In late August, about two weeks after our trip to Montreal, we had the opportunity to visit my family in Washington! As always, it was so great to see everyone. And as always, the visit flew by and ended way too abruptly. I didn't end up taking a ton of photos in Washington. The weather cooperated for a couple of days but otherwise was very windy and/or hazy, which limited what we could do and obviously limited the quality of photos taken. All those Washington wildfires you all likely heard about in the news....
Nevertheless we still had a great time!
We did take an overnight trip to Couer d'Alene, Idaho to catch up with a good friend from high school. Though it was pretty hazy it was still so nice to see that area, and it was great to see Brandon. It had been at least 12 years since I had last visited Couer d'Alene, and I forgot how beautiful it is! Definitely wouldn't mind calling a place like that home. Thank you Mom and Dad, for using your time share points so we all could enjoy the night in Idaho.
The water was legitimately cold. I don't know how we all managed, but we did. For a running total of about 5 minutes.
Back in Pasco I helped my Dad tend to his bees. He's got a little population going as one of his many side projects.
Thanks to these awesome suits, we didn't get stung once.
One day we spent almost entirely lounging at the pool. There was only one really nice day suitable for swimming, and we took full advantage of the cooperative weather!
Clark loved wearing one of the little floaties we brought for kids.
I tried to get group pictures of my nieces and nephews on a few occasions. It is so hard to get all the kids to look at the camera at the same time! Kudos to professional photographers who do this on a daily basis. I thought this turned out pretty good, though maybe just a bit dark.
I've always loved sunsets on the farm.
My oldest brother Cedar drove over from Tacoma to visit with us! It was so nice to see him! Thank you sooooooooooo much for making the effort, Cedar! It really meant a lot to us!
He was put in charge of the bbq.
He was also put in charge of taking care of rowdy children.
My sister and her second born.
Teya sitting still enough for a picture.
That same evening we got to watch my Dad blow up some pumpkins. It never gets old.
Little Maddie is just so cute.
My aunt and uncle were even around for the occasion. Our friend Nick also was there to film the excitement. It was a pretty big ordeal :)
Take two. You can see bits of pumpkin all over the ground from the first explosion.
On Cedar's final day we attempted some photos.
Then we went over to Katie's house and tried to get some photos there.
This little girl. That smug face! And the little gun she's holding......it just cracks me up.
Teya and Cole decided to decorate Clark and Cedar's hair.
And that's a wrap! I sure do love my family and I hate how infrequently I get to visit. Thank you for letting us come visit and for your hospitality. I hope that future circumstances allow us to be closer, but we all know that remains to be determined.
So, let's keep our fingers crossed!
