The Hiker Mama

Easter Sunshine

Easter Weekend is always a bit dicey in terms of weather here in the Pacific Northwest.  Often it is rainy and cool, making those egg hunts and pretty Easter dresses a bit impractical.  But this year we lucked out and got some fabulous sunshine and warm weather.  We were able to enjoy our egg hunts and do some yard work, and get our vitamin D dose at the same time.

Annika on the Hunt

I wanted Sunday to be a quieter day for our family. The kids were up early, excited to see what the Easter Bunny left in their baskets.

Easter Loot

We served in church, teaching the adorable and precious 2- and 3-year-olds, stopped at the store for some special ingredients for dinner, and had a wonderful meal.  The rest of the afternoon I planned that we would all rest and enjoy not having more places to go or people to converse with.  But as the evening approached, it became clear that it was just too easy to veg out in front of the tube, take care of computer issues, and zone out with computer games.  My kids were getting bored and testy, and I was feeling my own nature deficit.  After we had a light dinner, I surprised the kids with an order to change into play clothes and get in the car, we were going to the beach.  They happily complied.

15 minutes later, we were buckled up and on our way.  We are so fortunate to live only a short drive from some fabulous marine sanctuaries.

kids in nature
Marina Beach, Edmonds

The tide was high, but we had just enough sand to sit and watch the ferries go by in the evening light, and the kids jumped the gentle wavelets that brushed against the shore.  The air was mild, a tinge of briskness to the gentle breeze.

Clouds

We gazed at the bright evening light as the high clouds brightened in illumination above the snow-covered, rugged Olympic peaks.  We spent about an hour at the beach, and it was a needed diversion, an uplifting end to a wonderful day.  The finale was seeing an owl drop down out of the trees along the road as we came home at dusk.

Times like these make me realize how easy it is to get sucked into an indoor, complacent lifestyle.  It takes just a bit more oomph to force myself to fight the inertia and do something different.  The rewards are always waiting out there for me, if I just follow through and make that extra bit of effort.

Illumination

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