Weekend at Point Defiance

We headed over to the west side for a few days with Papa and Meemaw. Meemaw had a class she was taking so we spent the first morning at the Tukwilla Fun Center. I didn't think the kids were going to like this Frog Hopper but they LOVED it. It went really high...you can't really tell from the photo.

Emma driving her first car. Johnny was very distraught that he was too short to ride himself....

A trip to the Rainforest Cafe.....

Petting the sea life at Point Defiance. We had such a great day. The weather was unbeatable and the animals were all out showing off...
Johnny kissing a fish....

There was an exhibit where you could buy a stick with food on it and feed the birds. We had to drag Emma out of this one....




And to end a great day...a carousel ride. We had so much fun on our trip with Papa and Meemaw. Thanks for all of the fun!

The Lake

A few days after arriving in Washington we headed to the lake house on Lake Roosevelt. It was a week of fun in the sun with the Stagge/Forrest family.

Some playing at the beach with the future Mr. and Mrs. Stagge

Some napping on the front porch.....

Did some fishing.........

Some floating.......

We found pollywogs....


Drove the boat......

Celebrated birthdays......





And of course some tea parties........

Yes, the girls got ahold of Johnny....I think he might have been the cutest one...

Day 4 and 5 Dakota to Washington

On Day 4 we drove, and drove, and drove 1,026 miles in total and 16 hours of travel time. The kids were great and the scenery was beautiful.

Our van took quite the beating from all of the bugs......

Johnny wore his pajama's all day because it is his Thomas shirt....On Day five we only had about 6 hours away so we got up and got to Wenatchee early afternoon. On our way home we happened to stop at a rest stop that had a ton of marmots that loved being fed. The kids had a blast...



And then we finally got to Wenatchee.......

Grand Forks

On our way to Washington we were able to stop for a few days to visit Uncle Tim, Aunt Lindsey, Luke and Jack. We had so much fun and were very thankful for the pitstop in the midst of our long trip...

We had great weather while in Grand Forks and it was a beautiful town. We were able to spend a lot of time at the park, see Jack ride his bike without training wheels for the first time, go for a sister run, eat pizza at a local pizza joint, and watch the kids love on each other and play all day long. Thanks ND Pells for a wonderful visit!

Some backyard play...
Red Light Green Light, Aunt Sarah Style...with lots of made up colors in between....

Pizza Parlor....

Jack and Emma were pretty tired. They both actually fell asleep at the table.......

The oldest cousin looking tough for the camera....



Emma sleeping with Jack. They slept like this all four nights we were there. It was great to see how much they bonded on this trip as they are only two months apart.

One afternoon a thunderstorm rolled through. Johnny does not like the "Boom" sound so wants to be held when there is a storm. Here is a picture of Luke, Jack and Emma comforting Johnny during the storm. They actually fought over who got to hold him.
The big bike rider.....

We Are In California

We have arrived safely to Palo Alto and are attempting to unpack and settle into life in California. I hope to get the blog updated soon with all of the fun we had during our time in Washington but wanted to post a quick update on where we were. Prayers are welcome as we transition to a new place. So far so good........

Transition....Vacation.....Moving.....Vacation???

Our family is in transition, I mean on vacation, I mean moving, I mean on vacation......

Well, we are in limbo. In some ways it is wonderful. We got through the stressful part of packing up all of our stuff, saying goodbye to loved ones in North Carolina, and driving across the country without having to immediately get to work at settling into a new place. We have been able to visit family, take trips to fun places, see old friends, lounge around, play with cousins, be cooked for, go for a night away for our anniversary, not worry about the day to day responsibilities of owning or renting a home and all sorts of other great things. I am so thankful for this time but there is a part of me that also feels like this "vacation" isn't real. It is real in the sense that it allows us to spend lots of quality time with family, but is isn't real in the sense that when it ends, we do not go back to normalcy. I can't look at our kids starting to get restless at all the change and promise them that it will feel normal again soon. Maybe I need the normalcy more than they do. I think that I am really excited about this new adventure one day and then dreading the first couple of month the next. We are living in that in between time and as the date approaches where we will actually move into our apartment in Palo Alto, I am equal parts excited and scared. It will be different moving to a new place with kids. Last time we moved we were all on our own. This both comforts and gives me more worry.

I guess, in summary, I am feeling a bit mixed up at the moment. I miss you all in North Carolina, am loving the time spent here in Washington, and can't wait to go (don't want to go ) to California to begin our new adventure all at the same time. I just hope these next three weeks go by fast...I mean slow......I mean......