Portland trip

 For the last hurrah of my mom's epic summer trip here, she planned a super fun trip to Portland on the train.We were all excited to ride down and spend a few days being tourists. I was a little nervous to get there without a car to lug the kids and crap around, but we packed light and walked A TON.

Here is the train's arrival in Tacoma. Double decker!

 

The kids loved the freedom on the train with no car seats. They each took turns exploring the dining car and other areas with Grandma.

 Cheers!

 Here we are unloading in Portland. The big guys were super helpful.

Here we resting at the train station while I figure out how to get to our Airbnb.

 Portland train station was very cool!

Our Airbnb was about a mile walk from the train station. This was the weekend that was over 100 degrees! The kids were troopers. Archie walked the whole way without complaining and it was cool seeing Portland this way.

Whew, by the time we got to our place, we were beat! Here is a little R and R with the TV. Ivy got a front row seat.

The Airbnb was a really cute 3 bedroom apartment. After a rest, we did a "little" walking tour of Portland. We ended up walking about four miles around the city!! Kids were awesome and we had some great stops in the heat.

China town! A little disappointing to be honest. We kept looking online and in brochures for things to do in this hood and could only find recommended restaurants...

Best stop! We hit the Jamison Square Fountains which turned out pretty amazing. No suits - no problem! Kids went in anyway and Mom and I got some really great foot massages from the fountains. Had to peel the kids away after about an hour, but it was a great way to cool off and make it the mile back home.

Water break! Did I mention that it was super hot the whole time we were there?

The next day we woke up and waited for the pink bus!

It came!

The bus was pretty great and we got to see so many places around Portland. We were all happy to hitch a ride this day and made a great stop at the zoo.

You have never seen the elephants like this! Swimming and splashing... it was amazing! We stayed for about a half hour and loved every minute.

 Grandma took the kids on safari!

The kids cooled off while we waited for the pink bus to show up... it was sooooo hot!

There are no pictures from the last few hours of our trip, but let me just tell you the highlights....squishing on the overloaded pink bus (seriously, Leo was practically on the driver's lap!)... grabbing our bags and walk/running the mile to the train station... getting to the train with four minutes to spare... collapsing on the train because (and I'm not sure if you've heard) IT WAS SO HOT!!!

Man, I'm sweating just writing that last paragraph! It was such a whirlwind of fun to be on the train and in Portland for a few days. It was a great way to end Grandma Shirley's adventure with us - - we had a ball!

Summer fun

Here are some pictures I've taken that don't really warrant a whole blog post on their own, but I'm sure you'll want to see them anyway...

Here is the Kitsap Steamers train ride. Archie and I missed it because I lost him at the park for about five minutes, oops....

We found a great new beach on Bainbridge at Fort Ward park. Here is Leo's crab collection. He wanted to take them all home, but 'we' decided it'd be better if he set up a museum for people on he beach to see. Can you see the shells all rowed up on the driftwood? He was so proud.

Another at Fort Ward. Ferry in the background.

Leo labeled his own jelly GF. Sweet.

We did a science class and the boys made tin foil boats and then got to see how many pennies they could float on them.

Free slurpees at the 7/11 store on July 11th. The line wrapped around the store and out the front door. The kids' first slurpee. Do I need to add that they loved them?

Hope you like the summer pics, babe! Everything would be more fun with you, of course. Xoxo.

Archie's big day

Grandma took Leo to some RV sales sites, where he got to explore many different options for his 'dream' trailer. Wilson got to have two special trips to Chuck E. Cheese to try to beat Grandma at SkiBall. So, now, big guy Archie was up for his one on one time.

Archie and Grandma took the ferry to Seattle to check out the Terra Cotta warrior exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. Here they are in their best warrior pose.

Here they are headed to the ferry in style!

Archie had a ball on his special day. The next day he asked me if he could go on the ferry with Grandma again. I think he liked being the big cheese.

Bubble Run

Wilson, Leo and I hit the fair grounds in Puyallup for a 5K Bubble Run. I signed up for it a few months ago with a groupon and thought it sounded like fun. The boys and I loved it!

Here is a pre-bubble shot. We all got cool shirts and head bands.

The bubble machines were pretty cool. I don't know why, but I kind of expected a few bubble blowers like we have in our backyard so we were surprised to see these.

We literally couldn't see our way out of the bubbles once we started walking in them. I lost Leo once, but we all eventually made it out alive :)

At the end of the run, there were some snacks and drinks and a dance party. They also had a bubble cannon for those runners who didn't get enough bubble action during the race. Here is Wilson standing in the line of fire at the dance party.

Can you tell who loved the bubbles the most? Wilson is so excited to bring you back to the run next year... and actually run!

Bikes

The boys have been riding their bikes a ton this summer. Mostly in our circle, but about once a week we load them up and find a new park or trail to bike on. 

Leo popped a tire on his bike so I took it in to the bike shop to get it fixed. Bike guy told me it would be $20 for the new tube and labor. I was about ready to get it fixed when he noticed the front tire... completely bald and he said a new tire and tube is $30 for that. We both agreed it was a miracle it hadn't popped already. So, I was then looking at $50 in repairs for a bike that was probably too small for Leo anyway. Bike guy started showing me some really nice $300 bikes and I just told him that was more than we were going to spend on our six year old. So, he brought me over to a used bike section and I found this one for $75. Sold! 

