Saturday, August 23, 2014

Summer Activities in Washington

Summers in Washington are amazing! Beautiful weather, so many activities that you can't possibly do everything, tons of family time with my parents and sisters, a bountiful amount of gluten free food options for the kids and it is easily my favorite time of the year. The summers rejuvenate us as a family and helps us get through the rest of the year in Saudi. This summer was no different!

We visited our favorite Thursday night music in the park and loved being able to walk to it from our house!

We also found another music in the park on a different night and actually found this one to be our favorite one and we looked forward to it every week. Great music, great time with family and beautiful scenery!



My biggest worry  going into the summer with a new baby was that we would become so busy with family time and house projects that we wouldn't enjoy and cherish these early months with Shiloh. I was so worried that we would look back and not remember her early months and it be a blur like unfortunately it was with Graham. But I kept reminding myself it was a vacation and not a move and to slow down and it was amazing! I also went into the summer saying that I was going to enjoy the summer, enjoy food, enjoy wine….allow Shiloh to have bottles, and not worry about getting into shape ….my purpose that summer was to relax, take in this new baby and rejuvenate and it was amazing!


I spent so many mornings laying in bed with her, cuddling her and we loved being home with Shiloh! We were able to watch family bond with her and John had four weeks of uninterrupted time to bond with her! At the end of it we realized that John was able to have five total weeks between the week he took off when she was born and our vacation to bond with Shiloh in her first twelve weeks! It was wonderful! 


I wore Shiloh everywhere in the carrier, and enjoyed so many mornings and days of just being me and her wandering around farmer's markets and antique shops and bonding with Shiloh and often without the distraction of the other two. Our summer really was the most perfect thing for us. 



One downside to a Washington summer is that towards the end of July and early August it gets hot…and although high 80's is not hot in comparison to Saudi…it is when there is no AC. Many houses don't have AC and our old 1920's home does not! Which meant some MISERABLE days! It was so bad one day we called to get a quote for an AC unit and after hearing an obscene number and being told it would mean giving up half of our already small master closet space we decided that would not be an option. Next year we will invest in a portable AC unit to use upstairs but for this summer we spent days outside in the pool playing and just surviving the five day long heat wave!

Look at this cute baby!!! 

One afternoon we took a trip on the ferry to Friday Harbor on the San Juan Islands! We walked on the ferry and spent the afternoon walking around the town, exploring and taking in the sites. My little sister was in town from Texas so it was a great weekend together and great family time. The kids always love riding the ferry!








Friday Harbor is such a cute town with lots of little stores to wander around and explore. We would love to explore the San Juan islands more and will be planning a camping trip as soon as Shiloh is older. 




Since my little sister was in town, my family wanted to do as much as possible and so the very next day they went on a whale watching tour. I was pretty sure a little baby on a boat for the whole day sounded like a horrible idea so Shiloh and I stayed home and John went with my family and the big kids. I was worried that they would get bored or not see anything close enough to understand what they were looking at but apparently that day was one of the best sightings that even the tour company has seen in a long time. There were tons of whales, all very close and it was a great day.


At one point, Peyton asked my mom why would they have whales at the zoo when this is where they are supposed to be. I am so thankful that we are able to give our kids these opportunities to take in nature, experience the things they do and I love that Peyton saw the injustice that captivity brings to these whales. A great day for them! I look forward to the day we can all go together and experience it.

The next big part of our trip was a family trip away to the coast…..

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