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.

Washington Trip Part 1

To end a fabulous summer, and add a third state to our travels, I finally had my dream come true of taking the kids to Washington state for the first time. Before I turned 30, I made a list of 30 BEFORE 30, basically a bunch of stuff I wanted to do or get to see before the important milestone. It was really fun getting to do a lot of them, and this summer I added another check to the list. It almost didn't happen though! The kids were flying on buddy passes, and due to weather a few days prior, a huge convention in Atlanta, and crazy full standby lists, we spent an entire day gate-hopping with next to no chance of getting on a plane. The kids did remarkably well, and we did get to ride the train a lot between terminals. But finally after we were all exhausted, we headed home convinced this was one trip not meant to be. We had ridden to the airport with my dad that morning, so Davey's mom had to come pick us all up since we had no car. Our luggage, however, did get to go on the excursion, so all our stuff, clothes, toiletries...everything...was in Seattle. Not too happy about that.

Until the next morning.  Davey woke up with a migraine, and unable to go back to sleep, he began checking flights again. I was still recovering after the long day before when he gently woke me up. "I don't know if it will work, but check these numbers. We may be able to make it to Portland." In my sleepy state I stared at the screen, wondering if we were crazy to start the whole process over again. Fly to Portland. Rent a car. Drive to Seattle. Hmmm. It might just work. Davey does not give up easily, and before long we were scrambling to find clean clothes (remember: luggage is sitting at SeaTac Airport) and hitch another ride with Davey's mom back to the airport. This would not have been possible without all the help from our family with phone calls, rides, etc.

Waited a LONG time to finally walk this way

Unbelievably, we made it on! We were so happy! I told the kids they couldn't scream in the airport but boy did Lailey do a happy dance!

Tired but happy

"We finally get to see Sadie!!!"

The kids had a blast riding on the plane, and they thought the whole experience was very cool. They didn't nap, which I was hoping, but I think they were just too excited about the experience.

My dad had already flown to Seattle the day before to attend a funeral of a good friend. He actually took the first flight we got bumped off. Having some free time, he was able to drive down to Portland and pick us up, helping us avoid paying for a rental car. See what I mean about family help?

So, one whole day at the airport, back to the airport again the next day, flying across the country, and driving 3 hours to Seattle, and it was all worth it for this:

 These sweet smiles!!!

Maddox went straight to bed when we arrived at the Malcoms' apartment in Ballard, too tired to greet anyone, but the next morning began several days of fun cousin time.

 While staying with my cousin Christy and her family, we went all over the city of Seattle one day.

My cousins, April (taking the above picture), and Michael (behind Maddox), came to see us while we were in the city. It was so cool to see so much family there.

These two were inseparable

Space Needle!

Flattening souvenir pennies

Christy, Jason, Sadie and Titus

All of us down at the waterfront

Boys on the ferry to Bainbridge Island

Leaving the city

Running around the ferry was his favorite part

Mt. Rainier unusually visible that day

They loved sitting by the railing spotting giant jellyfish in the water

Pointing at something

View of the Ferris Wheel on the Seattle Waterfront

LOVE this of the kids!

A trip downtown really wouldn't be complete without the experience of Pike Place Market...and an obligatory picture of the four little kids on the big pig.

After a few days in Seattle, we drove north to Stanwood to see my other cousin, Jen, and her family. It was only a one night stay, but super fun and also relaxing. Their friends invited us to their house on Lake Ki. It was so beautiful and pristine, and we loved the kayaking, paddle boarding, paddle boating, and jumping in the water.

My brave little leaper

Lailey was fascinated with the lilly pads and had to pick some

Squirting Daddy

Titus and Davey

The Akins, Satterfields, and the Malcoms (minus Jason and me)

After the short visit, we headed back to Seattle (Ballard) to enjoy another evening there. We went to one of the Malcoms' favorite parks, then visited the Fremont Troll, which is a weird public sculpture under a bridge. The kids were slightly weirded out since it was at night.

The next morning, we drove to Olympia, WA, where my grandmother lives, to begin part 2 of our trip. Coming soon!