Leo is thrilled.

A local BMX racing track was having a free beginner two hour leson, so we headed over with the boys. Wilson and Leo had so much fun on the racetrack.

The lesson started out with the boys just going around the course at their own pace.

Then, they walked around the track with the instructor and learned the names and techniques for riding on each part of the track.

The last 30 minutes of the lesson was all races. Wilson and Leo faced off a few times and they were both pretty good and fearless. I have a video of their race, but I couldn't get it to upload. 

A girl did break her arm early in the night and then Wilson fell off and hurt his wrist on his last race of the night, so I'm not totally comfortable with it being their new favorite sport. Nevertheless, the boys absolutely loved it and Leo's already asking to be signed up for racing season.

Roadtrip with Grandma

A couple days after my dad left, we took off on our first trip. While my mom was here, we figured out the big boys had summer camp during the afternoons of the middle two weeks of her visit. The first and last weeks, though, we didn't have any plans. So, I planned a trip for the first week and Mom has one planned for her last week here. Anyway, this is the trip I planned.

We started off heading west and our first stop was Snoqualmie Falls. I had never been and it was about ten minutes off our route so we decided to hit it. So beautiful! One funny thing was that they had just fertilized the gardens and the place just stunk. We hit the bathrooms before we left and Leo reported that it smelled better in there than outside, lol. So, not an important part of our trip, but just in case your humor hasn't matured too much while you've been away - I thought you would surely enjoy that detail!

We continued west and hit a park for our picnic lunch break. 

Guess who started the cherry pit spitting contest?

Whoo, we arrived at our destination for the evening - Leavenworth. It was soooo hot! 98 degrees. We tried to walk around and enjoy the town and we just melted. So, we went back and jumped in the hotel pool. My mom liked it though and we managed to find brats, sauerkraut and beer for dinner.

Onward! 

The next day we hit the road and continued west. We stopped at some cherry and peach(!) farms for some local produce. We also hit a factory tour of the Applets and Cotlets Factory in Cashmere, WA. It was neat.

 

 Then, the main event of our trip... 

Here is my mom in front of the house her dad built! It was the house they brought her home from the hospital to and she lived in for about three months. It was not easy to track down as we had no address, but Mom brought her birth certificate into city hall and they helped her find it. So cool! I guess it looks pretty much the same except they've added some siding.

 

The house was very near the town of Quincy. We also made the drive to Soap Lake to see the hospital she was born in. It was really neat.

After going down memory lane with my mom, we took the kids to a really neat water park in Moses Lake. There were water slides, a lazy river and some cool splash areas for the littles. It was a great and super hot day.

Even more exciting for the kids than the water park was our AirBNB for the night. Look at this trailer, the Roo. The kids thought it was probably the coolest thing ever. It was in a pretty crappy part of Moses Lake and parked in someone's backyard, lol. None of that mattered to he kids and we did have a lot of fun in it. The dining table and couch both folded out for little beds and there were two queen sized beds on the ends. We fit great, ordered pizza and watched a movie.

 

In the morning the kids were still pumped to explore the trailer. They found these zip down windows, watched the garbage truck go by, and thought they were in heaven... Hilarious!

When I told the kids we only had it for one night they were pretty bummed. Archie told me he wanted to stay forever and Leo tried to hatch a plan with Wilson to pool their allowance money and pay for another night... can't make this stuff up!

That was our trip! We headed home and the boys said they want to bring you back next year for the water park and... the trailer!

Grandpa Max's visit

It was really great having my dad here for a week. They were fresh off their six week South Korea, China and Mongolia trip so they were a little groggy the first few days. Mom and Dad brought some fun souvenirs and we all watched the movie, Eagle Huntress, about a Mongolian girl who tames golden eagles. We loved it!

The first few days they were here, we kept it local and did parks and beaches close to home.

It got hot, so I started turning the sprinklers on after dinner every night.

We had a fun happy hour at the Boat Shed. Made me think you, of course.

 

 

  

Did I tell you we got a few blow up boats? The boys LOVE them. I was happy to have my dad here to help get them set up for their maiden voyage. Our first outing we took two boats about 10 minutes down the road to Kitsap Lake and rowed with me and Wilson in one and Dad and Leo in the other. There may or may not have been a little friendly competition getting back onto shore - - Dad smoked me.

Wilson and Leo (Wilson especially) really took to being on the water. They set out in the boats for an hour having fun and begged to go back every morning after.

We made it to Fort Worden since my parents had never been. The kids all had head flashlights and they had fun of course. On the beach, Leo and I decided to build one of our beach structures. You may remember our first attempt at Cape Disappointment? Anyway, we've improved and got this one up from nothing. We were so proud of our work!

We braved Seattle on a Saturday. It was hectic and fun. We hit all the major spots, Ivar's for lunch, Pike's Place, first Starbucks, etc... It was fun, but as you know from our previous trips there with the kids - local brews on the ferry home were necessary!

On my dad's last day, we took a trip to a lesser visited area of ONP. It's in the southwest part of the park and called the Staircase area. It is by the large Lake Cushman, and it is beautiful of course. The hike we chose was easy and fun and we had a great day.

 

 

Dad got back to Florida and reported 100 degrees with humidity and wished for our weather again. My mom and him have really been raving about the perfect weather this trip. I think they'll definitely be back next summer!