What a wonderful stay in a spectacular location! We didn't want to leave (seriously; my 5-year-old was crying about having to go home).
We loved everything about Earline and Rob's property. The water and beach views from the entire Great Room are fantastic, whether it's raining (as it did) or sunny (as it also was). We had a couple of clear (but cold) days and were able to enjoy s'mores at the campfire and my husband took our older son out in the rowboat. We took walks on the beach and also played by the creek behind the house.
The house was super clean upon our arrival and the kitchen had everything we needed (not always the case with a VRBO!). Earline and Rob were available when we had questions or needed something, but we very much felt we had privacy to enjoy our stay. We would highly recommend this property and would love to come back again - perhaps when the weather is warmer (it was unseasonably cold).
A few tips/notes for those traveling with small kids:
We have a 5-year-old and a 16-month-old. Knowing my inquisitive toddler, I brought cabinet locks for the lower kitchen cabinets and also plug protectors. The house has baseboard heating which does get quite hot to the touch, but we managed just fine - we left the most exposed heater in the great room turned off. Note that the walls are thin, so sound carries; Earline generously loaned us a box fan, which created adequate white noise for my toddler to nap. I also brought a room-darkening, suction-cup shade for the window of his room; the primary bedroom has room darkening shades, but the other two rooms do not. We brought his pack n play.
As for activities for kids, we found great options! Check out the Bug and Reptile Museum (Bremerton), US Naval Undersea Museum (Keyport), The Salmon Center (Belfair), and the Theler Wetlands Preserve (Belfair) - all were free and had interesting exhibits for our kiddos. The Salmon Center has
a u-pick organic farm as well as goats, chickens, llamas, ducks, alpacas, and bunnies. The staff even invited us to help them release salmon fry into the Theler Wetlands creek; one of my son's favorite parts of our trip! We also visited the Belfair library for a story time/play group (check their website) and spent time in the kids' section of the library, which actually had a ton of toys. In short, we found great options for our kids, both indoor and outdoor, and most of it was free!
I hope we get to return someday; we truly had a wonderful experience.