Derek's dad came with us which was really nice. We got to spend 5 days straight with him! Noah just loves his Papa!
Friday we went on a hike to a beautiful waterfall - Franklin Falls. It was raining that day but we decided to go anyway. I didn't care about getting wet, my only concern was my babies. Noah had a rain jacket but it was still a bit cold. He did great though. He was shivering towards the end since he was soaked. I was surprised how well Oliver did. I can't imagine what we was thinking, "what is this wet stuff falling from the sky and why is it so darn cold!?" We had him in the carrier, and he fell asleep on the way. The falls were very beautiful. We didn't stay too long at the falls since we were only getting colder, but it was worth the hike.
We went out to dinner at Red Robin and had a nice evening in together.
Saturday morning we had a little work out session (when I say we, I mean Chris, Nancy and the kids) at the park by their house. Then we spent a few hours downtown Gig Harbor. We rented some kayak's and paddle boards. To be honest, I was not too excited, and a little nervous. I've had some minor traumatizing experiences with water and with canoes that have left me a bit fearful of water activities. I just wasn't thrilled about it because I didn't think I'd enjoy it too much. Especially since I would be alone in my kayak.... boring. But after a bit I actually started to really love it! And I don't know why I thought we'd all separate, I caught up with everyone else and it was really fun. We even saw some seals just a few feet away from us. That was really, really cool! I love seeing wild animals.
Noah liked it too and Nancy stayed back to watch Oliver, so that was nice of her. I think I want to go kayaking more often now. It was actually relaxing. Michael said he'd even like to buy some for East Canyon.
I love Gig Harbor. It's such a cute little harbor town. So beautiful. And reminds me of Nova Scotia just a little!
That night we went on another little hike. This one wasn't as steep, and it wasn't raining, so an easier one for us. Chris took us to see a big piece of land in the forest that he dreams of buying and building a home on. As if their current house isn't beautiful enough - this would be so dreamy!
Sunday we went to church, came home and had lunch. Relaxed a bit. And spent the evening at the beach. We didn't go swimming, just hung out. The kids played in the sand. Noah was "Wreck-It Ralph" like always and smashing everything his cousins would make. They finally decided to build him a chair of sand to sit on and then wreck it! And he did, of course.
Monday Chris had to work and the kids had obligations so Derek, Michael, our boys and I spent the day in Seattle! Although, with travel time (we took the ferry) and kids, particularly a two month old and a two year old - it was more like a few hours actually sight seeing Seattle! Haha.
Our first stop was at Pike's Fish Market. I wish we could have spent more time there but it was a quick look and we walked on by. We headed to the Space Needle. That was cool. I liked the views.
We then had lunch and took a break to feed Oliver. After lunch we didn't have a ton of time left before we needed to head back to the ferry so we decided to take Noah to Seattle's Children's Museum. We only had less than an hour there but it was fun. It's cool to see children's museums in other cities.
We took the monorail back to Pike's Market. Noah fell asleep instantly on the ride. Which was unfortunate for him because we were on our way to see the famous Gum Wall. Noah LOVES gum. But he slept through it all, haha. We realized we didn't even have time to buy some gum so we found some hi-chews and stuck them on the wall!
We took the ferry back home and spent the evening raspberry picking with the Finch's. We had a beautiful sunset. I really enjoyed taking walks in their neighborhood - it has such a different feeling and completely different scenery than our neighborhood (Don't worry, we love Rose Park). But it truly is breathtaking. I would love to live there! Only if it didn't rain so much. However we were lucky on our trip, it only rained the first day.
Both plane rides (there and back) were smooth as far as kids and crying. We swaddled Oliver and he slept most of the plane rides - even though Seattle is close, we had layovers both ways. I was super worried about Oliver because just days before we left he started having reflux. More on that in his post. Noah did pretty well too. Every time we travel by plane, someone at the end of the flight always says, "He did so good!" or something along those lines. I think he does do pretty good, but I also think they're being kind. Which is appreciated.
We really, really, really enjoyed our trip to Washington! We LOVE spending time with that family, they are all such amazing people. I love how musically talented they all are. And I love how active the whole family is. I joked around saying, this is the first vacation that I think I actually lost weight rather than gained! We did so much walking and hiking, kayaking, and ate pretty healthy food. It was refreshing. The kids are also so smart, mature and polite. I just love everything about them. You can tell their parents are doing an excellent job.
I loved the feeling of their house. Not only do you feel the spirit there, but it's just so gorgeous! Inside and out. You look outside and just see HUGE trees! I couldn't get enough. I loved how peaceful and serene it was. As you're peeing in the bathroom... you look outside the big window and you feel like you're in a magical forest. It felt like I was in the movie, Twilight! Ah, it was great.
It was also a relatively inexpensive trip, which is really nice since we don't really have a vacation fund. We used our air miles for our flight, we didn't need a hotel or rental car. Basically Derek and his dad were fighting over who pays what the whole time. "I'll get this. No, I'LL get this." I think the most money we spent was on airport food!
We are definitely planning on going back soon. And this time we would love to try to go up to Vancouver while we're there since it's so close!
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