Our Summer Road Trip to Middle Earth and Back Again...

Our BIG summer vacation plans consisted of a two week road trip through seven states (yes! 7! CO, WY, UT, ID, OR, WA, MT) with lots of pit stops along the way to see what we could see. It was a slow burn (as my Dad would say)-- starting on Friday night when the kids and I picked Jon up from work around 6:30 p.m. We decided we'd let the kids fall asleep and then drive as long and as far as we could while they were sleeping. Around 2 a.m. the next morning we rolled into the Best Western in Evanston, WY, where Jon and I both hit the sack for a few hours!

That just left another 5 hours or so to get to Boise-- our stopping point for Saturday night. First things first, my kids went right from the car to Grandma Joanie's pool! We met up later with my parents at "The Habit," a new burger bar in town and got dinner and then headed back to their house for an impromptu bubble and firework show. We found out that fireworks were illegal in Washington state, so the kids begged us to light 'em off before we left.

 

 Oh yeah! Waking up the neighborhood! It doesn't get dark in Boise until around 10 p.m. so this picture is deceiving. It was hard to convince my kids that it was indeed time for bed after this.  

Even Elizabeth wanted to be a party animal and not go to bed until 11. Here she is enjoying the firework show safely on Grandpa's lap. But she's so cute we'll give her a pass!

Sunday morning we attended Sacrament meeting in my parents' ward, and then headed the final 6 hours up to Washington (making 18 hours of driving total). They were kind enough to let Taylor come stay the night, as he's working this summer in Seattle doing an internship at Moss Adams. The plan on Monday (July 4th) was to go boating, but the day dawned windy and chilly! So instead we went with plan B and took a picnic up to Rimrock Lake along the Tieton river.  

My kids were so happy to see Uncle Beans. He is fun, and funny, and constantly entertaining-- and Zach follows him around like a puppy or as he says, "Taylor's minion."  Despite the cold weather we had a blast picnicking at the lake.  

Grandma had packed us a yummy lunch of sandwiches on homemade bread, and with this beautiful view to help us celebrate "America the Beautiful's" birthday, how could you go wrong? Even if the girls did choose to eat in the trunk, to help block out the wind!

Lizzie dressed up in her best 4th of July attire. What a cute little firecracker!

That afternoon Grandma and Grandpa babysat the kids so Jon, Taylor, and I could go see the new "Independence Day" movie. Although it was bit of a dud, we figured it was still an appropriate activity to help us appreciate our freedom from aliens.

Before heading to dinner that night Taylor led the children on an impromptu patriotic parade! God Bless America!

HAPPY 4th of JULY from Selah, WA, 2016

Dinner that night was at the legendary Miner's in Union Gap. It's definitely on our list of favorites, and one of the places we have to visit while we are in town. 

Taylor attempted the Double Miner (and the normal sandwich is already huge!!), plus an order of onion rings and a huge Banana Cream milkshake, but failed on accomplishing his mission of finishing all three. Maybe next time. Continuing on in our theme-- what's more American than hamburgers for dinner??

To cap the night off, we took Taylor to Meadowbrook for some Go-Carts and batting cages, which was totally an adventure. Jon drove Leah, Taylor drove Zach, and Lucy drove all by herself and it was one mean competition on the speedway, with Taylor and Zach coming in first! 

Zach got to show off his baseball batting skills to his leader Taylor, which was probably the highlight of his month. 

That night we watched the fireworks from Grandma and Grandpa's backyard before Taylor had to head back to Seattle for work. We had SUCH a fun Independence Day, which was jam-packed with Americana and patriotic activities-- and we loved getting to spend it with family.  

The rest of the week was a whirlwind of fun and activities for the kids! This is Lucy working on one of many, many sewing projects supervised by Grandma (this one was a skirt). She is a natural. I'm so glad Grandma can help her with something I am totally not good at-- and "Lucy the Crafter" just soaks it all up.

These lucky kids got big home cooked breakfasts of pancakes and waffles just about every morning out on the back patio. Talk about spoiled! 

Leah loved playing on the swing in the backyard. I can remember the last time we were there and she was just a baby using the baby swing. Time sure flies... 

Grandma said Lucy wanted to do a painting project, and decided to do it outside so she could enjoy the view at the same time. Smart thinking! The other two eventually came out and joined her for her outdoor painting party.

Leah found Grandma's fairy garden in the backyard and would wander outside to play with the fairies whenever she got the chance. 

Such a perfect little spot for an imaginative 3-year old to play! 

Chef Zach-O helped Grandma whip up some cream puffs for dessert one night. Let's just say, if it's made of sugar and tastes good, Zach is always game to help! 

While the kids were being entertained and spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa, Jon and I (+ Elizabeth) snuck away for a little get-away of our own to Seattle for a night. Our first stop was to Pike Market for some lunch. I love that place!

I think the produce stalls are so beautiful. They are so colorful and vivid and I love walking past row after row of them while we're searching for the next thing to eat. 

We hit it at peak time-- it was noon and the lunch rush, so after wandering by long line after long line we finally settled on a strawberry and Nutella crepe. We were starving! Elizabeth was totally ready to dive into that whipped cream! It was yummy, but merely an appetizer. 

