July fun in WA

We had such a full, fun trip. I got to eat blueberries with my Grandma Gayle, visit with my Uncle Ken, have dinner with friends from high school, go on a ropes course/zip line adventure with my siblings (see pictures), hang out at my mom's even though my parents were in the middle of moving across the street, eat the most delicious sushi with Patrick, and celebrate McKenna's birthday. My kids were in heaven with their cousins and family, and got to spend a day at Point Defiance Zoo with the amazing and generous Aunt Amanda while I went to visit my friend Mark in Seattle.

Lake trips with Laura's new boat

Super fun Aunt Laura took us out to American Lake on her new boat twice while we visited. One day was gorgeous, but the second day was smoky from wildfires. Both were a lot of fun!

First stop: Ocean Shores!

After our visit to the Briens, we headed to Ocean Shores to meet my family for their annual beach trip. This was the first year we were able to join them! We had a great time at the beach, the pool, eating at Bennett's (twice), riding the bumper boats, and best of all, laughing with family. Unfortunately, Declan's illness took a turn for the worse with a fever of 105, and I took him to urgent care in Elma (an hour away) where we discovered he had a double ear infection. So he and I missed about half of the time there, but the trip was still nice. (Thanks to my sister Laura for all these pictures!)

Road trip to WA

As soon as my semester teaching Pathway ended (well a few days before...), the kids and I hit the road for an extended road trip up to WA to see our families. We spent the first day exploring Golden Gate Park (cut short by a sick Ian, poor guy) and driving across the Golden Gate bridge, then touring the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield. We ate at Chick-fil-A and spent the night in Red Bluff. The next day, we saw the Medford, OR, temple, ate at Red Robin, and just drove. We stayed that night in Salem. We had fun in the pools at both hotels and then watched movies while eating popcorn and jelly beans both nights. Non stop party! Our last day of driving, we went to the Portland temple, OMSI, and Powell's bookstore. Ian got better and Declan got sick, but we all had a fun time road tripping together before ending up in Longview, WA, to spend time with the Briens.

July fun in PG

Date night to see Pippin at the outdoor theater in Carmel. Loved it! 

Family night game time!

Member night at the Aquarium!