First Comes Love...

We attended our first concert as a family last weekend and had so much fun -DMB was the perfect band and the Gorge was ( obviously ) the perfect venue ✨

Boy is it hard carving out time for a long blog post these days.  This summer has been packed full of fun but this is the first opportunity I've had to share about our trip to New York. Late this spring Kevin was in the midst of planning two trips: a fishing trip to Alaska and hiking trip in The Enchantments (which we're actually packing for tonight!) With all his summer adventuring, he thought it would be fun for Abigail and I to plan a girl's trip.  The destination was easy - with Auntie Anne, Uncle Ian, and the cousin in Jersey + Godmother Susie in NYC it was a no brainer!

Happy Mother's Day, ladies! This year we celebrated with a trip to Suncadia for the weekend.  Kevin and the kids surprised me with this trip and after George's karate class on Saturday, we headed to Roslyn for a fun-filled 24 hours.

Kevin, the kids, and I got away last weekend to San Juan Island!

Kevin and I spent a week in Trocones, Mexico (a small beach town just 20 minutes North of Ixtapa) last month to celebrate a close friend's birthday.

Deciding last minute to take a trip to Croatia and Montenegro this summer was probably the most spontaneous thing we have done since becoming parents (and man, was it great!) A couple weeks before our anniversary we talked to Kevin's parents about babysitting for a week and were set on going to New Orleans.  We loved the idea of getting away to celebrate our anniversary, but airfare seemed expensive for what we were getting. This of course started a different conversation: why not spend that money on something bigger and better. After a talk with my parents about an additional week of babysitting, and without much more than a second of thought, we booked airfare to Dubrovnik! In all, we spent a little over two weeks traveling through Croatia and Montenegro - it was the first time in either country for both of us, so seeing it together added an additional layer of excitement. After arriving in Dubrovnik late the first night, we booked a room near the ferry terminal, then ...

We enjoyed a relaxing Labor Day weekend with close friends at a cabin on Lake Cavanaugh this year. Somewhat last minute, Kevin found a rental house on the lake and we spent three days and two nights playing in the water, relaxing on the dock, and enjoying great food and company.

We enjoyed another great 4th at Alderbrook this year! The daytime entertainment (live music, oyster eating contest, crafts for the kids) was wonderful, the fireworks show was amazing, and the parade the following morning was again a huge highlight for the kids (for Kevin too, who got to sing the Star Spangled Banner while standing next to Melinda Gates!) George loved running around on stage with the other boys and all three loved dancing to the music.  George, Ben, and Kevin even made a cameo in the local newspaper (although we have yet to receive copies). This is a tradition we hope to continue for a long time! Here are some pictures from this year:

I'm finally getting around to the Disneyland post.  It was crazy timing with our trip planned the day after Mother's Day, and it seems summer started as soon as we got back, but I'm here at long last. Being a crazed fan of surprises I knew I wanted to surprise the kids with this trip.  It was a bit much putting the kids down Mother's Day evening then spending the night packing, wrapping a surprise box, and getting everything ticked off the to-do list, but I honestly love nothing more. We farmed off both Mabel and Ben the night before, so Monday morning we asked the kids to sit in the living room while we brought them a surprise.  With one of them on both sides of the box they opened it and out popped a Mickey Mouse balloon!

We spent a week in Puerto Morelos, Mexico with the Claytons last week and had such a great time! We stayed at Excellence Riviera Maya , just 2 miles from town and enjoyed a week of relaxing, drinking, eating, and exploring. We were about 45 minutes from Cancun, and while we didn't venture up that far, Kevin and I really enjoyed spending time in Puerto Morelos.  It's a charming little fishing village; touristy enough for my infamous shopping addiction, but perfectly local enough for great fare, a chance to meet wonderful locals and ex-pats, and wander around this cool beach town taking it all in. The resort was great, too.  It was an all inclusive with lots of really good restaurants, friendly staff, an amazing spa (we did hydro-therapy a handful of times), a great swim up bar, and a beautiful beach out front. Here are some pictures from the week: It was a great week and the perfect chance to r...

Kevin and I are back from a wonderful weekend in Vancouver! Kevin's company hosts a weekend called Vamoose every year for their employees and spouses and this year it was in Vancouver, BC.  We enjoyed a nautical themed weekend at The Westin Bayshore with a hosted dinner both nights, and fun with friends on Saturday. Here are some pictures, if you'd like to see The view from our room Drinks at the hotel bar's patio I finally met baby Rorik! Taking our traditional Steph and couples picture  Shopping and relaxing Saturday morning Boating with Steph, Graeme, and Rorik! It was so nice to get away for a weekend and recoup, but now we're back and hitting the ground running; the boy's birthdays are Thursday and Friday. (wish me luck in the sanity department!)

Back on Valentine's Day , we decided that before Baby 3 makes his way into the world, a week away would be essential. We love Maui and have so many great memories there, but we wanted to try something new and had been curious about Kaua'i. It was beautiful! Aptly named the Garden Isle, we were surrounded by jungle-like vegetation, Jurassic worth mountain peaks, and complete with an overdose of wild chicken! We left Seattle early Friday morning and returned the following Saturday.  Having 8 nights away was such a luxury and helped us really settle into relaxation-mode. Highlights include a boat ride up the Napali Coast, renting a beach bungalow for a few days to relax by the ocean, lots of great meals (the Grand Hyatt patio, Tortilla Republic, The Dolphin, The Crack, and Shrimp Factory being among our favorites), and a drive to the Waimea Canyon. While there, Kevin got familiar with iMovie and put together this little video: Also, here are some (out of order) ...