Most of the lines had settled down a little by 1 p.m., so we didn't have to wait too long for some homemade "squeaky cheese" from Beecher's, and then some delicious piroshkies from Piroshky, Piroshky which features one of Whitney's favorite Russian foods. After our cheese and onion piroshky, this "Oscar Star" totally took the cake and won the day for the best thing we ate at the market that afternoon. 

We ordered our food and then walked down to the pier to eat it. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon with blue skies and lots of sunshine. The "Seattle Grunge" were out in force. 

After lunch we walked over to the Space Needle and the Chihuly Art Museum. I wasn't sure what to expect, but since it was rated the #1 thing to do on TripAdvisor we paid the price of admission and were dazzled by all we saw! It's a museum that features free-blown glass and sculpture works by Dale Chihuly (a Pacific Northwest native) and it was super unique! 

The colors were incredible! Each room featured a new and brighter art installation from the next-- and it was TOTAL eye candy. 

The sunlight streaming in through the roof made this whole room glow pink and orange. I think Elizabeth liked it, don't you? 

Gorgeous! He had lots of oceanic themes and the things he was able to make out of blown glass are certainly one-of-a-kind. 

Jon and I were both really glad we checked it out. 

After you walk through the indoor galleries, you head outdoors to where there are more sculptures literally just underneath the Space Needle. Talk about a cool location and it was totally Seattle! 

After the museum it was time to meet up with Taylor after his day of working hard at his internship. We met him at his dorm room little tiny studio apartment, and he showed us the amazing view from the roof of Puget sound. He is totally living it up in Seattle this summer. 

He took us to Paseo, a local Caribbean hole-in-the-wall with amazing pork sandwiches. Holy cow! That was one yummy sandwich! 

Jon and I decided to share one, since we were still a little full from lunch. I think it's safe to say Jon enjoyed his half. 

Next Taylor took us over to Gas Works Park which is a cool kind of "hipster" park along the waterfront with lots of recreational things to do and incredible views of the water. This is Lizzie playing the part of "Tiny Tim." 

How about that for an amazing view?? I love how you can just see the Space Needle poking over Jon's shoulder.

We capped the night off with a little dessert at "Pie," a little shop with just that-- lots of pie. We tried key-lime and it was super yummy. We dropped Taylor back off at home and then headed to our hotel for the night. 

Jon got dibs on what we'd do the next day, so he picked the Museum of Flight at Boeing field and it was very much up his alley. We started outside looking at all of the old, retired planes, like this real-life WWII Boeing bomber. I loved how they had an homage to women here as well-- apparently this is where "Rosie the Riveter" was born. Just your average, everyday women stepping up and drilling in rivets right here at Boeing Airfield back in the 1940's. 

We also got to check out this retired Concord, which was able to fly from London to New York in almost exactly 3 hours, making aviation history just like that. 

"Now this is a cool plane"- said Jon as we walked up to this guy. A Tomcat, like the one flown in the movie "Top Gun." 

After Jon had walked inside and looked at all of the cool planes they stored outside, we went inside to the MASSIVE indoor exhibits. You could spend all day and still not see everything. They had a whole section on NASA, and I was amazed how many astronauts came from Washington!

My favorite part of the museum was the section on airplanes used in WWI and WWII. I could have gotten lost in there for hours! So many amazing stories of real-life heroes and bravery that knew no bounds. Some of the stories we read about the pilots and dog-fighters gave me chills-- they truly were "The Greatest Generation." 

An overlook of the WWII section of historical planes. 

One of the first planes used in battle during WWI. It was pretty neat to think that we'd been at Kitty Hawk, NC just last year where aviation was literally born-- and then got to see it come full circle through history in all of its glory! Through its many uses in warfare, travel, space exploration, and whatever else is next. I guess the sky's the limit! (ha ha)  

We finished up at the museum around 2 p.m. (and honestly my little Air Force captain could have stayed another 3 hours), but we headed back downtown to meet Taylor one last time for lunch. We picked Ivar's, and while Jon and I were boring and just shared the fish and chips, Taylor tried some raw oysters for the first time. A true taste of the sea! 

We bid farewell to Taylor, loaded baby Elizabeth into the car (who had been a true trooper), and made the rainy drive back home to Selah. That drive is so beautiful through those mountains with the mist and the rain, and everything being so green. 

The kids of course had done great with Grandma and Grandpa, and sadly we were down to just one day left of our vacation. Jon, Zach, and Grandpa left to go to the shooting range first thing Friday morning. Zach was old enough to shoot a gun-- so it looks like he's fired one even before me!

That night we had a delicious backyard barbecue with salmon and potatoes, which we finished off with s'mores and ice cream sundaes for dessert. I don't know about you, but I think these two are definitely related. 

And this view!! I don't think I'd ever get sick of that. I'm not sure you can beat sitting outside with this as your backdrop on just your average Friday night.  

Saturday morning it was time to pack up and head the 6 hours back to Boise. Jon had to fly out Sunday morning to be back in time for work. The kids had the best time ever playing and relaxing at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Washington. They made so many amazing memories! This picture is one of my favorites from our trip. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa C for a wonderful first half to our summer vacation! We sure can't wait to come back!