After dropping Dave off at SeaTac airport (to go back to work in NJ), we drove the rental car to John and Andrea's in Issaquah. The typical outdoor, creative shenanigans took place. The kids disappeared for hours, petted the bunnies that were being bunny sat, fed the chicken that roamed in the yard, made a picnic, loved on Molly, flew through the air on the tree swing, you name it, they did it. All the while, Andrea and I expressed how much we missed each other and took in the clean Washington air. Ahh, we love this place. Well, we love it when the sun is out:-)
Olivia, Ava, Gage and Zach
The wonders of a simple tree swing
Campfire in the backyard, anyone? Andrea gets comfy by the fire.
Our ferry (actually leaving) Friday Harbor. The kids love these car ferries.
Sun, glorious sun! What a splendid day to be on the water....ferry and all. Plus, we have MORE vacation to look forward to. Ulitsch/Pryor Vacation 2012 is on!
John is so happy and relaxed to be going on vacation....I think Zach is in his own world in this picture.
When we were in Ocean Shores, the toy store there had these cool mini race car sets. We thought Zach and Gage would love them...and they did! The boys played with their R/C cars the entire trip. Gage's giggles had us all laughing. Ah, the sound of kids laughter!
We are here!! The kids immediately went down to the shore to find sea creatures. About a million of them! Seriously, they had 50 mini crabs in a bucket before we knew it. That's the best part of these kids' friendship. They focus on nature instead of electronics. LOVE.....
Jen reading on the back porch.
The awe inspiring sunset looking out to Victoria, B.C. We watched the ships go through the pass on their way out to the Pacific. The tankers and even Navy ships made us stop in awe every time. Could there be a more beautiful place?
Maybe...the same view, just sitting in the hot tub enjoying the same thing! Oh, these kiddos. Let's just say they were in and out of this hot tub 8 times a day. John, Andrea and I managed 2 times a day - ha!
Alpaca Farm down the road from our rental house on San Juan Island. Very cute.
Hey, kids, how are those alpacas doing?
On to visit another shore for Orca Whale watching. Rocking climbing, tidal pool searching, whale and seal watching, what else was in store? Oh yes, a nice little hike and some ice cream! True vacation.
John
My sweeties...Zach and Gage
Love birds
Another beach visit on San Juan Island. The kids played and we sunned ourselves on the rocks, watching the sail boats.
It must be S'mores time...fire pit outside of our rental.
Not a bad view while eating S'mores
Sunset and S'mores
Of course, you can't have fire without kids wanting to play in it. Careful now.
Crab and star fish hunting. Oh, and that awful seaweed/snake looking thing. Kelp, right? It looks like a bull whip!
Outside the front of the rental house
Roche Harbor....checking out the crabs and the yachts. I fell in love with Roche Harbor and plan to go back someday.
Whose up for Spotted Prawns? That's dinner tonight!
We did a little Yacht touring while in Roche Harbor. Ah, too many to choose from and so little money:-) We didn't let that stop us from dreaming and enjoying the beautiful day.
Olivia looks right at home on 'her' yacht.
I can see these kids out on the open ocean on this yacht!
A sweet donut treat on the lawn of the harbor
Andrea....one happy mama!
Jen and Olivia
John and his many wives....poor guy had to deal with two of us, but he hung in there!
Yep, this is what Andrea threw together for dinner. I LOVE eating with her....all healthy and so scrumptous. More please, more please, more! Spotted Prawns and Crab...
Look what they found...a HUGE purple starfish. That is truly amazing. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to our little vacation spot on the San Juan Island, but we took a detour to see Destitution Pass in Washington on our way home. Look how beautiful this location is....they were even doing a photo shoot while we were there.
Bridge to Destitution Pass
Gorgeous views and even better weather
Do we really have to leave here? Oh, who am I kidding? We are STILL on vacation when we get back to Andrea and John's!
Headed to Andrea's cousin's house to feed their dogs. What do we have here? A trampoline, you say? Well, I think we can have some fun with this.
Olivia loves taking care of the dogs....and training them.
John was nice enough to treat them to ice cream...with all the toppings. The whipped cream ended up becoming a treat straight to their mouth. Say "ahhh" to some more whipped cream.
The Ulitsch's chicken coop. Now, where are those eggs, I'm hungry1
The Sunday after we arrived back from the San Juan's, we went white water rafting with Andrea's cousins. This was a first for my kids and guess what?! They loved it! Granted the water on the Snowqualmie River was extremely cold, but we survived. I didn't get in, but lucky Olivia was thrown in along with Ava and Andrea by one of the cousins. Ha...as long as it wasn't me. Zach was a brave man hitting the rapids. Gage...he didn't like it so much.
Look at that eager group ready for a rafting experience! I love Andrea's family.
She wasn't sure what she was getting in to, but ended up loving it. We'll definitely have to do the Delaware Gap sometime soon.
A BBQ rib feast after our exhausting rafting trip. It was mmm, mmm good. Nothing like a feast on the beach.
Andrea and one of her Baker cousins
It's almost time to say goodbye Issaquah, but we need a little watermelon to tide us over.
Saying goodbye to Molly is never easy. Hugs to our main squeeze.
Check out this watermelon crew!
So off we go to Seattle for the last two days of our trip. We made a return trip to Pike Place Market and low and behold, Zach remembered the car shop there. Yes, we bought him a car:-)
Lunchbox Laboratory warranted a return visit. The GF hamburger was calling my name. Of course, the kids like to play upstairs on the games.
Pike Place Market....checking out the fish and the throwing of the fish
Outside Pike Place....with our yummy jams.
It's been a wonderful two weeks in the Pacific Northwest. We had to say goodbye, but I'm sure we'll be back again and again. It holds too many dear memories and people to let it go without a visit for long. So long for now..... New Jersey and Lake Martin are calling our names.
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