Jetty Island

I can't believe we had never been to Jetty Island! For years people have told me how great it is to take the free ferry and spend the day on a sand bar, picnicking and playing in the sand. It sounded great, but we never took the time to check it out, until Haley wanted to go for her birthday. Unfortunately, her friends were all either busy or on vacation and couldn't join her for an August party, so we decided to go as a family and bring along Amara and Caleb from the M4.

We got there around 4pm and found that the little snack shack had Italian Soda's! We quickly got one for each of the kiddo's (and the worst ever iced latte for me!) and then hopped on the ferry. The kids played for hours, wading in the water, building sand castles, and then the tide started to quickly come in. Everyone got dressed, and then the older kids took a short "nature walk" to the end of the bar to watch the wind surfer people. The temp was almost 95 degrees that day, but we had a nice breeze, and the ocean water to keep us cool. It felt like it was in the 70's not 90's.

My favorite part of the afternoon was watching the sunset while on the ferry. It was beautiful!

We will definitely be going back to Jetty Island again, and if you have never been, don't wait.... GO!

The Blue Angels

It's been years since we have gone out Seafair weekend to watch the Blue Angels. It usually involves a lot of traffic and circling for parking, etc... But this year our friend Kim invited us to her work for a catered lunch out on the hangar where the Blue Angels take off and land!

It was AMAZING! They were right there in front of us!

We ate a yummy lunch from Famous Dave's BBQ, and the kids got to go in all the airplanes and even sit in the cockpits! They went in a sea plane and one of the employees had to move the plane, so he hooked up a little golf cart to the plane and towed it around while the kids were inside!

What a special experience! Thanks so much Kim and the M4! We had the best time!

Cheap Labor

 I came downstairs after folding some laundry and saw this sign... (Translation: Emma is open for being a slave for a penny. I do what you want for one day. Me + you = happy face.)

Along with this basket underneath!

So you better believe I took advantage. After giggling to myself for a minute, I told Emma I had a penny and I was ready for her to be my "slave". I handed her a dust cloth and asked her to dust the stair banister. She looked at me and said "Oh, man! I forgot to say no chores!". I said "Sorry, you didn't say that on your poster.". I put the penny in the basket and off she went. =)

Apparently, there was a brief moment where Payton thought this was an amazing money making plan and asked to have her name added too (See the red that reads "and Payton"). Then when I put Emma to work and gave her the penny, Payton decided this wasn't the best career move (Notice the red that reads 6 and up? Emma quickly added that after Payton left the company.) so she opted out.

Camping with the G6

It was time for the C6 + G6 annual camping trip, and this time we wanted to go somewhere a little warmer, so we chose Sun Lakes in Eastern Washington. We invited our neighbor, PJ, (who had never been camping before) and packed up to head East.

We endured a crazy thunder, lightening, and wind storm. Visited the Grand Coulee Dam and watched the laser light show. Our campsite was attacked by raccoons (who ripped a hole in our brand new tent!). We got swimmers itch from the lake (yuk!). We celebrated two birthdays (Happy Birthday David and Maddi!) made smores, rock people, and played lots of games...

And then it was time to go. We packed up and said good-bye to Sun Lakes. Hoping to never return (at least to the actual lake). The kids helped us pack, and took plenty of breaks in between. It was hot, by 10am in was in the 80's, so we made them drink water like crazy so that we could hit the road.

We took our time going home. Stopping at several places along the way. Dry Falls was our first stop. It was once a waterfall that was four times the size of Niagara Falls! It is now the worlds greatest waterfall...without water. It is beautiful there! We took our time and took plenty of pictures.

We also stopped for lunch and then ice-cream at Winegars. Next stop was David's college, CWU. We always take Hwy 2 to Eastern Washington, so it was a nice change to take I-90 and visit some of David's favorite places. Our last stop was at Owen's Meats in Cle Elem, to try the beef jerky that we had heard so much about and by some pepperoni sticks. We will definitely have to stop there again!

Despite it all, we had a great time! We have decided to stick to the San Juan Islands for next year though! Swimmers itch is the worst! Always check for signs before you swim and if you see snail shells that is a pretty good indication that you are at risk for swimmers itch!

A Little Water Park Fun!

The weather forecast said sunny and 80, so when my friend Kim asked if we wanted to go to a water park, we were totally excited! We had never even heard of the Henry Moses Aquatic Center in Renton before, and it sounded like the perfect place for my girls to go for a sunny and hot day!

The day started out cloudy and cold. To tell you the truth, we were contemplating not going, but the clouds were supposed to clear so that the sun could shine, so we went.

There are lots of shallow areas for the littler ones to play. The big kids spent a lot of time at the two water slides. You can take an intertube on one of the slides, too!

This was a pretty fast "lazy river"! Haley and her buddy Amara took a break in the middle to watch their siblings float by.

 Caleb (little bro to Amara) from the M4 turned and let me take a quick pic of him enjoying the tubes.

Kaylin hardly left the slides, she was having such a blast! But she enjoyed the tubes, too!

 The clouds did clear out and it ended up being a beautiful day! The kiddos all had a blast and are begging to go back again! Thanks so much Kim for inviting us! I still can't believe we had never heard of it!

Ferry Fun!

For our last day trip with our Cali family, we decided to take a ferry to Kingston. We stopped at the Walnut cafe in Edmonds (per Sheree's suggestion) and we were not disappointed! One of the yummiest lattes I've ever had!

It was a beautiful day, so we got off the ferry and walked around Kingston for a bit. Goo-Goo B bought the girls ice-cream or sorbet (their choice) at Mora and then we hopped back on the ferry and headed home for a big family dinner because Connie, Queena, Vanessa, James, and Frankie had to leave in the morning. =(

Thank you so much for visiting and hanging out with us! We had such a good time laughing, chatting, and lounging with you all. xoxo

Donuts and Meerkats

Have you ever tried a maple bar donut with bacon?

Well if you haven't, you are totally missing out! I had to get some for our California guests to try.

My absolute fave is the bavarian cream, though. Head on down to Frost Donuts in the Mill Creek Town Center, and get yourself some! The salted caramel is delish, too.

              Srsly, you will not be dissapointed with Frost Donuts! 

After our donuts, we headed to the zoo!

The gang!

 There is a new entrance at the zoo right by the penguins. The north entrance and west entrance combined and are no more.

 The girls and I were super excited to finally see the Meerkats! I was a little surprised at how small the exhibit was, but they sure are adorable. Have you ever seen Meerkat Manor? It's a great show!

We always enjoy the Komodo Dragons, too!

The girls have to climb this statue every time we pass it!

It's been awhile since we have seen this guy. He was walking around looking for food. Apparently, the lady that feeds him works in this office.

We all gathered around to see him.

 He didn't like that, so he blew up his tale! The lady came out yelling at us all to get back because he might charge us! It was crazy the way she was yelling at this bird, like he was a 2 yr old  kid.

After the zoo we hit up Red Mill Burgers! (Don't worry, we didn't use our cell phones and get yelled at like someone I know!).