our weekend in washington

 michael and i didn't decide until the day of olive's birthday (july 3rd) that we would go to washington 

for the weekend

we finally committed and i packed us up

and we drove that evening to my brother's house 4.5 hours away after michael got off work

we stayed up crazy late and then woke up on the 4th of july, packed up and left fairly early to seattle

henry was so cute in his 4th of july outfit

 my brother ryan and henry

 our kids love their cousins and were sad to leave

look at this awesome view they had while jumping

 pretty soon i'll have a whole collection of pictures of hazel on holden's shoulders 

 we got to seattle by the afternoon and the kids handled the car ride really well

 we went straight to pike place

we've missed seattle SO much! 

 despite going to seattle all the time at the beginning of our marriage

we've lived far a way for a while

and our kids hardly remembered it

but they loved it, of course

 michael and eleanor were so cute and festive

  a family picture at the little mounted tractor seats

eleanor is hiding behind michael

 noah listening to some music

 so happy!

it had literally been two years since we've been to seattle

 we let the kids each pick a treat at the bakery

 michael bought us a case of brazillian soda, too

next we went to see the gum wall

 michael adding to it

 then we went and saw the big wheel

it wasn't there last time we were

it was really pretty but the kids decided they would rather ride the carousel inside

 we saw some jelly fish from the pier

 seattle is so pretty

 michael and i have a thing where we take a kissing picture in front of water

the carousel

 posing in front of the crab pot

 and in front of ivar's

 then it started to rain (oh, seattle)

so we hurried back to our car

got slurpees and food

and just looked at the space needle from the car

then we went and visited michael's cousin daryl and his family

 and his awesome house on alki before they move

then we hopped on the ferry (which the kids looooved)

on our way to michael's parents house

both michael's brothers were there

as well as his grandma and aunt and uncle

so it was fun to see everyone and do fireworks with them

here are michael and his brothers with their dad

 henry was wiped out from our long day

but he looked cute in his festive jammies

 then we made the little drive from michael's parents to my parents so we could sleep there

and we spent most of the next day at my parents house

 we had a nice breakfast and then went outside for most of the day

henry is a big fan of grandpa and kept talking to him and smiling at him

we all got outfitted in boots to play on the farm

 my dad turned on the hot-walker/swing

and the kids LOOOVED it

 michael and i each rode, too

 eventually my dad suggested they try standing so about a second later they all were

eleanor wasn't ready to do it alone yet

 while we were on the swings my mom was saddling up some horses

so next up, pony rides!

 noah, hazel and olive loved their pony rides

 family picture on the hay bales

a couple of my mom's cows

 noah was dying all day to see my parents pond

he was pretty sure he was going to catch a fish with a net..

of course there were tractor rides, too

 then, before we left my parents house

they took us to their local general store

and let the kids each pick out some little toys

which they loved!

 and then we let them play at salt creek

 it's so gorgeous there!

next time we're there with warm weather we need to spend more time there

and play at the beach

 then it was time to say goodbye because i got a hold of my sister monica

and she offered for us to stay at her house for the night

so it took a few hours off our drive home the next day

there's never enough time at my parents house

but at least now we live closer and we won't let it be another few years in between visits

 on the way to monica's we stopped at my grandma's house

the last time we saw her eleanor was a baby

 hazel didn't want to be in a picture so she and my cousin ann took this

we had a super fun visit with monica and her family 

i wish i'd taken some pictures!

we stayed the night and then got up and on the road again to go home

it was a little bit long and painful on the way home

but the kids did pretty well considering how much time was spent in the car

it was seriously such an amazing weekend

i can't believe how much we fit in

and that we saw so much of our family

it definitely beat sitting at home

and i'm so grateful for the memories we made