Wild, Wild, West-- Washington First!

We just got home from a MONSTER trip back West where we visited family and friends and basically got our year's worth of love and support before coming back to the lonely ol' South. Although we started in Idaho, we'll start the blogging marathon in Washington, since I got lazy and didn't take any pictures while home and have to wait to steal them off my mom's blog.  Jonathan flew into Boise to meet me and the kids on Sunday, July 28th, and our adventure begins there!  

 We got to Washington where we were met by Jon's brother Jeremy and his wife Kylene, and their two children Sophie (2 1/2) and Isaac (6 mos.) who flew in from New Mexico, and whom we hadn't seen in TWO years!! It was about time we rendevous-ed with them, plus we got to see Grandma and Grandpa Cardon who had a week's worth of fun activities planned for us!

 First up, a trip to Leavenworth, WA where we enjoyed the beautiful weather, even more beautiful scenery, and scarfed down delicious brats with sauerkraut. Jon had a blast catching up with his brother and talking shop, while the kids were in cousin heaven!

 After lunch we strolled through the different shops and relaxed in the shade while Zachary entertained us with his crazy antics. It was a great first day to our vacation!

 Willkommen to Leavenworth! If you ever get a chance to visit, it comes highly recommended.

 The whole Cardon gang all together for the first time since we spent the 4th of July in Cedar City in 2011, I believe. It has been waaay too long! We are just itching to move closer to these guys in a few years. We stopped at El Caporal for dinner on the way home, which is by far one of our favorite authentic Mexican restaurants we visit every time we're back West.   

 That night before bed all five cousins got in the tub for a little "relaxing" soak. I think it was more wild than relaxing though. Can you believe how much hair little Isaac has?!? Zach was absolutely enamored with him-- he is just thrilled to finally have a boy cousin with a "noodle" (his nickname for his manly parts) like him.:) He even admitted he'd happily trade Lucy or Leah for Isaac.

 Tuesday morning we headed off bright and early to Mt. Ranier National Park to visit the Grove of the Patriarchs and have a picnic. The forest was BEAUTIFUL, and featured some of the oldest and largest trees in the Washington Cascades.  

 The kids had a blast on the easy hiking trail, and we got to cross the Ohanapecosh river (I love all the crazy names in Washington!) on a little suspension bridge which was a lot of fun. Many of the trees have fallen over, and you can really see how enormous the trunks are. I think some of them even date back to the time of Christ. 

 It was especially fun for Jonathan because he was revisiting his old stomping grounds when he worked summers for the Forest Service in these mountains to help pay for college. The drive up from the Naches valley was incredible! No wonder mountain-manning is in his blood. Leah liked it too!

 That is one monster tree!! It's even beginning to outgrow the boardwalk they've built around it.  

 It took all eleven of us touching hands to surround the trunk. Zach called them the "dinosaur trees."

 After a delicious picnic lunch, we headed further up the mountain to see the volcano, which Zach and Lucy were very concerned might "kaplode" (explode) at any moment. This is a view of the Devil's Horns (I think) from the visitor's center.

 The greenery and wild flowers combined with that massive volcano in the background was just breathtaking! In all the times I'd visited Washington I'd never been so I was really glad to see it.

 Pretty impressive! And thankfully, it never did "kaplode."

 That night for dinner we met at Miner's, which is probably Jon's all-time favorite hamburger joint. It's a mean burger, but I'm partial to the onion rings which feature local sweet onions from Walla-Walla. YUM!

 The next couple of days we spent hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's house, playing with toys, watching movies, going shopping, and playing outside in the backyard on the new swing Grandpa built.

 Wednesday night we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores and homemade ice cream for dessert, while enjoying the beautiful view of Selah in the background.

 Each morning the kids were spoiled with a huge breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and sausage outside on the patio. Grandma makes really yummy whole wheat pancakes with fresh blueberries! I think Zach's record was four at one sitting.

 Jon, Jeremy, Grandpa, and Zach had a guy's outing Thursday morning when they went to the shooting range to test out Grandpa's guns.

 Even Zach got in on the action and fired a few rounds, and was a crack shot according to Jon. I'm not sure who had more fun that morning-- Jon or Zach!

 That afternoon we went on a family date with Jeremy and Kylene to the Family Fun Center in Yakima and had a blast riding the Go-Karts and playing arcade games. Lucy hitched a ride with Jon, while Zach got stuck with yours truly.

 She did get to drive her own Bumper Boat though, which was kind of scary and exhilarating at the same time. I had to keep reminding her, "You know how to swim Lucy!" because she was scared she might fall in. 

 They were SOAKED by the end of their turn (thanks to Auntie Kylene's very accurate trigger finger), and as you can see Lucy wasn't too thrilled about it. Poor Luce.

 At least she had time to dry out while playing a round of miniature golf. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Jeremy and Kylene, and the cousins had a blast earning prizes at the arcade!

Friday morning things just got better and better, and was hand's down the kids' favorite day when they got to ride on Grandpa's boat. We headed to Wanapum Dam despite some nearby forest fires and iffy weather-- and managed to have a fantastic day. Grandpa hooked the inner tube onto the boat and towed Lucy and Zach for many, many moons until they'd had enough-- or so we thought, because even on the ride home they still fought over who got to go first next time!

 Lucky Mr. Jon was the designated rider and was a good sport while Lucy and Zach had their fill, and kept them all from swamping and taking a dive into the cold water. We had the lake to ourselves and got some prime beach real estate to picnic at.

Despite the many bees who tried to crash the party, we still managed to have a yummy picnic lunch, after which the babies ate more sand, the little ones splashed in the water, and Jon showed off his pretty awesome muscles, er, I mean wake boarding skills. His Quote of the Day: "The old man's still got it." Leah even got to ride on the boat, and refused to sit on my lap for it, but wanted to stand with her face to the wind just like the little puppy she is.

 All too soon Jeremy and Kylene had to fly back home on Saturday afternoon, so before we wished them goodbye, we got a picture of the two newest little ones born just four months apart, both named after Jon's dad Phillip Gene Cardon--  baby Isaac Phillip, and baby Leah Gene. They couldn't be named after a better role model!

We spent the rest of the weekend enjoying each other's company and eating all of Grandma's yummy food-- and mom and dad even squeezed in a date or two! The kids especially soaked up the extra love and attention. I can't even tell you how nice it is to visit! I feel like whenever my kids are around their grandparents they just blossom-- especially my little Zach who is kind of shy and awkward (like me). He loves his grandparents so much and just worried every day that it would be time to go back home. Whenever we'd get in the car to go somewhere he'd ask me, "Are we going back to North Carolina now?" And when I'd reassure him "No, we are still staying at Grandma's house," he'd let out this huge sigh of relief. I'm so thankful Jon's parents are so patient and loving with our kids-- they really have such a special bond with them, and it just makes visiting them that much more memorable. Lucy, and now Zach, literally look forward to it all year! We can't wait to go back...