For Mother's Day, after cards, a gift and breakfast, we all got ready for my surprise Mother's Day outing. I was able to start guessing once the boys started exclaiming "we're going to the big beach!" (You've got to love little ones who can't keep a secret.) Which beach we were going to was still going to be a surprise, though. Once we got to Fairhaven and headed down Chuckanut Drive, I figured we were going to Larrabee State Park. It's been ages since we have been there... easily 4+ years. It was a beautiful day for it, too. Skip packed a picnic lunch and after a few minutes at the playground (which is new since we were last there) we spread out on the grass to eat. After that, we headed down the path to the beach. It was a little steep in parts, but not too steep that the boys couldn't handle it. They seemed to like their little hike through the woods and I know that my daughter did. Once we got down there, they saw all the kids in the water and wanted to go in, too. We didn't have swim suits (which I'm thankful for, as it was way too cold for me to want to be in there with them!) but they took their shoes and socks off and played in the water for a long time, finding rocks, shells and seaweed to collect. It never ceases to amaze me the different types of beach-goers we have here in any given season.Looking around at all of the people, it amazed me as always the variety.It's hard to tell from a photograph what the weather was like if you're looking at what everyone is wearing. There were the shirtless boys way out in the water (brr!) and the bikini-clad sunbathers on the shore, as well as those in sweatshirts and long pants. (For the record, the average high at Larrabee was 61 degrees that day.) The kids all got changed into dry clothes for the trek back up to the open space and playground area, and this time, they stopped in the tunnel and did some yelling to hear themselves echo. I love how public restrooms and tunnels are an instant trigger for little kids to yell and hear themselves amplified. Once we got back to the top, they spent more time at the playground and then we headed for home. It was great to go to a place we haven't been in ages, and we're definitely trying to make a habit of it.
