Boston sleeping in the car
Brayden keeping himself entertained with dressing up in Daddy's stuff
We left Saturday (the 20th) at about 2:30 PM. We only had to stop 3 times during the whole trip and those were for gas/restroom breaks. We arrived in Ellensburg about 12:30/1:00 AM (WA time). We walked in and it was a total surprise to my mom. The boys then decided it was a good time to wake up and wanted to play for a while. We finally settled in for bed around 2:30 AM, just to wake up by 6:30. Needless to say, we were a little tired on Sunday.
Playing while watching cartoons
Grandma showing Brayden how to play pinball on the computer
Chris & Mike watching hunting
Boston trying to catch snow in his mouth
Uncle Mike took the boys horseback riding
Boston's 1st time riding a horse. He loved it and wanted to ride the horses everyday. Unfortunately it was snowy and cold so this was the only time he got to ride.
Monday we woke up and headed over Snoqualmie Pass to Issaquah. Wow was that a nightmare. We went about 35 miles the whole way up and over the pass. For those in Washington, you know what that is like.
Our drive
The snow in Issaquah made it a nightmare to drive so we spent the whole time basically at the house. For all those who say it only rains in Washington, here is the picture of the snow (which honestly doesn't happen often) and the SUN! Yes it was sunny, but COLD!
Brayden wanted to sled but Grandpa didn't have a sled, so he improvised. He came up with the "redneck" sled which was sitting on a shovel and holding the handle up. It was a pretty funny thing to watch.
While we were there I was able to bake some cardamom bread with Brayden. He loved helping me out kneeding, and boy did it turn out yummy!
Tuesday Grandpa, Grandma & Daddy took Brayden up the hill to some family friends to go sledding on their hill (in an actual sled..LOL). Brayden LOVED it even though we didn't have any snow clothes. We had left them all at Grandmas because we never thought there would actually be snow in Issaquah. Oh well, they made due.
I love this picture of my dad & Brayden sledding together. They both just look like they are having SO much fun!
Wednesday it was time to pack up and head back to Ellensburg to spend the rest of the visit. Because of the nasty weather & roads we encountered this nice accident that we got to sit in.
Grandma had frosted cookies waiting for each of the boys when they got back. Boston decided he just wanted the frosting, not the actual cookie.
Brayden and Uncle Mike relaxing
Boston watching Toy Story 3 with Grandma
Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures on Thanksgiving but we had an amazing time eating yummy food with family. We got to visit with G. Grandma & G. Grandpa Hemmingson & Chrisy & Jose and their 2 kids, in addition to our immediate family.
The next day we pulled out all the Christmas decorations and started decorating. Grandma's tree is a little heavy on the bottom, but the boys could only reach up so far.
Grandma
Uncle Cody
It was finally time to pack up and go home. We decided that we wanted to spend as much time in Washington as we could, so we tried to do the drive home in 1 day. Well......it didn't exactly work out like we planned. Not only were we stopping about every 2 hours for the bathroom, but we got stuck in Pendleton, OR getting windshield wiper fluid and food. Then when we reached the OR/ID boarder is when the calls started coming. The freeway from ID into UT was closed due to a massive storm and bad driving conditions. We went as far as we could but ended up stopping and spending the night in Twin Falls, ID. We woke up in the morning to an expect "possible" opening of the freeway at noon. That wouldn't have worked because we were all beyond ready to be home. We decided to take a detour up through Pocatello, ID and then down into Utah. It worked, and there was only a few places where the driving was touch and go. We got back home 1 day later than planned, and to at least 2 feet of snow everywhere.
There is a van in that snow pile. I promies!
We got back to a cleaned home (thanks to my MIL) and a shoveled driveway (thanks to Cynthia again & some amazing neighbors who helped throughout the week we were gone).
We had such an amazing time & loved being able to spend it with family. It is a memory we will all cherish for many years to come.
1 comment:
So glad you were able to take a trip to visit you family! I bet they were so excited to have you come up for a surprise trip! Also SOOO happy that your boys did so well for you on the drive! xoxo
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