Orcas Island Day 1

We are back as of 5 o'clock this evening. We had so much fun! I can not even begin to express what a relaxing vacation it was to have our close friends and our families enjoy each other so much on this camping trip. The kids were all excited and well behaved. Lots and lots to come but here is our first day!

We drove to Anacortes to catch the ferry to the San Juan Islands. I have camped at Orcas Island and so has Denise (she's gone with her family and I've gone with daycare camp) but the daddies of the bunch have never (at least I don't think Dao has) been to Orcas Island. It was an experience taking all of them and being the parents on this trip vs. the kid that we were when we last visited. We had to be at the ferry an hour early and it left at 11:50am so we left the C6's house at 9am to ensure we'd make the early arrival. We even had time to stop at the last Starbucks (there isn't one on the islands) on the mainland. I got up super early (5:30am) because I promised to make chocolate chip cookies and muffins for the kids (and it needed to be fresh baked goods, right?? Of course!) + we had to pack the cooler stuff and our last minute items. We wanted to be at the C6's house by 8:30am the very latest. So, I needed that 2nd latte to for the ferry ride over.

The kids in the van waiting for the ferry with their salty trail mixes they made a couple days earlier. Note: the girl behind Madison looking with curious eyes - I swear wherever we go, people always look at us like "are those all their kids?" "their van is full!" or my favorite "how much do you charge for daycare?" - yes, some one stopped me at a light to ask ME that! :)

The C6 in their van excited to board the ferry (with their trail mixes).




Our ferry to Orcas Island.


I was proud of my husband for suggesting a group shot. He totally thought of my blog and I ♥ him for it.

The drive in was yucky. Overcast and rain! But, we were too excited to let that get us down!

Check in at Moran State Park. We will definitely come back here. It was beautiful and a ton of stuff to do that we didn't get to that we want to do next time. 2 nights and 3 days is not enough. We need at least 3 nights here to enjoy the horseback riding, the swimming, the rowing/paddleboating, the hiking and to explore the town more!

This is blurry but I love how she is sitting in her Dora chair (that used to be Nana's) all ready for the fun to begin. The first thing I did was set out camping chairs and coloring for the kids to do while we unloaded.

We decided to set up our camp for eating and sleeping. We ate on our site and slept on the C6's site. It worked out great and we could all be together.

I cleaned out my jam jar for Dev to go rock hunting with it. It took them a 2 minute walk to fill up my tiny jar I saved for them...I thought they'd be more selective but they were way too antsy to get to the next fun thing for that.

The huge stump aka the stage. Tomorrow I'll post their video of them singing the song Denise taught them on the ferry ride over...I'm still singing it as it is stuck in my Mommy brain. :)

Isa found a sharp stick and channelled her pacific northwest Native Americans to spark a fire with a rock...it never happened but she tried relentlessly to do it. :)

The big girls were going to sleep in their own tent (Haley, Isa and Kay) like the big girls that they are! They got along so well and helped us with the little ones (the potty was up the hill from us so they took turns taking the frequent potty-ers, Dev and Pay) like true big sisters!

Note: Denise and I put that together ourselves (it not being theirs - borrowed from a friend - and us having the awesome daddies put stuff together for us always). It was definitely a YIPPEE moment when we did it...wait, did Dao finish it? I can't remember but anyway, if he did it was mostly put together anyway! :)

Pay and Dev running around in our new tent that G.E. got us! We ♥ed it G.E., thank YOU! It is so spacious. We had Mommy and Daddy (obviously), Dev, Em and Nana in our tent. It was great to have all the comfy space!

Our sleeping quarters!

We stopped by here to get more ice for our coolers a few times. It was nice because it was pretty close by to where we were staying.

Our first campfire of the season! Who doesn't love s'mores? The kids look forward to this treat and I have to say so do Mommy and Daddy!

Daddy enjoying his camping vacation with his beer. :)

Nana ready to start the first night off with s'mores.

Our set up for s'mores. We went through 2 bags of 'mallows, a box of grahams and a package of chocolate!! Crazy, huh? Every kid got 2 s'mores + marshmallows just for roasting that first night. We went through the same the next night as well...us Mommies did leave the kids without - that's for sure.

The kids roasting.

Daddy roasting with the tiny one. She was actually really good about the fire this year. She didn't scare us so much. I think she has a good sense of hot and an understanding of it being ouchy. So, she was actually fun to have around the fire because she looked to us for help and was excited to participate! Not her usual temperament so we were doubly appreciative. Usually, she's Miss Independent.

The girls settling down and playing barbies!

Dev and Pay playing board games after s'mores.

Nighty Night, big sisters! They listened to Haley's ipod and talked as they settled down at night. Like I said, they were super good and responsible helpers!

More to come...Denise has the pictures from our big hike (oh, yes! The big in hike deserves the accent in bold, people! My body is still feeling the burn!) so I may post Day 2 without the hike and update it later.

Day 1 was a blast. We arrived about 2pm but after setting up camp and eating dinner...it wasn't much of a day. Day 2 was our full day and Day 3 we were packing up to catch the ferry so like I said, you really need 3 nights and 4 days to enjoy Orcas at the very least.

Our families decided this will be a yearly trip. It was so fun and we loved Orcas Island!

Now...to continue the laundry, Daddy has finished vacuuming and cleaning the van for me (did I mention, I ♥ HIM!) and we are feeling re-settled back in our cozy home.