Washington Trip - Part 1: Visiting Nikki's Family

At the end of June, we headed to Washington. The most affordable way for us to go was to drive up to Kansas City, MO and then to fly direct to Seattle. It was a long trip, but the kids did really well. They actually slept for most of the flight, which was an answer to prayer.

Jared's family was going to be having a week-long family vacation, but we got to spend a day and a half with my parents first. I was really grateful for getting to spend time with them in Georgia; it made the short visit with them in Washington a little easier.

My dad is always taking pictures, so some of the pictures in this post are ones I stole from his Facebook page. Thank you, Dad! I need to do better at taking more pictures when we're on vacation.

Allie was excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Bobbie

On our full day with my parents, we went to the Woodland Park Zoo. It was a beautiful day, perfect for the outing.

On the way out to the car to go to the zoo.

The girls visiting with some baboons on the way in to the zoo

Tree! Allie loves getting on trees, and this one had very inviting branches.

So Rachel joined her, too.

It was hard for Rachel to see some of the African animals, so she got to be on Mommy's shoulders.

(Mommy's belly had already started popping out.)

Hippos

Allie got Daddy's shoulders for awhile.

Giraffes, some of the girls' favorites

Grandpa with Rachel

Allie with Grandma

Some Lion Cubs

A cool tree - I have always liked trees, too. 

Allie on top of a Lion

Lunch Time!

Allie on the roots of another tree.

Rachel didn't want to spread her arms. She was getting tired.

But Allie was willing

The girls liked watching the fish in the bear exhibit.

Rachel and another zoo visitor.

Allie had seen "horsies" on the zoo map. She was asking to go see the horsies for quite some time. Knowing that the horsies were actually the carousel, we purposely made it one of our last stops. Both girls were ecstatic to ride.

After the first ride, Rachel bawled when she had to get off. She was tired and nearly two-years-old. Grandma was nice and paid for them to ride again. Daddy went on with them this time.

Rachel still cried when she had to get off, but riding the horsies was definitely one of their favorite parts of the zoo.

On our way out, we passed by the penguins, which I couldn't handle. Jared and Grandpa went with the girls to see the penguins. The smell was way too fishy for this pregnant mama.

Then, we visited the gorilla exhibit. One gorilla was eating poo, or so it seemed. Another kid kept talking about it, and it completely fascinated Allie. She loved telling people that she saw a gorilla eat poo at the zoo.

 A fun video of some zebras. The commentary is pretty cute, too.

Having seen everyone else in the family in Georgia, I only needed to see my brother DJ. He came out to dinner at my parents, and it was wonderful getting to spend time with him. Allie especially enjoyed talking and playing with DJ. It had been two years since seeing him, too, so it really made me happy getting to see him. Maria had a high school reunion the same weekend we were there, so our time at my parents' overlapped. Hopefully we can get everyone together sometime in the next year.

Nikki, Maria, DJ, Mom, Dad

Everyday Life in June 2013

Allie came up to me one day to show me her "Super Dog." She had put a baby wipe on her stuffed animal dog as a cape. It was pretty dang cute.

So then we needed a Super Horton, too, of course.

One day, I was doing something on the computer when Allie started shouting, "Mommy, take a picture, take a picture." I had no idea what to expect. But there she was with several items on top of an upside-down drawer. She was so proud of herself for balancing everything on it.

We had a church activity at the park. Rachel was determined to do everything that the big kids were doing, including climbing this wall that was about 10 feet tall. Jared supported her bum to insure she wouldn't fall, but she did a lot of it all by herself.

We had French toast, and Rachel loved it.

You can eat it more quickly if you use two hands.

One Thursday, Sonic had half-price milkshakes, so we decided we'd surprise the girls by walking to get some. On our way, we passed by the fire station. The Fire Chief called out to us that he had stickers for our kids. So we went and visited the fire station, too. It was an additional surprise for the kids. The Fire Chief was super nice and really let the girls explore to their hearts' content.

Both girls got to try on the fire coats.

Rachel called it a dress.

And the helmets

Oh, and they got a sticker, too.

 

They both really enjoyed sitting in and exploring the truck.

One last random picture from the month. Rachel insisted on wearing her helmet for a few meals. During one lunch, she decided that the helmet was a great place to stash her fork. Such a fun, silly girl.

A Trip to Georgia for Uncle Monte's Graduation

I haven't mentioned my little brother, Monte, too much. And really, he isn't my "little" brother anymore. He is much taller than I am. But he is my younger brother, and I love him very much. I don't know if I'll ever stop calling him my little brother. I guess I use the term in more of an endearing manner than a literal one.

Monte worked hard in school and graduated as a Doctor of Chiropractic from Life University in Marietta, Georgia in June. It has been fun watching and learning of his success in school. It's a wonderful thing being able to see your brother find his passion.

