Grandma & Val Visit – Day 3 (Bainbridge Island & Pikes Place)

Justin took Friday, July 31 off so he could join us on a day trip out to Bainbridge Island.  We’ve lived 14 years in the Seattle area and this was our first visit to Bainbridge.  We caught the ferry downtown and had just enough time to sit down for a bit and take few pictures before it was time to head back down to our car and disembark.

In preparation for our outing I asked around for all places (i.e. yummy food) we needed to check out on the island.  First stop was Blackbird Bakery for pastries and a potato keish.   Then next door to Bon Bons candy store (we visited the candy store on both arrival and departure).  With our bellies full we ventured along the waterfront trail.  We didn’t have any idea where the trail would lead us but we were pretty confident it would be a nice short loop along the water.  Um, not so short and not just along the water.  Without good walking shoes or anything to drink, it ended up being a bit more than we anticipated, but everyone did really well even with all the uphill climbs and the warm temperatures.

Cool rock people statues were displayed along the waterfront

Thankfully we had the stroller for Drew.  Go, Jason, Go!

Go, Daddy, Go!

I totally bribed him into this pose.

Our post-hike reward was Mora’s Ice Cream – delicious, unique flavors!  We had just enough to time to venture up to Fay-Bainbridge State Park at the northern tip of the island before catching the next ferry back to Seattle.

I think these next pictures of Drew are so classic Drew

Cute Katie munching on candy

Drew making sure every last drop is gone

Then totally getting a kick out of dripping drink on his face

Next stop was Pikes Place for donuts and lunch at Pikes Chowder.  Aside from food we did walk around a bit (they were not impressed with the gum wall) and picked out a fresh flower bouquet to take home. 

So back to the food.  I’ve been anxious to try the freshly made donuts at the market ever since I learned about them last year.  Last summer we got there right as they closed so I’ve been anxious.  My Mom bought a couple dozen and to Val’s surprise we devoured them immediately and had to purchase even more.  They really were that good!

Totally out of focus, but this is pretty much how the donut tasting went down.

Drew conked out while we walked around Pikes and then based on the lack of pictures afterward I’m guessing we headed home to rest after our fun-filled day.

Grandma & Val Visit – Day 2 (Rattlesnake Ledge, Slip-n-slide, Ivars)

We hit the trails first thing the next morning with Jason, our hiking enthusiast (Justin, our senior hiking enthusiast had to work).  Carly was more than happy to stay home with Drew and Katie.  I was excited to hike up Rattlesnake Ledge again and hoped my Mom and Val would enjoy it as well.

Jason spotted a huge woodpecker on the way up.  My phone picture turned out horrible, but trust me that’s a large bird perched on the side of the tree.

We managed to get a picture of the four of us at the top, but I didn’t get anything of the pretty view.  Probably cause I was ready to get off the ledge after watching Val casually jump over a large pit which would have sent him into the dark abyss of the earth’s core had he been unsuccessful.

When we got back to the house it was time for lunch and naptime for Drew.  The kids were really excited to break out the ole slip-n-slide.  Drew was thrilled to join them after his nap and kept us entertained with the sheer joy he was experiencing.

When Justin got home we hit up the traditional must-take-all-visitors to Ivar’s trip.  If I’m remembering correctly it was my Mom that brought it up and like Justin would ever say no to eating dinner at his favorite fish-n-chips restaurant.

(Carly was at her first babysitting job this evening while Abigail was still at camp)

After dinner we introduced my Mom and Val to Costco gelato – yum, yum and a killer deal – there would be more gelato runs in the days ahead.

Grandma & Val Visit – Day 0.25 (Snoqualmie Falls)

We were so excited to have my Mom and Val visit us this summer and be here for Jason’s baptism.  They arrived in the evening of Wednesday, July 29th and shortly afterward we loaded up the van to drive over to Snoqualmie Falls.  (Note: Abigail was at camp the week they were here, but she got lots of special time with them later) 

How can you not visit the falls when this beauty is basically in our backyard?

We walked the trail down to the bottom of the falls.  (Justin and Drew took the car down to the bottom so we didn’t have to walk back up the trail).  It was a little steeper than I remembered, but my Mom and Val are probably more fit than any of us so it was no problem. 

Abigail’s 2nd Year at Girls Camp

Abigail attend our stake girls camp July 28-August 1 at Ensign Ranch.  She had a wonderful week.   While many stakes are cutting back their camps to only a few nights and begging women to help and attend, our ward got permission to take up the 5-7 year campers on Monday to prepare for the rest of the girls to arrive Tuesday morning and everyone stays until Saturday.  Our leaders LOVE camp and put together an amazing week for these girls.  Our stake is passionate about camp and I love that! 

The theme was Celebrate the Light and each unit was a different type of light.  I drove a van full of girls to camp and was blown away by the creative ways each unit transformed a regular ole campsite into something really spectacular.  Abigail’s unit was Girl on Fire from Mockingjay. 

Our ward has the most girls in attendance in the stake and the most adult representation during the week.  It’s such an incredible group of girls.  I feel so blessed that Abigail is surrounded by such great examples.

Mid-week there was a massive color activity – Abigail said some of the girls were multi-colored the rest of the week.

Our colorful ward!

The giant waterslide is always a favorite:

Getting ready to climb the rock wall.

Performing a dance routine with her group.

And here’s a picture they took before camp on the one and only week this year that we’ve straightened Abigail’s hair.

Can't believe next year we'll have two girls at camp!

Eight is Great!

Jason birthday began with his birthday breakfast request – homemade cinnamon rolls!

Little brother approved

Jason had been hemming and hawing over what to do for his birthday party for months.  We finally landed on a laser tag birthday party.  He had five of his friends able to come, which would have meant I’d need Justin to go with us and drive another car to fit everyone.  Thankfully one of the Mom’s wanted to come with her two boys and she had that one extra seat in her van we needed so we could all ride together in one car.  In hindsight it was actually nice to have another adult with me in the car – a 35 minute ride each way with five excited boys can get a little crazy. 

I was a little nervous the boys would get stuck playing with a bunch of older more experience players so we arrived just as it opened – in fact the doors were still locked.   Just as we got them all registered to play a big group walked in.  The gal knew we were hoping for a private game so she made the other group wait until we were done.

The boys all had a great time.  Jason didn’t even mind that he came in dead last.

We went to a nearby park afterward for snacks, gifts, and play.  I’d forgotten how massive the play structure was.  The boys could have stayed for hours.

Justin prepared Jason’s requested birthday dinner, Kung Pao Spaghetti, that evening and then we all enjoyed birthday dessert(s).  Mint brownies and cupcakes.  Abigail made the  cupcakes extra special by coloring the cake green and blue.

Little brother approved.

Jason’s stats at eight are:

Height: 4 ft, 7.5 in (98.62 percentile)

Weight: 67 lbs (84.21 percentile)

Jason enjoys all things sports; including baseball, soccer and football.  He is looking forward to trying basketball this winter and says he’d like to try lacrosse this spring instead of baseball.  There’s a freshman boy in our neighborhood that comes by pretty much every week to ask Jason to join them at the park for some sort of sport.  Jason is by far the youngest, but apparently he keeps up well enough that they keep asking him to join the game.

Jason likes to play with Legos, Pokémon cards, and games.  Katie and Jason often have multiple games spread all over the bonus room.  He also recently started taking piano lessons.

Jason is a smart kid and does well in school, especially math.  His favorite thing about school is, of course, recess.  He has a fun group of friends in the neighborhood and we’re excited for him to develop some closer friendships with church friends now that he will be in scouts.

Happy Birthday J-Man!