Enlightening Ocean Retreat

Silly us...we thought instead of traditional camping, we'd take 25 incl ldrs & pthd chaperones to Long Beach 'cuz it was 90 degrees in Puyallup-sounds like a great idea eh? Too bad the temp cooled a mere 40 degrees en route & I was one of the least prepared ones:( I got to bring the baby who thankfully was entertained by my carful o' girls, but then had a blowout right when we pulled up to hotel-Our valiant YW Pres was kind enough to donate accom. from her timeshare credits:), pictured here on left of Beehive who had never been to the beach before & got wet & then was cold & then was stubborn & didn't change her clothes rest of day? Hmmm...
Luke redeemed himself by falling asleep in Baby Bjorn during our fireside on beach & somehow sleeping rest o' night!! I lucked out again with master suite while all girls were troopers in sleeping bags on floor...Long Live Gary Howard for starting a fire for us although barely warm enough to do s'mores & usually nothing will stop me from consuming several of those tasty morsels?! They're the saving grace of campfires besides good company 'cuz I can't stand the smell permeating everything afterward (Chris' lab instructor had a candle in that scent?! no thanks!) Anyway for my fireside, we followed up on Virtue Apprentice activity from previous month, where groups were assigned to make a commercial re: value (advertised Virtue Vitamins complete with testimonials, side effects & dosage req:)), create a game (opted for Capture Flag, which was postponed until Sat. in hopes the sun would come out tomorrow, but we lost our bottom dollar & played anyway) & design t-shirt (created like VISA featuring list of jewels that had price, but VIRTUE=PRICELESS based on scrip re: virtuous woman far above rubies, complete with credit card on back:). I was proud of 'em, but not so proud o' me for somehow missing iron-on dir so design didn't go right on t-shirts as I'd hoped:( Concluded back in hotel with Alma 5...
Next day we rose above complainers & made best o' wind & fog for more beach time & great meals! To give ya an idea of the weather, this pillow was held against this MiAMaid's face completely by wind & she walked all the way to the water like that:)
This is much appreciated look @ 2 Laurels who finally grinned & bore it:) Then we had the blanket dwellers as well to deal with or just ignore & we chose latter-Also visited 2 lighthouses to further emph symbolism of lightkeepers for annual YW theme of being example o' believers-



















Cruised home & left all boys with babysitter...Thanks to this thoughtful Laurel who became a new favorite when she declared that though Huey cried for a bit before sleeping, she doesn't "like to bother couples who are out?!"
So I also got to enjoy husband's co & new restaurant in Puyallup (@ least to us)=Powerhouse!
I would definitely like to go back for more of all the above contained in my weekend!!

p.s. Long Beach features a sand building contest in July & kite festival in Aug that would be fun to check out if you're looking for summer plans:)