To Washington We Will Go: Time with Friends and Family

Our second week in Washington, we spent time visiting with friends and family.  We had a couple of days with the Shevitzes that included wild rumpeses and late night chats.  The kids were just as happy to have time to hang with our framily as we were!  At the end of our visit with them, Josh, Ben and I were able to drive up to Hannah's summer camp and home-away-from-home, Camp Kalsman, to drop her off for her three-week summer stay.  What a lovely place!

After that, we headed to the McKenzie Hobbit Hole for dinner with Uncle Wayne, Dave and Sheri before leaving the boys with Nana and Papa for "Seattle Tourist" Nana Camp (which will have its very own post).  And then Adam and I sat around staring at the walls and missing the boys.  Ha!  Really, we spent three enjoyable days at the Conlin Casa.  Adam had to get in some work and I got a mani/pedi with the sisters and Ma and visited Glassy Baby without small, curious hands and teenagers with soccer balls in tow (two good reasons for why Adam had to work).  We also ate a lot of good food and saw many great movies!

Our last full day in Washington, we got the gang back together and took the boys to see The Secret Life of Pets and then to a great park next to the Franklins' house so the boys could spend a little more time playing with their cousins.  It's always hard to take these guys back to Colorado and away from their extended family!  We miss them the minute we drive away. 

As ever, time in the Northwest with our Washington tribe was a highlight of our year!  It's always so sad to leave.

To Washington We Will Go: Conlin Cabin

The week following the Fourth was spent relaxing at our Most Beloved and Best Happy Place.  It was a cooler week than it has been the last few years, and I hadn't packed our bags for such cold, rainy weather, but it didn't stop the boys from swimming off and on all day long, as they usually do, so long as they could huddle in front of the heaters inside the cabin for a bit following a swim.

While Adam was a good dad and did some chilly swimming with his boys too, there was only one day when the sun came out enough to convince me to swim--and it wasn't for long. 

This was the summer of the paddleboard headstand/handstand tricks, which made for some fun photos!
 
Ben joined me for my annual run around the lake for the first time this year.  It was a long run, but we took it slow and it was so nice to have my favorite running buddy alongside me.     

And of course we found a lot of entertaining and relaxing activities to do inside.  The boys were just so happy to be with their cousins, it didn't matter much what they did from chilly swimming to paddleboarding and kayaking to fruitless fishing off the dock to Knex to Disney movies

It was such a wonderful week with our people!. 

Braid train!

Twinners!

Our minions helping with our dinner night.

Luke finds his peaceful place.

Taking a ride in the Cabin's new toy: the paddleboat!

LOVE

I love how much Adam admires and respects his dad.  He loves to just sit and talk and get his input.

Glass.

Brothers...sheesh.

STP training ride with Dad on the Centennial Trail!

7 miles!  Wow!

Sibling stand.

My favorite.

Serious conversations with Grandma.

Tommy finally jumped off the top of the boathouse again!

Cousin cabin K'nex creations.

Swimming in the POURING rain!

Watching from the dry places.

Happy birthday, Ryan!

An intense game of LCR.

COUSINS!!