Bear Lake Day Trip

Yesterday Joey and I decided to take the kids for a ride up to Bear Lake. It's such a pretty drive and the kids slept for a lot of the way so we had a pretty nice ride. Once we got up there we drove out onto the beach and had fun wading around in the cold water. The kids and Joey got all the way in but I stayed shallow enough that the water didn't hit my stomach, it was too cold! The sand was nice and we even made a makeshift sandcastle. The kids thought it was great when Joey dug a moat around it and the water surrounded our castle. We put a big "O" on the front and then we destroyed it. Everyone was pretty cold by then, because of the breeze and the water so we decided to head down the road for a shake. We all split a blueberry shake, which of course the kids loved, Maisy even tried to eat her cup she liked it so much!
On our way back we saw a car stuck in the sand trying desperately to get out. Joey took the next turn and went to their rescue without even thinking twice about it. When he discovered he didn't have his tow ropes he drove down the beach until we saw another truck with a winch. Then he got out and walked around asking everyone he saw if they owned the truck. Finally he found the guy who didn't even speak English and convinced him to follow us down to the car who was stuck. When we got back to them a truck was parked behind them honking at them and telling them to get out of the way, we couldn't believe someone could be so ignorant!!! Anyway Joey and the truck owner got the little car right out of the sand and we all went on our way. It reminded me of how lucky I am to have married someone like my dad who would go out of their way every time to help someone in need. It didn't matter that we were on our way home, that we were all exhausted, or that he had to go up and down the beach to find someone to help. Joey said he just thought of what his dad would think if he hadn't helped and that Joe would have "kicked his butt". I think it's more than that, I think he was raised to help other people just like my dad was, and I know he would always lend a hand. Besides, what goes around comes around, and someday when we need help I know God will make sure that happens.

Pioneer Day

We had a blast this Pioneer Day! I was really hoping to go camping at my aunt and uncles property which didn't work out but it turned out great! On the 23rd Aimee, the kids, and I ventured out to see if we could find a spot for the parade. We weren't hopeful since people had been setting up for at least 2 days already but we thought we'd try. Driving along Washington we found the ONLY spot on the east side that wasn't roped off and flipped around to get it, we couldn't believe the luck!
The next morning we left at 6:30 to get to our spot and set up. It was a nightmare to get to it since they had Washington closed from 31st-17th and we were set up at 25th, but we managed to snake our way up there anyway. My parents, sister, brother, Grandma, Grandpa, and Jordan's friend Carson were there with us, and it was our first time in 4 years so it was great. When I was a little girl we used to go EVERY year, so I've really missed it. As usual the parade was long, but it was great! The only snag was a family that decided to stand right in front of us so I had to get them to sit down and they took over a huge chunk of our area, but oh well I guess.
After the parade we headed straight to the lake for some fun in the sun. We wake boarded, knee boarded, tubed, and swam. We were on the water about 9 hours, which was a really long time but we had a blast anyway. Duffy wasn't too sure what to think at first and had a hard time swimming in the water but then he warmed right up to it and didn't want to get out! My mom, Aimee, the kids, and I took a ride on the tube which just happened to be Maisy's first time crashing into the water, the waves were just too big for me to hold on with one hand so off we went! She was a little shocked but was just fine after a second! We had so much fun, it was the perfect summer day!

