Sugar Cookie Cabin at Suncadia - Family Rental House

Our Spa Experiences at Glad Spring Spa were our Valentine's presents to each other.  They were awesome.  The only non-romantic bummer was that we had to go separately so we could tag team with the kids.  Someday they will be old enough to both go to CampCadia! 

To start, we both enjoyed the warm outdoor soaking tubs.  There were three pools set at approximately 90, 100, 110 degrees respectively.  Unlike the hot tubs at the swim/fitness center, these are built with real rocks/stones and are private, quiet, and relaxing. The "Sanctuary" waiting area was peaceful and relaxing and they served grapefruit or lemon water and a light healthy menu.  The magazines/newspapers were lacking so I would bring your own or a friend to talk with or prepare to meditate.  :-)  

My wife had the Chardonnay Facial which included a glass of, what else, Chardonnay.  She loved it.  Super relaxing and refreshing and she came out looking years younger.  ;-)  I had a deep tissue massage (my usual) with Jess.  He was awesome and used techniques I had never experienced before to really loosen up my hips, legs and shoulders. 

We would both highly recommend the Spa.  The only hiccup was a snafu with our reservations. I would double-check your appointments before you go.  They lost my wife's friends reservation but managed to squeeze her in on busy Valentine's Day!  Great customer service.  Also, I thought the prices were a bit on the expensive side but my wife informed me that they are inline with your typical luxury Spa.  Doh! :-)
Pictures below: 1) My view from Outdoor Soaking Pools
                         2) Sanctuary waiting area

We just booked his/her treatments at the Glade Spring Spa at Suncadia for next weekend.  We'll be staying for the long Valentine's/Presidents Day weekend.  I'll do the spa on Saturday and my wife is going Sunday so one of us will be available to watch the kids.   We can't wait until the get older so they can both attend Camp Suncadia (without us) and we can get some time "off" including simultaneous treatments.   I digress...I'm getting deep tissue to stay healthy - I just started running again and am injury prone.  no pain, no gain. :)  My wife is getting the anti-oxident Chardonnay facial (yes it includes a glass of wine.) We received a direct mail piece with buy one get one free at the spa - Bonus!!!  You can call to book your treatments at 509.649.6470 and mention promo code "OWNERS" to take advantage of this BOGO offer - hurry though it expires March 1st.  Bring a book - they have a "Sanctuary" sitting area and outdoor hot tub / salt baths (both co-ed and women's only) to ease you in and out.  Will report back next week. 

The water slides were closed on Saturday for maintenance and we thought we were going to have a disaster on our hands. But instead, the kids learned how much fun Tubing and Skating are.  "Daddy, Tubing is faster than the water slides.  It's awesome"  The tubing hill is perfect for kids of all ages/sizes because there is a groove in the snoiw that makes it (dare I say?) impossible to flip or fall off the tube.  You can get some pretty good speed going on the hill too.   The pull cable ride going back up is almost as fun. 

Skating took a bit longer for the kids to warm to but I think that's because they have my jeans.  They have these great poles for the little ones to lean on and learn to walk/skate on the ice. 

The water slides opened on Sunday and all was good in the world.  We had to drag the kids out of the pool.  We discovered the Private Family Change Rooms (look for them by the enterance to the Men's locker room) which made changing much more relaxed. 

What in-house entertainment do you want when selecting a house for a family vacation? Big Screen HD TVs?  Movie/Sports Channels?  DVD Player...Blu-Ray?  One thing we have struggled with is video games - should we add a Wii, XBox, or Playstation?   Is this a must have for your family/kids?  Would you bring your own or does one need to be furnished...or would you not want your video games (or TV for that matter) in your vacation house? 
We have puzzles and board games.  Would you use these?  What are your favorites? 

We came up for the second getaway weekend in a row.  Our 4yo son's appreciation for the Swim & Fitness Center just skyrocketed.  He *finally* tried the water slides...and he LOVED them.  We could not get him to leave the pool.  I was worried that he would be scared going down but he said he wasn't scared at all.  My wife and I must have climbed those 20+ stairs at least 50 times between us trying to keep up with him.  We have entered a new era.

I finally hung the coat rack which covered up all my holes...and so the house is good to go.   

We had a great getaway weekend that felt so far away from everyday life.  For the first time we had friends up with us and the kids had a blast.  Adults did a 1,000 piece puzzle and played trivial pursuit and the kids watched too many movies.  We got out for a few hikes, a swim, and a playground romp.  We also found the new coffee shop at the Lodge which was a hit with everyone. 

On the house front, the wireless network is up and running smoothly and the Weber BBQ is assembled.  Now I have to get the Weber hooked up to the direct gas line.  The patio furniture is finally complete but we decided to keep it in the garage until Spring.  There are a bunch of holes in the wall behind the front door - hanging the coat rack is a work-in-progress.  :-)    

We have decided to give the house a fun marketing name.  looking for ideas...

   

We had a blast at the Suncadia Harvest Festival!  Hay Maze, Pony Rides, Tractor-Hay Rides, Bouncy House, Arts & Crafts (including paint your own pumpkin piggy bank), pumpkin patches, and for the adults - a Mechanical Bull ride.  We went through the hay maze twice and took advantage of all of the other activities.  The weather was amazing so we visited two area playgrounds and went for a hike.  We were not indoors very much this trip.  

For a setting up the house perspective, the trip wasn't as productive as I'd hoped.  The Internet now works but the wireless router I purchased did not.  The patio furniture is in except for the table top!?!?!  The delivery company apparently lost it somewhere between Tennessee and Seattle.  What good is patio furniture without a table top.  We bought a great coat rack for the entryway, but I need a drill to hang it.  Until next time....

This was our 4th visit to our new place.  It was probably the least eventful.  For the first time, no visit to Suncadia pool.  The kids really didn't want to leave the house.  We played Uno way too many times.  :-)   Two friends stayed with us and we ended up starting and not finishing a killer 1,000 piece Winne the Pooh puzzle.  It was HARD!   On Saturday night, we had pizza delivered from Sahara Pizza in Cle Elum and had 'movie night' - we watched Cars (Pixar/Disney) recorded earlier on the DVR.  We went to the Dawson Park Miner's Playground on our way home.  Kids slept on the ride home. 



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It's been a little over two months since we closed on the place and it is finally ready for primetime.  It has been a bear (and financial drain) getting the place furnished with the both of us working full-time jobs.  It's not perfect (yes, I am a bit of a perfectionist) but it is good to go. 

What's not perfect you ask? The BBQ was supposed to be delivered Friday for our visit but Amazon's delivery partner didn't load it on the truck!  The Patio Furniture was supposed to be shipped on 9/10 but I still have not received the email confirming as such. The bunkbed was delivered on Aug 8th but was missing a part so its just a full bed.  (That was fixed today after we departed.) Some small organizational stuff and additional wall hanging needs to be completed.  Okay, there is more but I won't go into it. 

All that aside, we have our first renters signed sealed and delivered - thanks to Chad at Cascade Mountain Rentals.  He has been awesome help and resource getting our place online.  Thanksgiving at Sweet Shop has been booked out!  Yeah!  Christmas anyone?

I plan to write a small after entry every visit to document any new cool or uncool things we find to do in and around the Suncadia area. Check back for fun things in the area, restaurant write-ups, and great pitstops/shortcut on your way to/from Suncadia.