Bellingham: Day 7,8, and 9

We had another fun day going out to Deception Pass and stopping at La Conner on the way back. Deception pass has such a grandeur about it, but it was a little bit tricky with babies. We walked halfway across the bridge and then my mom panicked because she was afraid one of them might fall. There was a half marathon happening and people kept running past us. Still absolutely beautiful, though. 

 We stopped at our favorite La Conner restaurant, The Calico Cupboard. Love these ladies.

 One thing you have to know about Washington. People are crazy about their pets and they bring them everywhere. Several times we ran into people who, without us asking said proudly, "she may pet the dog," like it was a special honor. Funny people.

 To say Em was spoiled on this trip would be an understatement. It was kind of ridiculous, to tell you the truth. By the end of the trip, she didn't want anything to do with me because I was the only one telling her "no". After we ate at Fiamma burger, Steph said she would zip over to Mallard to get an ice cream to get another ice cream. Next thing we know, they walk out and Em has her very own ginormous strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone. She looked so darn proud and kept holding it up like a trophy.

We did have plenty of whining. Plenty. Our {drunk} waiter at the Chuckanut Manor restaurant was trying to be cute with her and give her lots of attention, and she got mad and through a salad plate on the floor. Oh boy. In this photo above, we all joined in on the crying.

 That Chuckanut Manor was so quaint with a beautiful view of the marshy bay.

 We took a nice stroll on the South Bay Trail the day we left. I love seeing all the locals out running and walking their dogs. You can't beat that sea breeze either.

  By the time we left, it was HOT, at least for Bellingham. It was probably only 85 or so, but with the humidity, it felt toasty for the Northwest. After a 10 day trip, we were ready to head home and I was grateful that we were all surviving and still having fun.

"I wanna hold the baby deeeeeeeer!" she kept saying when we spotted dear around town.

Emme didn't sleep the way home, but she still did pretty well. When we got home, I just kept commenting on how comfortable and light our house is. I missed home a lot without fully realizing it. We had a memorable first family trip. Such fun memories!

Bellingham: Day 5 and 6

 On Day 5, my family flew in. We were so excited to show them Bellingham. My family can be a little bit particular about traveling, though, so we were a little bit jittery too. Emme was over the moon to have them there. When we picked them up at the airport, Steph had her arms outstretched and she ran right past her to Nana, haha.

The next morning, we went to Fairhaven and did some window shopping. This place has charm.

 Loved this little quote in Fairhaven's little bookstore. My thoughts exactly.

We hung out at this toy store and had plenty of fun without buying a thing. They loved us, I'm sure.

Next, it was on to Whatcom Falls. My family started to see the real charm of Bellingham. And this is me, trying to pose gracefully with my kids near the edge of the cliff Shaye used to jump off of into the pond beneath. In my mind I must have been imagining the perfect Instagram post.

The next day, we took everyone to The Stimpson Family Nature Reserve. It is one of our favorite spots and the lush forest just never gets old. I'm still amazed by the moss growing on tree trunks and the sound of the bull frogs in the pond. Everything is just so green and smells magical.

Later, we took the kayaks down to Lake Whatcom. I've never done that before, but it was so much fun! Nana even took Emme on a little ride singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". 

We didn't bring Em a swimsuit because we were sure it would be too cold for her to swim, but she jumped in in her diaper anyway. In some ways, this simple time at the AM/PM beach on Lake Whatcom was the best part of the trip. :)

Bellingham: Day 3 and 4

 Our third full day in Bellingham, we went on an adventure. I always feel proud of us when we go out and do a real excursion, especially this time, when we were carting two babies around. First we met up with Skyler and Jamie and made the 90 minute drive to Seattle. It was a bit rainy, but we weren't too worried. We went to the Woodland Park Zoo in the morning. The first few hours were magical, just watching the wonder on Emme's face.

Like just about everywhere we went on this trip, I had Hudson in the baby carrier. He felt more comfy to me than he looks here. Poor guy--haha.

The whole crew. It was definitely a fun time at the park.

For lunch we were to a French bakery in Pike's place. It was crazy busy and I can't believe we even got seats. The Jamón y Burré sandwiches were good and the macarons were even better. It was fun to get the Pike's place experience.

We just had to stop by the notorious Gum Wall since we were so close. Seattle is fascinating. It's got such a weird, edgy vibe. I love going places and just soaking in the ambiance. We were only there for a quick daytrip, but we definitely got a little dose.

So, because Skyler and Jamie are just the salt of the earth sort of people, they INSISTED on taking our babies so we could go to dinner for our anniversary (9 years!). They really are the type of people that do the kindest things and just act like it's no big deal. We went into this hole in the wall Indian place, and then met them at Mallard Ice Cream after.

Skyler captured Emme terrorizing her older cousin while they watched our kids at Chuck E Cheese's. I just love this sequence...

That is just an expression I know all too well. "I got my way." Oh man.

We were pretty tired after our big day in Seattle, so the following day, we just relaxed and regrouped. I snapped this pic of Hudsie, but besides that we spent the day in the park and walking around Lake Louise, just enjoying the quiet.

Bellingham: Day 1 and 2

On May 30, we embarked on quite the adventure. Our first family trip (notice that I'm not using the word "vacation," as it would be a misnomer in this case!).

We started off by driving to Vegas. I had to wedge myself between their two car seats, but all was fine. I had packed meticulously, and I was pretty sure we were going to be all right. Shaye dropped us off at the airport and I snapped this photo to send to my mom to show her that all was well...and then Shaye got lost and couldn't find the parking garage. He called me wanting directions without really knowing where he was, and then things pretty much fell apart when Emme threw a tantrum and tried to run away from me and Hudson started screaming. I definitely lost my cool and we hadn't even boarded the plane yet. Oh dear...

Contrary to my fears, however, the plane wasn't all that bad. Probably because of her early antics, Em fell asleep an hour or so into the flight woke up when we were landing. I had to nurse Hudson a few times, but it wasn't too bad.

We landed in the evening and grocery shopped and settled into our rental. The next day we had all to ourselves. Skyler and Jamie weren't to arrive until the next day and my family wasn't due for another few days after that. We enjoyed the park on Lake Whatcom in the marina where there were these ginormous swings. Em just loved it.

Later we walked around our beloved Lake Louise. 

We gathered wild raspberries. They're pretty tart, but we don't mind. Emme was immediately a fan!

 My face says it all here. Bellingham, and especially lake Louise, is a zen place for me.

 And let me just tell you, the smell here is amazing. You can just smell all of the trees, thousands of them! And there are little ducks playing in lilly pads. It all just makes my heart happy.

I could tell right away that Shaye was going to love showing Emme his childhood delights of this place.

 The next day Skyler and Jamie got in and we got to see their fun bungalow in Fairhaven. The neighborhood was maybe a little sketchy, but the place couldn't have been cuter. Shaye had some work to do, and so we hung out here for a few hours. Emme explored with Landon and Shayden and we adults and Hudson laid around and talked. It was drizzling out and rather cool. Just how we like it.

A bit later we ventured into town and took a little drive north to Birch Bay. It was cool and windy, but still very fun. Emme had never seen the ocean before. She definitely had fun, but she thought the shells and seaweed were a little bit gross too.

This is the face she gave me when I begged her to smile. Pretty sure she threw these seashells 5 seconds later.

We had tons of fun eating caramel s'mores and just laughing and being together. Skyler and Jamie are the funnest to travel with! This second day was so fun!