Utah

We went to Utah for the 4th and it was a party. We saw lots of friends, ate at all the glorious restaurants Utah has to offer because Utah knows how to do food, and stayed up way too late visiting with family. It was over 100 degrees the whole time and sunny all week long. It was my paradise! We were so nervous about going to Utah this summer because we thought the heat would just melt our family. It in fact gave us a much needed recharge. It was so fun to be in a place that felt like summer. We were also laughing because last summer, coming from Arizona, Utah felt like a "cold snap" but this year coming from Seattle it felt like an oven.


Every time! The thing is, I think Hayes minded, but the power of screen time can not be bothered. QT cousin time am I right?!

 We played in an actual splash pad!! Not just a fountain that sprays mist but an actual fountain! Haven't seen those in a couple of months

 The 4th was done as only Utah can do the 4th. It lasted for a few days over all the cities and counties and every party was chuck full of fun. Ethan and I went to the CVille fireworks as a date on the night of the 3rd and on the morning of the 4th we went to the CVille parade with the fam. We tried to run the Freedom run but slept through our alarms. In the afternoon we visited with the McFarlands which was WONDERFUL!! We haven't seen them in two years and we just love them to pieces. Evan and Ethan were meant for each other. That evening we had a picnic with the Nellys, swam in their pool, and went to a park where we could see multiple shows going off at once. It was just so much fun. I got a little sick in the heat of the parade, but all in all it was just the best day! Hot and sunny and fun.

We tried...

 Swimming was so much fun! We pretty much had the pool to ourselves. And I was so proud of Kelsey. For a time, she took off her floaty and remembered how to swim!! I still don't totally trust her alone in a pool, but she could jump in, touch the bottom, come up for air, and swim to the side! It was so exciting.

Julie is the best in the whole world, and moved Hayes's entire birthday party up a week so that we could join!! I was almost in tears I was so excited!! You guys!! She throws the best parties. They are always so thought out, the theme is out of control cute, its executed perfectly, but so low key that you don't feel intense about anything. I don't know how she does it. How can it be all those things at once?! Its crazy, but I love that we get to go. This them was baseball and it was just so much fun.

 Cool "tornado" we saw in Idaho

 After two VERY long years, we got to see the Johnsons, which was a miracle in itself because they live in Chicago and are moving to Florida. The 4th in Utah is truly a magical time of year.

We thought it would be cute to get the two "babies" together in a photo. They did not like this idea

 We took a trip up to Pineview and took out the paddle board for the first time. I am so happy we made this purchase! So is everyone else I think!! no one can deny the joy of a paddle board

 I love that Diana is in the background. So so cute! Also, side note, Madison LOVES the "paddyboard" or "boat" she would not get off. She rocked at standing on it while I paddled and got really good about jumping off and climbing back on. Shes an all star. Kelsey did great too, but she was a little more interested in playing with Harper which is fair because Harper is awesome.

 

No reason. Just becasue it was warm. I didn't realize we had become such warm blooded people

 The Wings had a big family reunion which brought many visitors from out of town including Aunt Kay and the Robbins. It was great to see our Arizona family again.

Washington Coast

 After work on a Friday we drove over to the Washington Coast so we could officially say we have seen all of Washington. It was a deceiving drive and actually took FOREVER to get there becasue traffic was just terrible the whole way, but once we battled that, being there was completely worth it.

First we stopped at Hurricane Ridge. It felt like we were in the Alps, you know, becasue we are so familiar with the Alps. What was really fun was that there was this family of deer that would just follow everyone around. There was a buck, a mom, and a baby. One time I came around the corner after going to the bathroom and I was standing about 5 feet from them. I know they are just deer, but it was freaky. Kelsey just laughed and laughed at me!!

 It was freezing at the top and there was still a lot of snow pack on the ground so Kelsey thought it would be fun to throw snowballs. Throwing snowballs was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

 

Victoria is that island in the distance

 We spent our nights in Forks and got an upgrade to the Belle Suite in our hotel. It was as ridiculous as it sounds. Probably the best hotel stay ever. Everything was black and red there were drawings from the books on the wall. It was fantastic. In all seriousness, the upgrade was super nice because it gave us an extra pull out couch so we didn't have to share to full beds. You know how I hate sharing a full bed

Lake Crescent at sunset

In the morning we drove to the Hoh Rain forest and did several of their smaller hikes. It was completely worth going there, but I will say that now that we live in Seattle and are so used to green and woods, I think some of the majesty of the rain forest was lost on us. We are just so spoiled where we live.  I still thought it was amazing, but some of the other tourist by us couldn't stop talking about all the green they were seeing. Once again, its all relative.

I forgot the backpack for Madison so both girls walked the whole time. I'm sure in total it was only about 2 miles, but they did so good. They didn't really complain at all and even let us wait until we got back to the picnic area to eat lunch. They are such troopers.

Kelsey was grateful I wore my buffalo shirt so that the elk and bears would be afraid to come near us. That was my plan

It was an abnormally hot weekend for the coast and temperatures reached into the 90's. The rainforest kept us nice and cool and truly not a single complaint from this group about 90 degrees, but it made heading to Ruby beach that much more exciting. This specific beach is known for its tide pools so there were more rocks than sand and more driftwood than rocks, but it was the beach! As soon as we stepped onto the beach a calm passed over our whole family. We found a nice little sandy spot and ended up staying there for well over 5 hours. We were all so content and happy. Madison sat in the sand for maybe 45 minutes at a time just filling her bucket, Ethan and Kelsey wouldn't get out of the water, and I just sat on the beach soaking in the sights and sounds. It was perfect.

 

I had gotten a terrible sunburn on Thursday so any direct contact with the sun was just brutal. I had to wear Ethan's shirt all day, but luckily the water was so cold that it didn't ever feel too warm. I mostly just feel foolish for getting such a bad burn a few days before our trip

It really was just the best afternoon ever. Towards the evening, the tide started to go out and so we kind of got to see some tide pools, but not really. We had such a great time regardless. Even I got in the water once which is saying something.

We headed back to Forks to clean up and eat. We ate at this restaurant with great food, but it literally took like 1.5 hours to get our food. They lost our order and didn't even apologize for it. I was so irritated. Never make a pregnant lady wait 1.5 hours for her dinner!

We were going to go to La Push after dinner, but were running out of time. We decided to head over there anyway and boy am I glad we did. It was truly the most beautiful beach. The sand was like Hawaii sand and the scenery was just breathtaking. We got there at sunset so it was a little bit cold (especially when Kelsey JUMPED in the water in her clothes!!) but the sunset was just jaw dropping.

Unfortunately in the morning it was time to head back. On our way out we stopped at Lake Crescent for lunch and I completely regret that we didn't spend a whole afternoon there. I always thought Lake Coure De Lane was the prettiest lake I would ever see, but I stand corrected. Lake Crescent wins. Amazing!!! We already are planning a trip back to just camp and play at Lake Crescent. Its amazing!!! So clear, so clean, so beautiful

Traffic was no better getting home, but this time we took the ferry across. It was no shorter, but a little more pleasant than just sitting bumper to bumper. And we saw a jelly fish and Mt Rainer so it was pretty awesome.

There is so much to do over there. We didn't make it to Sul Duc Falls, Madison Falls, the Ozette Triangle, Beach 2 and 3 in La Push, and waterfall by Lake crescent, and a downtown walk through Port Angeles. So much to do!!! Hopefully we can get back there soon and try all new things.