We went to Washington to visit my sister Amy and her family (Richard, Isabelle, Wendell, and Mary). It was so good to see them! They live in a beautiful town named Graham, pretty close to Seattle.
We decided to take our new car and save on gas money.
I was nervous because the kids didn't have as much room as usual, but they did amazing.
We stopped in Boise the first night and tried a new sleeping arrangement. All three kids on one bed facing horizontally.
It worked pretty well :)
The drive was so beautiful.
At one point we drove through mounds of snow and passed a ski resort.
We saw so many trees. It was gorgeous.
And there are so many trees in Graham too.
After church I thought I'd grab a pic. Wow, I thought getting three kids to look was hard!
All three boys wore blue shirts and pants, so cute. I was glad that Jonas was in Wendell's primary class. When I took him in to Sharing Time he seemed excited to go, then I introduced him to his teacher and he wondered where Sister Nelson was (his IF Sunbeam teacher). I was able to leave after a couple of minutes though.
We went to the Science Center in Seattle. It was big with a lot to see and do.
Jonas' dinosaur impersonation.
My cutie pie niece, Isabelle
We loved getting to know Mary better.
Hannah playing with a water display.
There was a butterfly room full of live butterflies flying around. You weren't supposed to touch them, but it was okay if they landed on you. Jonas really wanted one to land on him...
Eli had one land on him
twice!
Wendell had this white butterfly on him almost the whole time we were in there.
Hannah had two different ones land on her!
Amy had one land on her too.
We were getting ready to leave and Jonas still didn't have one land on him...
And then Wendell's butterfly flew over to Jonas and saved the day!
Wendell and I built this grasshopper.
The kids at the touch tank.
Me and Wendell working out our legs :)
For the record, I did not squeeze those cheeks.
Mary is adorable! We even got to see her take a few steps.
Our kids were fascinated with the Space Needle. It is right next to the science center. We decided not to go up to the top because it is really expensive.
It was hard to say goodbye after such a short stay.
The Brooksbys were wonderful hosts and we had so much fun being with them and seeing their beautiful town and home.
Me and Amy
We went to Seattle again on our way home.
Our first stop was Pike Place.
We saw the gum wall (and vowed to bring gum next time).
They had everything there! Fish, flowers, food....
We saw the workers throw fish (just like on You Tube).
In this picture, you can see the doughnuts being made.
They were so yummy!
After Pike Place, we went on a harbor tour on this boat.
We were so happy that it wasn't raining and we could enjoy wandering outside and inside as we pleased.
While we were on the harbor tour, a man came up to Brady and gave him tickets so that our family could go to the top of the Space Needle! We were ecstatic to be recipients of such a kind gesture.
Here's our family on top of the Space Needle.
We are so happy that we were able to take this trip as a family.
We will be talking about it for a long time to come.
