New Year's Day

As promised, to celebrate New Year's Day, we took a trek out to Mukilteo Beach. Most of the snow is now a pile of dirty slush, but it is still quite cold out, especially by the water.

Following the recent trend, Heidi and Ethan made a fuss over not wanting to go to the beach, since it's "boring." They then bickered and fought the entire time in the car, while I gritted my teeth.

"We are all going to the beach, and you are going to have fun, whether you like it or not!" was my scathing thought, unsaid of course.

When we arrived at the beach we were surprised to discover that the whole beach-front had been "remodeled," complete with covered patio tables, a restroom building, and two playground areas. The kids' tune immediately changed. They couldn't wait to try out the new equipment. I also noticed a sign which read "Welcome to Mukilteo Lighthouse Park." Has that always been there? Have they given it a new name to go along with the facelift? I may never know....


The wind was biting cold. Eric and the little girls only stayed out long enough for some pictures, then sought refuge in the car. There was, however, some brave enough to go sailing today. We admired the boat from the beach. It reminded me of the time my family and I went waterskiing on New Year's Day in Idaho. It was called Polar Bear Day. It was freezing! We wore dry-suits, to be a little warmer, but our heads, feet, and hands were exposed to the freezing water and wind.

Mind-numbingly cold. My ears hurt just thinking about it.

We each got a T-shirt that read "I waterskiied on New Year's Day." Yes, we were crazy. Many said it was fun. But I knew better. We were only out there so we could say that we did it.

And I'm glad that we did.

(As a side note, we had to practically drag the kids back to the car when we were ready to leave. Ethan still insists he wasn't even cold and his ears never hurt once. Hmmmm)