Seattle, Only for the Weekend

Joey's company has been changing out locks for LDS churches all over the place and I was excited but really jealous when he told me that he'd be going to Seattle to do some churches in the area (actually in the Bellevue area). I couldn't even believe it when he somehow worked it out for me to go up with him the weekend before they started, which also happened to be the weekend of our anniversary! I know, this post is about 2 months late. They had a LOT of product that needed to go up as well as a lot of heavy tools so he had decided to drive his truck up there. We dropped Duffy off at school (Aimee would pick him up later) and Maisy with Grandma and headed out. I HATE the drive to Seattle, just like I hate all long drives, only this one happens to be longer. I get carsick and usually have to take a Dramamine which puts me right to sleep. I was pretty proud of myself that I stayed awake the entire ride! While eating at a Denny's in Baker City, Oregon we decided to drive to Portland for the night instead of going up through Yakima. The last minute decision made us both remember our pre-kid, carefree days when we used to make spontaneous travel decisions all the time. It was a beautiful, fun drive into Portland at night and we were even able to say hi to Joey's cousin Kristi who lives there. We stayed in a corner room with floor to ceiling windows and we had a fantastic view of the city and the river.
The next morning we left early and made the 2 hour drive into Seatac. We were staying at the Cedarbrook Lodge in a suite (I got a killer deal online!) and I will never stay anywhere else if I go back. It was an amazing room with a great view of a nature reserve. They have the best customer service and free ice cream, malt balls, etc., what could be better?
Our first day there I kept telling Joey that I needed to meet my friend Crystal downtown for lunch at 1. I said I couldn't remember the name of the restaurant but I had Mapquest directions to get us there. We went all over downtown following the directions and I think he truly thought we were lost for a while there. He was saying, this place must be right on the lake. When we pulled up to Kenmore Air instead of a restaurant I told him "Happy Anniversary!" We weren't really having lunch, I had actually pulled off a surprise for his anniversary present and was taking him on a seaplane tour, which he's always wanted to do. I could tell he was so happy and shocked and excited, it was probably the best present I had ever given him. After the couple who was on the same flight was loaded up the pilot said he could use a copilot and I thought Joey was going to die! He kept asking if it was ok for sure that he didn't sit with me, but why would I be upset that he got to ride in the front seat? I thought it was great! The tour was so amazing, taking off from the water and seeing all the sights of Seattle. We flew right between the tall buildings of downtown and the Space Needle, flew over the sound, saw Bill Gates' house, and a bunch more. It was really the best and smoothest flight I'd ever been on.
For the rest of our weekend we revisited all of our favorite places in the area: we ate at the Fisherman and watched a snowboarding exhibition from our table, which was crazy to see right on the piers of Puget Sound! We hiked to Snoqualmie Falls, where Joey had the biggest breakfast I had ever seen! We visited Pikes Place and bought a beautiful bouquet for $10. We went to the horse races for the first time at Emerald Downs, and hit plenty of Starbucks.
We had our anniversary dinner a day early since I was leaving at 9 that morning, so we got dressed up and went to Maggianos in Bellevue. We sat in a corner by ourselves and had a really nice, romantic Italian dinner.
The whole trip was the perfect way to celebrate our 8th anniversary. We got time to really enjoy just being with each other and doing the things we really love to do.

California Day 7

Finally! I am back to blogging our last day of vacation! I've been in big trouble with my Grandma for not keeping up on the blog, I'm sorry! You know how we are, living every day(if possible) as an adventure and our summer has been super busy and SUPER fun!!! I'll try to blog on those fun times too, eventually! The collage has a ton of pictures from our day so you'll have to click on it for sure to see all of them!

Back to the vacation: Our last day, not counting the travel day home, was in Sea World. We had an absolutely fantastic time! The kids love animals so they were basically in heaven. We got there right as the gates opened and it was such a nice break to be away from the crazy crowds of Disneyland and just walk around Sea World without having to fight off a million people and wait in horrific lines (other than the line to get lunch which was terrible!). Maisy slept through some of it, including Shamu, but that didn't stop her from having a great time either. We saw the dolphins before heading into the Shamu show. Duffy couldn't believe how big Shamu was and thought the huge waves coming over the walls was great! We sat far enough back to not get wet though. Duff touched starfish, bat rays, and anything else they would let him get his hands into. We saw millions of fish and went through the shark tube, the thing Duffy had been looking forward to for months! We got to see an animal show that included dogs, birds, ducks, a pig, and even trained cats, which I didn't think was possible. Obviously the kids loved it!!! Sea World also has an Arctic area where they have beluga whales, huge walruses, penguins, and polar bears. It was so much fun! Aimee got the best picture of the kids in the pretend polar bear den where both of them look like they're running from a real bear, I love it!
The next day we had breakfast and drove around San Diego for just a little bit before dropping off the cars and heading to the airport. The kids slept for most of the flights which was a good thing since we had to change planes in Las Vegas and had a pretty rough flight into Salt Lake, we even missed our landing and had to circle around, it was pretty scary. Overall the vacation was an amazing experience, I'm so grateful that we were all able to do it together. We try to expose our kids to all the great things that life has to offer, big or small and I hope we get to travel to many, many more places over their lifetimes as well as wonder at what we have in our own backyard. Life is truly wonderful for the (Semi) Irish!