Washington!

I'm back to blogging!  I've taken way to long of a break and will do major updates later.   For now and for the next few weeks I'll be blogging about our time in Washington.  Earlier this year, TJ and I started tossing around the idea of getting away to another city for a month.  TJ owns his own business and has the capabilities to work from home, making it probable for this to happen.  TJ found a cute place and we booked it!  We left last Thursday-June 28th.  It was a pretty uneventful drive, except Eli had to ride naked for the better part of the drive because of a malfunctioning diaper.

We broke up the 13 hour drive with a pit stop in Boise.  We stayed with TJ's sister Janelle and her cute family.  It was so nice of them, we had so much fun with them!  Janelle made us a fabulous dinner and then woke up extra early the next morning to make us a yummy breakfast.  Thanks Nelle!  We had fun playing games, laughing and catching up.  The next morning we got up early and got started on the next leg of our Journey.  We stopped in Kennewick for lunch at McDonalds (to the great enjoyment of the boys!)

After another few hours and some beautiful scenery we finally arrived at our "Chalet" (that's the official name!).  The owner was there, finishing up a few things for us and was so, so great.  She showed us around, including things she'd added/done especially for our stay.  She made this cute welcome gift- we were so excited to see this-yum!

After we said goodbye, we ran around checking out the place.  We were amazed by the views from the back of the house!

The best part of the backyard though- other than the amazing views, the privacy, the sounds of a rushing river, etcetera, etcetera.... is the spa!!!  Here are the boys giving it a try ;)

There is something about sitting in a car for two days that makes you so tired, so we slept gooood that night and felt well rested for the next day!  We got up and packed a lunch and set off to go on a hike to see Wallace Falls.  I (via my husband) was under the impression that this 5 1/2 mile hike to the falls was going to be a nice easy loop, one easy enough to take a stroller on.  Eh!  Nope.  The park guide told us definitely not (it ended up being quite steep-it had a 1400 ft. gain!!!!!)  SO, we packed Eli up in the hiking backpack and took off.  It was a gorgeous hike!  Once we got into the thick forest, we were blown away by how gorgeous it was!  It is so lush, thick, great and just beautiful.  

 Sorry for the double pics here- but I had to include the bottom pic because of E's superman pose!

After the hike, TJ took the boys to a reptile museum while I took Eli grocery shopping.  The closest grocery store to us is 45 minutes away so I had to STOCK. UP!  

The next day-Sunday, we went to Church in a small town 30 minutes away.  Afterwards, we went and had our packed lunch by a lake.  Then we drove into downtown Seattle and visited Pikes Market

After that we visited TJ's aunt Linda in the hospital.  She was about to have surgery and wanted to visit with her and wish her well.  She is so hysterical.  She had everyone around her laughing, nurses, doctors-EVERYONE!  

So, our first Weekend in Washington, was a ball.  We had a great time exploring!  The weather was rainy, cool and cloudy.  I happen to enjoy this kind of weather so I've been loving it.  Stay tuned as I catch up the next few days.  I have many, many more pictures to come.