Washington Trip

This summer, my little sister, Pamela, was getting married in Tacoma. So we decided to drive out and make kind of a longer trip, and spend some time with family! This trip was so nice for us! We had so much fun seeing everyone, and just hanging out!
We stopped in Yakima and stayed a few days with my parents. The kids loved that we were finally getting some extended time out of the car. They especially loved that there was a back yard they could just go play in without needing Mom or Dad with them!
After that we went on to Puyallup and spent some time with Isaac's family! Again, the kids absolutely loved the enclosed back yard, and they loved the legos! And we all really enjoyed just relaxing, playing games, and having fun!
Jacquelyn and Doug watched the kids so we could go to a Mariners game.

Of course, we went to my sister's wedding!

We went to Lincoln Park in Seattle, where Joslyn got to try out her new kite she got for her birthday!

We went to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium! The kids absolutely loved this! Especially the Aquarium and touching the sting rays and sharks!

Of course of all the things at the zoo, Dorian's favorite was the lady bug on the trash can! Can you find it?

And it's not a real trip to Washington, unless you go to Mt. Rainier!

Fun in the back yard, using hose connections as microphones!

On the way back to Minnesota, we got to spend a day with Joshua and Rebecca and their family. During the whole trip up to this point, every time we got in the car Joslyn would ask, "are we going to Agnes' house now?" She always has so much fun with her cousins! I didn't get any pictures, but we had a lot of fun. The sand dunes were such a big hit with the kids!

The next night we decided that instead of getting a hotel, we were going to camp. It was rough without enough sleeping bags for everyone, and no pillows, but the kids still thought it was great and had a really good time!

 

It was a long, and very fun trip. It was so fun to spend time with family, and really nice to spend time with just the four of us on the long drive. But we're glad to be back and be getting back into a routine again!

Joslyn's Birthday!

This post is really late! About a month ago, Joslyn turned 4! I can't believe how big she has gotten! She is so kind to other children, especially to Dorian. She always helps us (and other people at the play ground) understand what Dorian is saying, and she is always eager to help others. Recently she has said the wants to be a mom that is an astronaut, a doctor, and she wants a horse when she grows up! She loves to laugh and be silly, and she is such a great little singer! We sure love having her in our family!

This year Joslyn's birthday kind of went on for a whole month! She really wanted to have a birthday party with her friends in Minnesota before we went on our trip to Washington. So we made her a Lego Batman cake, and had some friends come and play!

Then on the day of her birthday, we were in Puyallup with Grandma and Grandpa Swift. So we had some family come over, and she got to have this beautiful cake that Grandma made! With a heart inside!

And some more birthday fun in Puyallup!

And then, because we forgot to bring her birthday presents to Washington with us, she got to have another birthday party when we got back to Minnesota! (Sans cake and ice cream this time.)