Washington Trip

For spring break this year we decided to take a trip up to Washington to see Keith's family.  It's been over 4 years since we were last up there (they come down a lot so we still see them but we just haven't been able to make it up there).  It was definitely time!  We left on Friday and came home the next Friday.  A week was a little long for this whiney, grumpy pregnant lady (haha) but I'm glad we went.  The kids really bonded with Keith's parents and had a lot of fun playing with their cousins who live up there.  It also gave us a chance to see some friends that we haven't seen in a long time.    

On the way up we did the trip in two days and stayed in a hotel in Meridian, Idaho (just outside Boise).  It was so nice splitting up the trip, especially because it was so uncomfortable for me to sit that long.  The kids were SO excited to stay in a hotel!  Isaac kept pointing out everything about the room and was so excited  about it.  He would say things like, "Look at this lamp!  And look we have a microwave!  And look at this amazing plant!"  His enthusiasm was very cute :)

Idaho, Oregon, and Washington signs!  I also took a picture of the spedometer because we hit 166,666 miles....spooky thing is that we hit it when we were coming up on Dead Man Pass, which is the top of this really steep big hill called Cabbage Hill you have to go down on the way.  We made it down ok though ;)  

We went out to eat at TGI Fridays while we were there, which is one of our favorite restaurants and the closest one to us is way up in West Valley, UT (about an hour North and way out of the way).  Then after we ate we went back to the hotel and took the kids swimming.  It was fun because we had the whole pool to ourselves!

  

We got there on Saturday and after resting for a little bit we went to see our friends the Wolfgramm's who invited us to a little Easter egg hunt they were doing.  It was great to see them and catch up! 

So glad to be out of the car!

Sunday morning the kids got their Easter baskets and got to do their own Easter egg hunt in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard.  They also made "Resurrection Rolls" with Grandma to learn more about Jesus' resurrection.  

Isaac was sad because Malea got more than him.  Looking back I wish I would have designated colors for each of them, but oh well....next year!

Checking out their loot!

Walker Family Easter pic :) 

The kids played with this train set so much during the week!

Later that afternoon, Keith's brother David and his family came over so we did another Easter egg hunt with their kids.  We had a yummy Easter dinner with Keith's grandparents and the kids got to dye eggs and make "bunny racers".  It was a fun day :)

Malea with her cousin Nathan, she is about 9 months older 

My attempt at a picture of all the kids....cousin Amayah was not interested haha

This one was a little better of the other kids but then she was blurry....lol

Keith and his brother David reminiscing over some writing that was under the table....funny boys

On Monday Keith had the opportunity to have a little reunion with some of his high school friends.  They haven't all been together at the same time for 15 years!  We've seen some of them here and there through the years but this is the first time they have all been together at the same time.  We met at a fun park and let the kids play while the adults caught up.  There were two of his friends that weren't able to get work off but we had a pretty good turn out otherwise.

The kids had fun playing together....there were probably close to 20 kids between all of us!

Tuesday was kind of a chill day, the kids played a lot outside riding bikes and swinging on Grandma & Grandpa's swings.  Grandma also took the kids to pick out some legos and they got to go for a ride in this very cool old '71 Challenger that David and their Dad restored. 

On Wednesday Keith took the kids up to their family's property in Goldendale, WA with his Dad to let the kids play and to ride ATV's.  I decided to stay back because I really hadn't been feeling great and I wasn't up to a 2-3 hour drive up there and back.  The kids seemed to have a lot of fun up there though! 

Keith and the kids in front of a huge wind turbin, there are a bunch on the way up to their cabin

Thursday we took the kids to see the Columbia River temple and this really cool 9/11 Memorial of some beams from the World Trade Center. It was pretty sobering to have to explain to Malea what happened and why.  After that we got to go out to lunch with Keith's parents and grandparents at a yummy place called Bob's Burgers in Kennewick. Then that afternoon we took the kids to see the new movie "Home", which was fun.  

That night we hung out with family and started getting our stuff packed up and ready to leave the next day.

Keith and the kids with Grandma and Grandpa Asay, Keith's Grandparents and the kids' Great Grandparents

The kids with their cousin Corbin

We left Friday morning and decided to do the whole drive in one day (ugh).  It was not very fun but we were anxious to get home and didn't want to have to stay the night again.  We made a lot of stops to try and make the drive more bearable and let the kids get out at a park at one point.  I think I was the whiniest one, being almost 30 weeks pregnant at the time!  It's about a 10 hour drive and it took us more like 12, plus we added an hour because of the time difference so it felt so long.  We got home at about 10pm and were sooooo happy to sleep in our own beds!  It was really cute though because both kids missed Grandma and Grandpa "Dub", but especially Isaac.  We called to talk to Keith's dad when we got home and Isaac cried because he missed them.  

The first thing the kids wanted to do was snuggle in mommy and daddy's bed!

It's crazy to think that the next time we make the drive we will have baby #3!