Family Time!

We are so happy to say that my sister Carrie and her two kids, Jared and Alyssa, chose to spend their summer vacation with us again. It was fabulous to see them and we had a great time! You might remember from reading about their visit last year that we packed a lot in to a little time. This vacation we took it a little easier.

They arrived on a Monday morning (8/18) early. Once back at the house they got settled and we went out for a bite of lunch at the Snohomish Pie Company. Afterwards we stopped at a nearby Kohl's (I had a coupon which expired that day) for a quick shopping trip. Once back at the house we spent the rest of the evening catching up, playing Wii and relaxing.

Tuesday morning we headed out to spend the day in Seattle. We parked at Seattle Center and rode the monorail to downtown where we walked Pike's Place and checked out the sights. After taking the monorail back to Seattle Center we had lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the Pacific Science Center. What a neat place this was - we could easily have spent an entire day looking at all the exhibits. That evening we rested and played more Wii.

Wednesday the weather report called for rain all day as the remnants of a typhoon made it's way in so we spent the day at home playing Wii and watching movies. It was really nice to have a day of relaxation!

Thursday Daryl took Alyssa and Jared fishing at our local lake near the house. They had a great time despite not catching anything. Hey, fishing isn't always about the catch! :-) Carrie and I stayed at the house for some much needed sister-catch-up-time. Once Daryl and the kids came back we had a nice afternoon of more Wii and movies before going out to dinner at 'The Flying Pig' in Everett.
Friday we loaded up the fishing boat and 2 kayaks and headed for Deception Pass where we set up camp to spend the day at Cranberry Lake. We all enjoyed a little cruising time on the lake, sun soaking and walks on the beach.
Saturday the weather report called for warm and sunny so off we went in the big boat! We cruised around to the other side of Whidbey Island and on our way over saw a Sea Lion snoozing on a buoy. As soon as we stopped the boat at our destination a small shark came to check us out, but disappeared quick and we didn't see him again the rest of the day. Once anchored in Useless Bay Daryl inflated our 9' raft for Alyssa and Jared to play around in. They both picked up rowing quite fast! Off in the distance for a good part of the day we could see porpoise playing around. After having some lunch we pulled out Uno and Trouble to play while Daryl napped. Both Alyssa and Jared braved the cold ocean water for a swim - Alyssa staying in longer than Jared. I put my feet in!! :-) That evening after getting the boat washed and put away Daryl grilled us up some fabulous cheeseburgers. We lit a fire and had smores before heading off to bed.

Sadly it was time for them to go home on Sunday morning. I always hate this part - I just wish you could stay forever. Until next time - thank you for coming to visit... we love you and miss you!!!!