Mid Winter Break @ Seaside OR

When we gave the kids a trip to Seaside for Midwinter Break as a Christmas gift, they weren't all that excited.
But when my parents came and we headed out, they started to get excited.
Then, when we got there, they went crazy!  Sarah said, "Mom!  You have taken us to a vacation in HEAVEN!"
It was amazing.  And Heavenly.  If you think Heaven will be very very cold.  We actually got SNOW!  But that didn't matter. We loved being away and being together.  And the views from our hotel were great.  Short walks on the beach were great.  And some crazy members of the family even went swimming in the snow!
One of the things we got for Christmas was a puzzle of Seaside by Dowdle.  We (mostly I) put it together over Christmas break.  Then we (mostly my parents and I) put it together again in Seaside.  So fun!  It was totally nerdy, but I got so excited everytime we saw anything in the puzzle (which was about every 5 seconds).
The Wyndam had a picture scavenger hunt.  My parents took the kids to find all of the things while Derek and I went to the sales presentation for the timeshare company.  We did it to get his parents some points...but it turns out the points are for Wyndam Rewards, not timeshare points.  But we learned a lot about why we don't want to be timeshare owners.  (Like being "forced" to vacation...he seriously said that several times in the presentation.) We did get $50 dinner vouchers, which was nice.
I got up early (because my body just wakes up at 5:30 or earlier every day right now) and worked out in the fitness room and worked on school stuff in the Business Center.  Then I was free to relax and enjoy the days!
We also got to watch some of the Olympics!  Too much curling and hockey and not enough ice skating when we were watching, but I love the Olympic energy.

Here are my parents and the kids with the Lewis and Clark Statue.  This statue is IN THE PUZZLE!  

This picture was on our floor as we stepped off the elevator.  They are recreating.  How did they do? 

The view from our room.  Amazing!  (This is the view in the puzzle!) 

View of the pool from our room.   During the hours from 8am -10 pm it was quite the busy place.  Very brave swimmers. 

We couldn't decide if we needed swimsuits.  1/2 of the family brought them, and 1/2 didn't.  So we had to buy Derek Libby and Ben new suits.  Derek chose the pink pineapple suit.  Libby was so embarrassed!  But not embarrassed enough to miss swimming.  Yes, the outdoor pool was open.  Even in the SNOW!  Notice that I did not buy a new suit.  I let Derek handle swimming duty.  

Derek and I have fond memories of camping in Tillamook when we were newlyweds.  So we took the family.  The new visitor's center is under construction, but the temporary one is really fun too. 

The kids loved "driving" the van. 

Ben and Mom with Tillie the (fake) cow.  Derek quizzed the kids on all kinds of cow facts before they could get cheese samples.   

Grandpa with his next tractor (he wishes!).

 We had lots of other fun.

Grandpa taught the kids to play pool.  Then they played ping-pong, which didn't go so well because grandma went too easy on Ben.  Libby was pretty upset about it.  

 We also went to the Aquarium.  Feeding the seals was the highlight.  They would do tricks to get you to throw fish to them.  Watch out for splashes! (The Aquarium is IN THE PUZZLE!)

 This was such a beautiful morning!  After the aquarium we took a quick walk on the beach.  Ben wanted to swing for a few minutes.  But his hands got too cold to hold on! (The swings are IN THE PUZZLE!)

Wednesday evening it snowed.  A lot. It was beautiful.  

In the morning my dad went out and put some special names in the sand.  

Thursday was HIKE day!  Derek, my dad and I were worried that the snow might make it too difficult to get from Cannon Beach all the way to Tillamook Head in Seaside.  So we decided to just do part of the hike.  It was muddy in parts, but it was great!  We hiked up from Indian Beach along the ridge to the lighthouse lookout.  Then we took the more established almost paved path back to the beach.  It was chilly, but so good to be out and moving!  

So this was the view we were thinking we would get from the hike.  Nope, it is just a lighthouse view.
Glad we also stopped and took some pictures at some other viewpoints.  

View from the pinnacle of the hike.  (The lighthouse is IN THE PUZZLE!)

The scavenger hunt pictures were super fun.  Making a funny face with a reservation clerk! 

Ben seemed to fall down or injure himself very very often on this trip.  Here is a shoulder ride after a tough fall on the sidewalk.  (See in the background, Shilo Inn, IN THE PUZZLE!) 

The carousel mall was closing up as we got back from the hike.  But we managed to take a ride on the carousel before it closed for the night (at 5:45 pm).  There is definitely a "high season" in Seaside--and this is not it! 

Seastar Gelato! There are so many candy and ice cream shops in Seaside.  We hit just about every single one once or twice! (The Candy shops are IN THE PUZZLE!) 

The resort had some fun activities.  This was arts and crafts (during the hike).  That night we also did karoke with a few others in this same room.  The girls loved it! I even sang a song or two or more!

We also fulfilled Sarah's dreams by playing Family Business, Old Maid, Pit and Skipbo.  That girl LOVES games.
HUGE Thanks to Derek's parents for letting us use their timeshare! 
I hope we have started a new family tradition of a Mid-Winter getaway!  We will see if the wrestling schedule obliges!