The Drive

Saturday:
6:30 PM- Get dressed in PJs and load into the car
6:45 PM- Leave home
7:10 PM- Lily falls asleep as we hit I-5
7:50 PM- Megan tries to prop Lily's head up with a blanket so she sleeps better, Lily wakes up
8:00 PM- Lily alternates crying and staring out the window...not happy and not sleeping
8:55 PM- Lily's unhappiness increases, Megan jumps in the backseat, the car crosses over the bridge into Oregon, Lily throws up all over herself and car seat.
9:05 PM- Pull into Park and Ride to clean up Lily
9:20 PM- Back on the road, Megan in the backseat, Sadie in the front
10:30 PM- Lily still awake but getting sleepy so stop for gas so don't have to stop when she is asleep
Sunday
12:20 AM- Lily finally falls asleep after playing with her books, baby, and Megan's hair about five minutes before the rest stop Megan had been waiting for and not wanting to wake her up, we keep driving.
12:30 AM- Lily wakes up, rest stop in the past
12:50 AM- Lily finally falls asleep, but continues to wake up every 45 minutes or so needing to be reassured before falling back into a restless sleep, Megan dozes in the backseat
3:00 AM- Jeff and Megan switch spots so Jeff can rest
3:03 AM- Lily wakes up and is inconsolable, Megan pulls over to take Lily out of car to avoid another throw up
3:10 AM- Jeff continues driving while Megan sits in back with Lily
4:00 AM- Try to find an open convenience store to buy some coffee/energy drink: unsuccessful
4:30 AM- Pull into rest stop, Megan and Lily walk around, watch the sunrise, eat breakfast, get dressed, and play while Jeff takes a nap
6:00 AM- Jeff wakes up, walks around a bit and lets Sadie out
6:30 AM- On the road again
7:00 AM- Lily and Megan both fall asleep in the backseat
9:00 AM- Jeff stops for gas, Lily and Megan wake up
9:15 AM- Stop at a local park for breakfast #2 and play time
10:30 AM- On the road again, Lily plays "happily" in back seat with Megan, Sadie still sitting in front seat
11:45 AM- Stop at rest stop for break and lunch
12:30 PM- On the road again, Megan finally back in the front seat, Lily with her milk
12:40 PM- Lily falls asleep, Megan dozes, Jeff Drives
1:30 PM- Jeff and Megan do a quick trade off so Jeff can rest
2:00 PM- Megan take detour to avoid road work on I-5
2:45 PM- Detour ends, get back on I-5 just in time to see "road work ahead" signs
3:00 PM- Stuck in traffic, but Lily keeps sleeping
3:15 PM- Out of road work, headed toward the grapevine
3:45 PM- Stop for gas at top of grapevine, Jeff and Megan switch places, Lily wakes up
4:10 PM- Lily falls back asleep so we keep driving...and driving...and driving
6:00 PM- Arrive in Palm Springs in time for dinner!

Total sleep: Jeff- 2 hours; Megan- 2.5 hours, 3 hours dozing; Lily 4 hours dozing at night, 2 hours in AM, 5 hours in PM

After dinner it was early to bed for us. Thankfully, we all slept well that first night.

Packing

Lily had fun entertaining herself while Jeff and I were packing. She escaped out side, sitting on the little side table with daddy's hat, chewing on his headphones, and holding a lens from his sunglasses. She was so cute I couldn't help but take a few pictures.

Summer Fun

Lily found a new fun activity for the summer. She enjoys coloring her cheeks more than the sidewalk, but it's a start!

Summer Hike

We love to hike, especially in the summer. So when it was going to be 80* we decided to escape to the mountains for a simple hike to Lake Christine. Lily was dressed in summer gear ready for the heat, I wore my hiking sandals so I could wade into the lake, and Jeff wore swim shorts thinking he might jump in after our 5 mile hike. Much to our surprise, we found snow! So instead we went sledding...seriously!


The hike was much shorter (as we only made it to the first, smaller lake) and much more challenging then we anticipated. The snow hadn't melted yet, so we dug our feet in (remember my sandals...) to try to make footholds and hiked across the slick snow. The view was amazing. We hope to go back in late August, when the trail is thawed and more of what we expected, to actually enjoy the lakes and maybe hike all the way to the peak.

We tried to find a dry place to eat our picnic lunch with mild success.
The snow was a fun surprise. Even the dog enjoyed it!
Next time maybe we will find wildflowers, dry trails, and glistening lakes. And we learned an important lesson to be prepared for anything!

4th of July

Happy 4th of July!

To celebrate our nation's independence day, we started with a trip to Snoqualmie Ridge so we could be in a parade with Lily's cousins.

After the parade we enjoyed the sun and had some fun at the carnival.

Lily loved the bouncy house. We will have to look into doing this again soon!

She was not very happy when her turn was over, but enjoyed a picnic lunch with Boppo.

When we were done eating we were off to visit the animals in the petting zoo. Lily and Hudson were having a hard time waiting!

But once inside we got to pet several fun animals, many of which Lily has only read about or seen on her toys. Lily was a bit uncertain about touching the real thing, but enjoyed pointing and saying "hello" and "bye-bye" instead.

After a couple quick pictures, we headed home.

Our good friends Lucas and Sarah came over to enjoy some yard games, grilled goodies, and fireworks!

Jeff practiced his writing skills while I played with the settings on my camera. A very fun day of celebrations!

Megan's 30th

I don't feel any older, but according to the calendar I am now 30. Perhaps 30 isn't really that old after all.

My birthday celebration started Friday when my mom came down to take me out to tea. We went to the Secret Garden Tea House and enjoyed a special time together chatting, devouring delicious scones, and sampling many sweet and savory tea bites. I look forward to Lily being old enough to come and enjoy the experience with us next time. My dad made the time possible and enjoyed the afternoon babysitting all by himself!

On Saturday, Jeff and Lily made me a special breakfast with some of our favorite bread from Great Harvest. They sent me on a scavenger hunt to find clues for my present. A new kitchen table that Jeff has promised to build me. I am so excited for it! He has been dragging his feet for a while, but I think it is going to be a great addition to our kitchen.

Then we headed to the zoo! It was very busy and a little warm for the animals to be too active, but we had lots of fun.

Lily loved watching the Puffins cliff dive and swim!

Jeff has always loved birds of prey and enjoyed showing them to Lily.

For lunch we stopped and watched a little show in the outdoor theatre. We saw all sorts of animals running across the stage and were thrilled by huge birds flying right over our heads.

After lunch we explored a little bit more.

And stopped to play for a few minutes on the playground.

After the zoo, we drove to my parents where I enjoyed the rest of day sitting in the sun, enjoying their amazing view, and being spoiled with wonderful family time and great food! It was a great day to kick off my 30s. I am looking forward to many more great days to come!

Ducks!

Last Thursday we went out despite the drizzle to find some fun at DeCoursey Park.

Why DeCoursey park? All the ducks!Lily and Jeff had fun dropping bread crumbs off the bridges and tempting the ducks.
This was a cute family of ducks with their ducklings that enjoyed our snack. But it wasn't long until we were swarmed! Those ducks love their treats.

Lily loved watching the ducks swim around. She tried to call them to her (patting her knee like she calls Sadie) but they would only come close for bribes of bread crumbs.

And we took a little time to play on the playground before the rain really started.

Such is summer in the northwest!