Washington Trip Part 2

(If you get the email updates to this blog, then you may notice my recent posts are weirdly out of order. I'm back-dating them - if that's the word - to keep them in order on the blog. I'm taking the time to do some catch up blogging while waiting for baby #3 to make an appearance.)

 Before heading south to Olympia to visit my grandmother for the remainder of our trip, we did a quick stop at my childhood home. It was so crazy to see it after all these years.

 It was a very sad day having to say goodbye to my cousin, Christy, and her kids. Lailey cried for most of the afternoon. It broke my heart. Thankfully, she did adjust okay and was able to enjoy spending time with Grandma Cele (my grandmother, her great-grandmother).

Watering the hydrangeas

It was very special to take my kids to the same place where I have so many wonderful childhood memories. Many weekends were spent doing things at Grandma's house that my sister and I didn't get to do at home (like eat Lucky Charms for breakfast, haha!).

If you've never visited Washington state, then you don't know how lovely the weather can be. It does rain a lot, but when the sun is out, it's perfection. We were actually surprised how hot it was on a few days, even as resident Georgia folk. Poor Washingtonians...they were dying in the heat. For us, it was fantastic, because the humidity was so much lower. I guess it's what you're used to.

My grandma's beautiful hydrangeas

Buddy and Lailey, enjoying the sun

Running in Grandma's big huge yard

My grandmother has spent many hours clearing paths in her woods, so we enjoyed some nice walks back there to see what she had cleared. With no worries about snakes, it was such a peaceful place to be. My kids can't get enough of the outdoors, and they soaked up the time.

-Trip to Mt. Rainier-

We knew that we wanted to head up to Paradise at Mt. Rainier National Park. I had been there as a kid and also took Davey once before we were married. But it had been several years. Letting my own kids experience these fun places was so neat for me. 

We had heard it could get quite crowded there and parking could be limited. I think we drove around for 45 minutes trying to find a spot. Phew! It took forever, especially with kids in the car. But we finally got a spot and headed toward the path up the mountain.

Such incredible weather and visibility. July/August is definitely the time to go.

Seeing the snow and standing in it in their shorts was definitely a highlight for Maddox and Lailey! They were fascinated! Unfortunately we didn't get to stay in it very long. The park rangers were very strict about where you could go. Apparently due to the high number of visitors, getting off the path can damage the beauty of the natural landscape. I understand this, but it's still a bummer.

Glad we got in our snow pictures!

Such a beautiful place

You can't really see much of the mountain due to the clouds from this angle

And this is my goofy husband taking a picture of his Xero Shoes with the mountain in the background. Nerd.

This pretty much sums up our silly family

We didn't hike for too long because we knew the kids would get tired and we had a long drive back to Olympia. But it was a beautiful day and a very fun memory.

Another special memory from the trip was getting to see several friends and family members. Here are Diane and Ben, who I went to church with as a child. They are dear friends and hold a special place in my heart. They were such a blessing to our family during the time my mother was sick and also after she passed away. I know that as a kid I didn't know half of what they did to help us out. Same with my grandmother. But as an adult I appreciate so much of what I do remember and I realize what a sacrifice many made to support our family.

Lailey and Maddox love to paint, and so Grandma took them on her deck one evening to enjoy some outdoor painting.

Painting the blue hydrangeas

My grandma's neighbors have a dog named Jessie. She's best friends with Grandma's dog, Buddy, and they love to run around the huge yard. Well, Maddox and Jessie had a special connection. She was so attentive to him and he would talk to her and interact. It was adorable! Apparently she had never really been around kids, but you would have never known it.

I don't know what he was saying, but she was listening

Jessie kisses

Finally, it was time to board the plane and head back to Georgia. Thankfully, we got on the first flight and had nowhere near the trouble going home as we had coming. 

Eating sandwiches at the airport

Goodbye, Mt. Rainier

When we landed in Atlanta, we were some of the last to get off the plane. Before we did, the pilot let the kids in the cockpit. Now, I remember getting to do this as a child, but never did I think my own kids would be able to do it, with heightened security these days. But the pilot was so nice and let them sit and even mess with the controls! I was really nervous about this, but he didn't mind a bit. Just one more fun thing to remember about the trip.