We started our adventure by staying one night with our good friends the Christiansen's at their lake house near Puyallup, Washington. It was so good seeing them and getting to chat about life. It had been over a year since we got together last and that is just too long of a time period between good friends:)
Townsend caught this giant fish! I think he was pretty proud of himself:)
They showed us the wonders of the "Unicorn Horn" that you put in your campfire and it changes the color of the flames...it was pretty cool.
Julian got really good at paddle boarding. The water at Lake Tanwax is so smooth!
Our 2 families. I'm so glad it worked out for us to see our friends on our way up to Forks...we will have to get together again soon:)
DeNae and I being silly in front of the sign for Forks, WA. The "Twilight" book series was based in Forks so we had fun pretending to be "Twilight" tourists:)
Just me hanging out with my werewolf friend (Jacob) and my vampire lover (Edward) 😆
The place we stayed in Forks was perfect for our 2 families. Plenty of beds for everyone and the house itself was secluded in the forest so we had no noise from neighbors or traffic. It also had this great campfire ring that we made use of on night one!
A typical morning in the Pacific Northwest. Our idea of the "beach" is a little different from these guys that have spent a lot of time in San Diego:)
We wandered along Rialto Beach, having fun skipping rocks in the ocean, building towers with rocks and enjoying the salty air.
Emmett does everything Owen does...it's super cute
Literally...too cute!
The kids had fun swinging from this cool old tree branch
Exploring the tide pools on Rialto Beach
We walked all the way to "Hole in the Wall" on Rialto Beach. It was a pretty cool tunnel that the waves had carved out of a rock.
Our family at "Hole in the Wall"
The Israelsen's at "Hole in the Wall"
There were some really cool things to see in the tide pools
We went for a hike at the Hoh Rainforest. It was so cool to see these giant trees everywhere. It took 7 of us to go all the way around the tree!
The Rainforest was so beautiful
These kids are just too cute!
Cousins on a really cool old root wad
We got up early the next morning to be at Ruby Beach when the tide was low. We were rewarded with some amazing tide pools with great sea life in them
There were starfish everywhere!
Hanging out at Ruby Beach with Emmett
A perfect shot of Leah doing a cartwheel on the beach
We drove up to Hurricane Ridge to get a fantastic view of the Olympic mountains...it was foggy...this was our "view"
We did see quite a few deer and the fog and mist made it sort of spooky up on the ridge
The wild flowers were still amazing, even without a view of the mountains
As we were heading back to our car after the hike the clouds began to lift a little and you could see some of the mountain peaks
It was so beautiful and we really lucked out that the clouds lifted a little to give us the wonderful view
We stopped in Port Angeles for a treat on our way back to Forks
After leaving Forks on our way to Seattle we made a quick stop at Marymere Falls. This was a great way to say goodbye to Olympic National Park by having one more chance to hike through such beautiful forests.
It was like being in a Fairy village as the trail wound up to the waterfall
Marymere Falls
One of the highlights of the whole trip was our time at the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, WA. I had been here once before about 5 years ago but my kids didn't really remember it. It was so much fun and DeNae and her kids really loved it as well. The animals come RIGHT INTO your car looking for bread that you can feed them! It was a bit overwhelming at times for Emmett and Owen but I think everyone else just thought it was hilarious!
A yak looking for a tasty treat
Julian feeding a llama
These guys were heading right for our car looking for a treat. The animals would stand in front of your car to make you stop and then they would surround you. It was funny but a tiny bit terrifying at the same time:)
Hello Mr. Bison
These guys were as big as our mini van!
After a quick stop in Bremerton for some dinner we caught the ferry to Seattle. It was such a wonderful day out on Puget Sound. It was a bit cool and breezy but sunny and clear skies, a fantastic introduction to Seattle!
DeNae and I...silly sisters. Love her so much!!
Seattle looked pretty amazing as we came in on the ferry
Our first stop was to say hello to the "Fremont Troll" The kids thought it was pretty cool to climb around on this great sculpture.
After getting settled into our new place we took a lovely evening walk along Queen Anne Hill where we were staying. This is Max, a cat I saw and had to take a picture of because he was so cute.
Our view of Seattle from Queen Anne Hill
Enjoying the sunset on our walk
We took a fun self guided walking tour of Seattle. We started in Pioneer Square and learned a lot about the early history of Seattle.
One of my favorite buildings we saw was the "Arctic Club" building. Built in 1916 for the Arctic Club, a group of men that had been to the Klondike during the gold rush. I loved all the walrus heads surrounding the building
Ha ha ha...funny, not funny! The Corona Virus has been the cause of lots of pain and suffering this summer...I wonder how long it takes for this apartment building to change it's name!
Of course we had to stop at Ivars for lunch...love their clam chowder!!
I love what the sign says under this seagull😆
After lunch we headed over to Lake Union where most of the family got to take a 30 minute sight seeing tour on a float plane! The plane only held 10 people so Hyrum and I opted to stay behind (but he promises me he will take me another time)
It was nice that every person on the plane got a window seat so they could see everything
Seattle from the sky
There just happened to be a great swim beach right by the float planes so we spent a few hours cooling off in the cool water of Lake Union.
Ethan, Emerson and Townsend had so much fun jumping off this bridge into the lake
Oh man! This little Emmett is too cute!
Keeping warm in Mommy's shirt
Stan did a back flip off the bridge!
Unbelievable cuteness!
After our beach time we made our way to Seattle Center. I was happily surprised to see the fountain was on, it's such a fun attraction for kids
Just a gorgeous day in Seattle!
DeNae and Owen on the monorail.
We had to go to Pike Place market but unfortunately most of the stores were closed due to COVID-19. I kept telling DeNae that she will have to come back when everything is open and she promises she will:)
Julian was such a good sport to hop on the pig with his cousins for a photo:) How cute are these boys??
We had to stop and see the "gum wall" I told Emmett that all the gum was free for him to take. Berry gum, mint gum, cinnamon gum, orange gum...all free! He was about to grab a piece off the wall before his Dad stopped him...I'm such a good Auntie:)
Another beautiful sunset from Queen Anne Hill
It was sad to say goodbye to our cute little house on Queen Anne Hill. Even sadder to say goodbye to our Israelsen cousins!
Before heading home to Portland we took the opportunity to show the boys a bit of where Hyrum grew up in Shoreline, WA. This is his Elementary school he attended. It was so cute to imagine little Hyrum walking to school with his back pack and lunch box:)
The "climbing rock" at Shoreline Community College where his Dad worked. He has many memories of climbing around on this rock as a kid.
This was the bench Hyrum installed as his Eagle Scout project. It's still there but has been well used.
We had to stop at Dick's drive in for some burgers and shakes
What an amazing trip! It's so crazy to think of all we were able to do and see in just one week. It was wonderful to spend time with DeNae and her family. Our kids all got along great and we had so much fun making memories together. I'm really glad most of all that my boys could get to know their cousins a bit better. I hope we can keep in better touch over the next few years so we can get together again.
No comments:
Post a Comment