Natalie & Ryan: Ocean Shores

I didn't think it was possible, but day 2 in Seattle was worse than day 1. Don't get me wrong, we were having fun, but Lilly's constant tantrums were really dragging mine and Ryan's moods down. We headed over to Ocean Shores for a day at the beach. It's a 3 hour drive to the beach...a drive that made me forever hate car rides. Lilly would fall asleep, then wake up in a panic, screaming for me. She calmed down when we finally got to the beach, but everything went down hill from there. As we pulled into Ocean Shores, we could see sunny, blue sky, but when we got to the beach, we were covered in a cold fog. It was FREEZING. And, despite how cold it was, Lilly still had a blast getting to splash around in the water...that was until she face planted it.

Ryan keeps reminding me how I failed as a mother. Lilly loved to run up to the wave as it would leave, then as it was coming back up the beach, she'd run away, scream, and giggle. I had only just walked up to join Lilly and Ryan in the fun, when Lilly tripped as the water retreated. She face-planted it in the mud. I ran over to grab her, waiting for the screaming, only to pick up a muddy baby who was mad that I was keeping her from playing in the water some more. Ryan and I were hysterically laughing at how silly she looked, covered in mud, screaming in excitement.

Lilly and Ryan continued to play in waves for another hour or so, and then she crashed. She was cold and wet, and mad that daddy made her leave the fun water. The brown mud that coated her at first had disgustingly turned puke green, so I decided to give her a water bottle bath. Ryan held her while I attempted to clean off the muck. Then we had to strip her and get her into another outfit. She was so cold, the two of us sat in the car with the heat turned up high, while everyone else flew kites and snacked away. Lilly still wouldn't eat anything. That's about it for our Ocean Shores adventures, since it was kind of turning into a miserable afternoon for Lilly.

The day was not over yet! We still had ANOTHER 4 hour car ride to Port Angeles. We were staying the night so we could catch the ferry to Victoria, Canada the next morning. The scenery was amazingly beautiful, but I would NEVER make this trip again. The winding roads were making everyone car sick...me especially. That, combined with Lilly's fit, Jack and Dad's gummy bear battles, and craving my bed more than anything, I was praying I would survive. When stopped in the newly-historic Forks, Washington for dinner. The waitress brought us our water, and as Lilly handed everyone their glasses, I jokingly said "Lilly, tip Susan's over on her..." Right as I said that, the glass Lilly was sliding towards Susan got stuck on a menu and tipped over, sending ice water into Susan's lap. Let's just say, she wasn't very happy. That dinner experience was not one for the books. The waitresses didn't bother bringing us anything other than an ALREADY-WET rag to wipe up the water, and didn't care that the table was still soaking wet. The food was terrible, and I just wanted the next hour to fly by. We got to Port Angeles at 10, but still needed to give Lilly an official bath before heading to bed. I was so happy when my head finally hit the pillow that night.