third round of rolling and folding, we wrapped up the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for the night. Side note: I am SOOO glad I checked on the dough before I went to bed because it had enough carry-over heat that it continued to grow and it was HUUUUUGE! I knocked down the dough (TAKE THAT, dough) and put it back in the fridge ... with an extra layer of plastic around it just in case.

Sunday morning was rolling, cutting, shaping rising, baking, and (most importantly) EATING day!!!

We pulled out my marble slab (thank you to Eric's brother and sister-in-law for the heaviest-ever Christmas present!!), rolling pin, and croissant cutter (a special thanks to my brother and his co-worker for getting that amazing toy for me... still love it after all of these years!) and we got to work. After we rolled out the dough, I showed Annika how to use the croissant cutter, how to shape the rolls, and how we use a Hefty bag and bowl of hot water to create a croissant sauna.

Shaping the croissants

Annika and her croissant cutter super hero mask

Before long, the first batch of rolls was out of the oven (and that's when I realized we neglected to  put the egg wash on them ... whoops!) so I quickly brushed them with egg wash, popped 'em back in the oven and browned 'em up a bit more. Adapting is part of the baking game, people! :)

First batch out of the oven waiting for its forgotten egg wash

Annika with one of her finished croissants. SOOO yummy!!! 

Look at those flaky culinary masterpieces. Way to go, Annika!

Making something like croissants take a lot of patience and precision. Annika really showed how she's maturing by taking on a project like this. Sure, I had to encourage her to stick with it during the less exciting times here and there, but she really did a great job with this project. Very proud of our girl .... now I need to go ride our stationary bike 350,000 hours to work off the insane amount of croissant-shaped calories I've ingested since yesterday.