Trip to Washington

A friend once explained to me that the difference between a "trip" and a "vacation" was whether or not you had kids with you. =) Haha. I agree. No matter how much fun it really is, it's still categorized differently when you have a gaggle of people to feed, clothe, bathe, and keep comfortable while away from the comforts of home. I will now add to this definition. It's definitely a "trip" if you are eight months pregnant. No way around it.

That said, we had a blast on our trip to Washington a week (or so!) ago! We gathered with all of Cannon's siblings and their families along with his parents. It was a long way to go for most of us, but it was so fun to be in the NorthWest and to see such wonderful people and hang out with them.

We all moved into two rental houses in Sequim, Washington (pronounced squim -- I love it!) and did a lot of sight-seeing in the area. We drove right past our very first real house in Poulsbo too, and were shocked to find it painted PINK!

Here are some picture highlights.

Sydney at the beach. The Dungeoness (sp??) Spit. A little chilly for a swim!


Rebecca, Timothy, Tanner, and Valerie. Hiking back up from the beach. Tanner hiked in and out without being held at all. That was over a mile round trip.


Some cousins on their hike at Hurricane Ridge in Olympus National Forest. This is a tall mountain! Colby, Timothy, Jackson, Jordan, and Madeline.


Cannon and the kids at the top of the Hurricae Ridge Hike. I think the mountain air was kind of getting to them. Notice -- no Valerie. I stayed in the car and read my book! Very relaxing. . . This was just before Tanner fell and got a nice puncture wound on his forehead. He's trying to be like his brother Jordan and is already collecting head scars.


Sydney with her cousin Madeline. They are a year apart age-wise, but with mostly boy cousins everywhere, these two stuck together for the whole reunion.


At another beach -- the kids had a blast looking at and also playing with the wildlife they found in the tide pools. With the help of older cousins and uncles, they made a fortress for the crabs they collected. The little kids just squealed every few minutes. Hilarious.


Logan and Tanner digging in the mud at the beach. All you need is dirt, water and sticks to make little boys happy! Notice the tape on Tanner's forehead -- we were trying to keep his new wound clean!


Valerie and the kids on the ferry back to Seattle. The kids were thrilled to ride the ferry, Valerie was not. Tanner wanted to stay on the (freezing cold and windy) deck the whole time and had his two-year-old tantrum when he got out-voted. Valerie was feeling very much like she wasn't in Utah in the land of large families as she realized how things looked. Three thrilled (not quietly) children climbing over furniture to get a better look out the windows to see the water. One VERY loud fussy toddler. One very LARGE tummy proving that number five is on the way. I decided to wait out the rest of the voyage safely out of sight in our car down below.


Sydney was kind enough to take a picture of my tummy when we got back. No wonder my back hurt the whole trip. This is me at 34 weeks pregnant. Yikes.


We had so much fun with cousins and family. We even stopped by my college roommate's farm in Mattawa, WA to see her family. What a blast. Sorry there are no pictures. I was too tired to find the camera. But, just believe me -- all of it was tons of fun!!!