We knew that Monte's graduation would be mid-June, but we weren't sure if we were going to be able to make it. One reason was the cost. We knew it would be expensive with gas, hotel, and food. Then once I got pregnant and was sick all the time, a 12-hour road trip (one-way) didn't sound so appealing. But there were several reasons why I (we) wanted to go. Clearly, this was a big achievement for my brother. I really wanted to go and celebrate with him. Also, I didn't know where he would end up practicing, so I didn't know when the next opportunity to see him would be. My mom and dad were going to go, along with my sister and her family and my brother, Nathan, and his daughter, Caidance. I hadn't seen my mom in awhile, and I hadn't seen Nathan in two years. I knew I'd be seeing my parents at the end of June when we went up to Washington, but I had no idea when I'd get to see Nathan again. Ultimately, we decided that going was the right decision. And we ended up getting to stay on a military base with my sister's family (her husband is in the Navy), which was much cheaper than a hotel, for two nights, and then crashing in the same hotel room as Nathan and my parents for the last night. The cost was definitely decreased by those two options, so the only obstacle during the trip would be my nausea.

Jared is truly the greatest husband. I felt bad, but we left on his birthday and drove through the night. Nothing says, "Happy Birthday" like a 12-hour drive. He was a great sport about it. I took the first shift driving and actually felt pretty good for much longer than I expected. I think I drove just more than half-way. Then Jared took over and got us to Marietta around 6 or 7 am. The girls did pretty well on the trip, too.

We took a short nap, got breakfast, showered, got ready for the graduation, and met up with Monte and his girlfriend, Alex, for an early lunch. Maria's family hadn't had breakfast, so it was breakfast to them. And since I was pregnant, I was ready to eat again. Then we all headed to campus for the ceremony. My mom, dad, and Nathan had been saving seats for us. People kept trying to take them, but we got some front row seats in the back section. Our group had the front two rows together.

2nd Row: Nathan, Caidance, Taylyn, Alex, Breya, Bella, Grandma Bobbie, Allie

Front Row: Maria, Nathen, Nikki, Rachel

(Grandpa, Jon, and Jared are absent from the picture.)

Rachel and Grandpa

Grandma and Rachel

Grandma and Allie

Monte with his diploma cover.

Unlike any other graduation ceremony I've been to, all of the graduates went up first and were then followed by the speakers. When all of the students had gone up, I thought, "Awesome, a short graduation." But I was wrong. The speakers then got up and talked, and talked, and talked. The girls kept themselves busy by playing with Barbies and baby dolls.

They didn't always play nicely. (Rachel is a millisecond from hitting Allie.)

Then Rachel crashed.

When it was finally over, we got to go outside. It felt good to get out of the crowded gym. We found Monte outside with a yummy drink. He was super sweet and shared it. A few others took sips, but I got to drink most of it, for which I was most grateful. Monte did not know I was pregnant, yet.

Monte got both is Bachelors and his Doctor of Chiropractic

Monte with nieces and a nephew:

Bella, Allie, Rachel, Monte, Breya, Caidance, Nathen, Taylyn

(Rachel was not ready to wake up and was therefore cranky and crying.)

Grandpa, Nathan, Maria

Jared, Allie, Alex, Monte, Nathen, Jon

Grandma, Rachel, Nikki, Breya, Taylyn, Bella, Caidance

The Siblings - A Huge Reason for the Trip

Maria, Monte, Nikki, Nathan

Beautiful Caidance, who had really grown up in the two years I hadn't seen her.

Grandma and Grandpa Bobbie (My Mom and Dad)

Cousins

Nathen, Breya, Allie, Caidance, Taylyn, Bella

(Rachel absent due to crying. We got one with her, but this really is the better picture of everyone else, too.)

After the ceremony and pictures, we went to the hotel where Nathan and my parents were staying. The kids all went swimming. I shared the news with Nathan and Monte about me being pregnant. And then I took a nap because I was exhausted and nauseous. We really didn't get too many pictures on the trip, but the girls had a great time with their cousins. We all had a good time visiting with family.

The next day, we went to Kennesaw Mountain, which is one of two "mountains" in the Atlanta area. It is the site of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in the Civil War. There were cannons placed in position as they were in the war. It was a neat and fun little outing.

While waiting for the bus, we visited the gift shop.

Taylyn, Rachel, and Caidance

Going up the mountain

View of where the cannon would have shot

Climbing and running on rocks

Rachel and her trusty cousin/helper, Bella

View of Atlanta in the distance

People who are somewhat familiar with Marietta know about the "Big Chicken." When I told a friend that Monte was going to school in Marietta, they responded, "Oh, the home of the big chicken." I had no idea what she was talking about, but I learned on this trip.

The Big Chicken

The drive home was much harder than the drive to Georgia. It felt like the never-ending drive. We had more potty breaks, meal breaks, bad weather (scary storms), and were already exhausted from the weekend. But we made it home safely. Again, I felt bad because this drive took place on Father's Day. I was feeling miserably nauseous just about the whole way back, so Jared drove more than half-way this time. He is the best!