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‘Travel’ Category

  1. Idaho.

    April 25, 2012 by Katie

    We zipped off to visit Grandpa & Grandma in Idaho this past weekend. Even though Elise is a well seasoned traveler as a 9-month old, I was a bit anxious as to how she’d handle the drive across Washington—gone are the days when she’d just conk out in the carseat for hours on end.

    Thankfully, out of the 12 hours of total travel time, we only had about 1 hour of screaming/crying. That’s only 8%! And the remaining 92% of the time, she just bababababababbled along, squealed (very loudly, like a pterodactyl), or took short naps.

    Keys to success included having coffee for us adults, a fully stocked bucket of toys in the backseat, stopping for long lunch, and Todd’s speedy driving. Best of all, there was no massive diaper blowout like we had in the middle of Wyoming back when she was a wee little 1 month old.

    {I think its safe to say that starting off your parenthood experience by taking a 2,000 mile road trip with a 1 month old will certainly make every other trip you do after that seem relatively easy peasy.}

    Anyways……Idaho.

    Hanging out at Grandpa & Grandma’s house.

    Sittin’ proud in the high chair.

    Same one her grandma & daddy both used when they were babies.

    We enjoyed the wonderful warm weather and spent some time in downtown Coeur d’Alene and strolling by the lake.

    {lil’ lady will wave at pretty much anyone who looks her way.}

    A wonderful weekend.

    And many thanks, Grandma & Grandpa, for babysitting so we could relax and have coffee/beer/pedicure/time to ourselves.


    Category Family, Travel | Tags: | 3 Comments

  2. Arizona Babies

    April 2, 2012 by Katie

    One thing us kiddos wanted to do while in Phoenix was to take advantage of the great hiking opportunities, so when Lindsay recommended we try Pinnacle Peak, we slathered the babies up with sunscreen and brought them along.

    It seems weird to me that some people think that once you have a baby, you’re no longer able to enjoy the things you used to enjoy doing. We’ve always wanted to include Elise in our lives (within reason); not have our lives constantly revolve around her and risk losing sight of who we were as individuals/husband & wife before she came along. {I realize those sentences alone could warrant an entire blogpost some other time.} I only bring this up because I had numerous people and other hikers say how they were impressed the babies were hiking with us—and it kinda took me by surprise.

    But, I digress.

    This was a great hike to do with the babies—not too strenuous or steep—but I think we could’ve hiked longer if we’d gone earlier in the morning or later in the evening since there really wasn’t any shade out there {I blame it on Elise for actually taking a long morning nap before we left to hike}.

    Nonetheless, it was fun. Plus, I did not see a single rattlesnake, so that alone makes it a good time.

    Bonus was getting to spend some time with my supercool brother.

    Sometimes I think Kim & Todd just don’t understand us. :) {Todd moreso than Kim…she’s been around us for 20 years by now}

    But that’s okay. It’s valid. We are a bit weird. And when we’re together the weirdness just amplifies itself tenfold.

    Every good trip needs a jumping picture, right?

    Challenge accepted.

    Ben captured this in one take. And then we rolled on down the mountain.

    The last time I took a jumping picture was a little over a year before, also on a hike…..in Hawaii. I wasn’t quite as limber then. Plus, somebody was weighing me down a bit.

    After we sweated it up on the hike {and stopped for lunch at In-n-Out, then lattes at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf}, it was time for the babies to don their swimwear.

    {Please excuse the grotesque-looking arm. She moves way too fast for my phone camera.}

    This was Elise’s first time ‘swimming’, and for the most part, she loved it—loved kicking her legs, splashing, and just floating around.

    {Thanks for bringing the float plane, Grandma! It was a hit with the babies.}

    Category Baby, Fun, Travel | Tags: | No Comments

  3. Arizona

    March 25, 2012 by Katie

    Last weekend we returned home from a nice, long trip to the warm Arizona desert after spending a week with my family.

    I’m reluctant to call it a vacation, because in my mind, a vacation is a time when you get to sleep in after a long night of uninterrupted sleep, decompress from your job, and completely relax.

    And, well…there isn’t much relaxing when your boss travels with you.

    {sure is cute though.}

    We were ‘on’ pretty much 24/7. No rest for the weary. C’est la vie, right?

    We wouldn’t have wanted to spend this time without her anyways. Except that she decided she doesn’t like sleeping somewhere other than her own crib—but that’s a whole other story that we’ve tried to wipe from our memories and have since recovered from.

    So this family trip….back in September, my mom started planning a surprise for my dad’s 70th birthday and thought it’d be fun to fly us kids & grandbabies somewhere for a week.  We narrowed down the location options and decided on Phoenix since my aunt & uncle, along with several cousins live there {plus, the perfect sunny weather was a nice bonus}. Mom rented a big house with a pool, organized everything, and worked up a plan to get my dad down there without him suspecting anything. We had a surprise party planned with family & friends, and then my dad had a medical ‘hiccup’ and we had to change some plans.

    The party was cancelled, but we ended up seeing everyone at some point during the week anyways. It was a lot more relaxing too, which was nice for everyone, especially dad.

    We were super excited to spend some quality time with my parents and brother Ben, SIL Kim & little Nephew B.

