Thanksgiving in Washington

We were reluctant to drive to Washington, but we wanted to check out the area and make sure we saw Rick and Jess while we were living relatively close to each other. We could get cheap flights, but with 4 of them and a rental car it really added up, so we decided to go for it.

We stopped at Cafe Rio on the drive through Stockton.

It was a long drive, but the boys are pretty good in the car. We stayed the night at Uncle John and Claudia's new house in the Portland area, then finished up the rest of the drive the next day.

The boys were so excited to get to Cedric's house. They've been talking about playing with him for weeks.

The next morning we hiked down to the beach.

It was overcast and sprinkling a little, which I love.

We are so jealous of how close they live to such beautiful places. Then we feel ridiculous because it's not like we're that far away either, so we vowed to take better advantage of nature near us.

Cutie cousins

Throwing rocks in the water.

He got stuck at the bottom of the stairs and needed Jessica to come carry him. Definitely not John, though. 

Another day Rick took off from work and we went for another walk/hike. This place was a wpa project, which I love seeing.

Cedric is so smiley, but not for the camera. He does like smiling at my boys, though.

Perry caught a lift for the walk. He was pretty patient with us disrupting his sleep schedule all week.

We made it to a little waterfall

Perry chasing after his brothers

He only stopped when he found a friendly dog.

We asked for a picture, so now we have this gem to remind us of our fun trip.

We made it to a pond and the boys threw some more rocks

while Cedric fished.

Then we walked back to a playground.

I caught a Cedric smile.

Perry thinks he's so big now.

We also went to a park near their house that's also right on the water.

We went through Fairhaven, which is the cutest little town with a bookstore

and toy store. Perry played with the marble run for probably an hour. He didn't want anyone else to touch it and he really didn't want to leave.

After the big boys were in bed, Perry cozied up to Jessica.

She read him books and shared her snack, so they're bffs now.

Scott's teacher gave us the extra crafts from his class, so we brought them up and worked on them on Thanksgiving.

I made lion house rolls and some pies, John cooked the turkey, and Rick and Jess made everything else. 

Our little turkeys

Perry was a fan of the rolls.

They borrowed a table from a common room to fit all of us.

After eating we walked down to the water to throw some rocks and get out of the house for a bit.

Then we went back for dessert. Perry looks right at home with all those pies.

Perry loved sharing a room and thought it was hilarious to climb in our bed and pretend to go to sleep. They call it "nigh nights."

On Friday, we went up to Vancouver for the day. We tried lots of good food and other than a huge Jonah tantrum where a lady chewed John out, we had a nice time in the city.

On the drive down we stopped to see the temple and go to Fort Langley.

We didn't expect much, but it was a free day and we wanted something new to do.

It ended up being pretty cool, even for the kids. They put together a barrel, went to a blacksmith demonstration,

hid in a barrel, shaved wood, and ran around outside. It was mostly empty and I liked walking through and reading the exhibits without having to watch the kids closely.

Without kids I think we would've preferred more time in the city and skipped the fort, but all things considered we found a good balance.

Before we knew it, Saturday morning had arrived and we had to pack up and head out. We loved staying up late playing games and getting out in nature every day. We got out and had fun, but also relaxed and spent time together. It was a great week. 

We weren't looking forward to repeating the long drive, but knowing Britta was waiting for us in Oregon helped and it was only about 6 hours to their house. We took her and Charlotte out for dinner at a ramen place they like.

We've missed our little unicorn friend.

She and Perry were so cute together.

The next morning, it was time for another goodbye. We appreciated having a place to crash and it was so nice to see our friends even just for a few hours. Britta had just moved in, so she was especially gracious to host us.

Hugs and kisses for everyone.

Then we drove, drove, drove all the way home. We had a great trip, but we're not anxious to repeat the drive and we were glad everyone had plans to visit us soon.