    My cousin Ryan, his wife Lindsay, and their daughter Lily live in Phoenix so we got to see them several times. And my aunt Janice flew over from California for a couple days.

    Seriously, it was like a weeklong family reunion of both sides of the family. People dropped by to visit every day. I thought it was awesome…Todd (and Elise) may have been a bit overwhelmed by it all. :)

    {chatterbox Lily was more interested in talking/marching/splashing in the pool than posing for a picture}

    {but this funny guy wasn’t camera shy at all.}

    {Elise’s first time splashing in a pool! LOVED it.}

    {my sweet Aunt Barb…reminds me SO much of my grandma Mildred.}

    {my cousins Martelle, Darin & his wife Candis, very ornery Uncle Gene & Aunt Barb}

    {brother & sister.}

    We spent a lot of time just sitting outside around the fire pit every night; talking, roasting our feet, making S’mores….not really something you can do in Seattle in March.

    {Grandma even ordered special shirts for the babies.}

    Happy 70th, Grandpa. Hope you had a wonderful time, because we sure did.

    Stay tuned for more fun pics, especially of Elise, as she dons her first swimsuit….

     

    Category Family, Fun, Travel | Tags: | 2 Comments

  4. Mountain Climbing

    December 6, 2011 by Katie

    Almost forgot to tell you all about the best day we had up on Orcas Island. In case you think that all we did was laze around in our stretchy pants, watch FRIENDS, drink wine, eat a lot & play games—although, that would not be a false assessment—we also climbed a mountain.

    Kind of.

    Our last full day there, we drove to the far southeast edge of the island and started off with a scrumptious breakfast at Doe Bay cafe, which uses organic ingredients from local farms and area waters.

    (awww, our only group photo–sans baby & dog)

    I had the yummiest scrambled eggs with salmon & goat cheese. I’ll eat anything with goat cheese in it (seriously), but throw some salmon from a neighboring island in the mix and….taste explosion! Oh man, that was so good.

    Elise enjoyed her breakfast while I enjoyed a lovely view.

    After a hearty meal & plenty of coffee, we drove up to the top of Mount Constitution, which is the highest point in the San Juan Islands—about 2500 ft. up.  There was an old observation tower, and thanks to the sunny day, we could see all the way to Canada. Can you believe that’s still the closest I’ve been to Canada?! Ridiculous, I know.

    Elise was snuggled up all warm in the Ergo carrier, and Molly the Dog enjoyed sniffing around on the snow.

    Christmas card family photo….oh wait, Elise isn’t actually visible. Scratch that idea.

    Shauna pointing out the island named after her family (or so we tell ourselves).

    I told you we climbed a mountain, and I did not lie—we just climbed it in our cars, ha! But we did actually do some exercise to burn off the thousands of calories consumed the previous day. All six of us adults, the dog, and the baby sleeping in the carrier took off on a hike to Summit Lake—which ended up being about 2 miles roundtrip. Or was it 2 miles each way? I don’t know. I was distracted by the scenery and concentrating on not falling off the cliffs.

    It wasn’t too strenuous of a hike, but it was plenty cold & kinda slippery. And despite none of us really being dressed for a hike like that, it was a success. Nobody fell off the mountain or lost their limbs due to frostbite. After all, I was wearing knee high boots, a thin sweater & a puffer vest that didn’t fully keep me warm from the chilly temps—but I was also wearing a mini space heater who was completely bundled up, so that helped.

    But who really cares what you’re wearing when the views are phenomenal…

    my hottie toddy.

    And other than the fact that the guys’ car got held back by the ferry crew to wait 5 hours for the next one, it was a fantastic trip.

     

    Category Travel | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Orcas, Baby!

    November 28, 2011 by Katie

    Some time during a dinner back in September, someone came up with the grand idea to spend Thanksgiving in a cabin somewhere in the mountains or on the coast. One by one, we ruled out locations and Ryan found us a vacation rental house available for rent on Orcas Island—which is about an 1.5 hour drive north, then an hour ferry ride away, in the San Juan Islands archipelago (and I never thought I’d use that term back when I learned it in 7th grade…ha!).

    Not too far away, but still far enough that it would be a great getaway. It’s nice when you can leave your house on a Wednesday morning and by the time lunch rolls around, you’re off on an quaint little island mingling with the small town folks.

    As seasoned of a traveler that Elise is, it was nice to have the travel broken up into smaller segments so we could all get out and stretch our legs/take bathroom breaks/breastfeed (ok, that was just me). Plus, Molly the Dog was along for the trip, and she enjoyed getting out of her crate to sniff around and meet other dogs.

    just like her Grandpa S….excited to ride the ferry.


    relaxing on the ferry with ‘uncle’ Jason.

    Mad props to Ryan for finding this house. We weren’t sure what it would be like since there weren’t many reviews for it online, but it was super. Okay, the beds could’ve been bigger—Todd & I claimed the kids’ room with bunk beds & a futon—but had a great kitchen, bathrooms & living area. Plus, check out the sweet view looking out onto the Sound.

    Most of our time there, we all just lazed around, played games, drank wine, read books, ate good food….it was fun.

    (some people Todd drank wine from a sippy cup he found in the kitchen)

    Next blogpost….Elise dresses up as a turkey!!!

     

     

    Category Holidays, Travel | Tags: | 1 Comment

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