Friday Harbor road trip!

This past weekend, Brian and Tristan got to have a boys weekend at home as Candice and I roadtripped to the San Juans to visit our oldest and dearest friend, Rita, and her family. It was SO good to see her and her little ones - the youngest whom we had never met. We pretty much picked up right where we left off and spent a lot of time laughing and being 7th grade silly. I cannot wait to share some of our crazy, innocent stories with my own young ones some day, maybe even showing them the many movies we made growing up - Real World Goes to Iceland, Wendy's World, Jessica & the Rock Stars, etc. There was never a dull moment with us!!

Since Friday Harbor is a lot further from Portland than you'd think, we spent the first night in Seattle at my parents' house. We had a mommies night out and ate way too much dinner and dessert, barely leaving enough room for the strongest margarita either of us had ever tasted. Probably a good thing :)

Then the next night, we got up way early to make sure we got in line for the noon ferry so that we could spend as much time with the Millers as possible. Neither of us realized just how exciting a ferry ride could be - we definitely felt like we were in a Mariah Carey video as the wind whipped our hair for every photo we took on deck.

Beginning of ferry line - cannot believe the Millers have to do this every time they want to go to the mainland!



The clouds parted as we pulled into Friday Harbor

First stop - girls lunch!

Miss Madison - she was just as excited to have her "mom's girlfriends" in town as we were to be there!

Then the next day, we were in search of a nice hiking area and were surprised to come upon a reenactment of an 1800s camp on a local beach. As much as we tried, they did not break character!







The next stop was a beautiful cove beach that ended up being a perfect place for whale watching! We were definitely in the right place at the right time as we got to see a pod of whales feed right in front of us! Not only could you see them whipping their fins as they were eating the salmon, you could also hear their breathing! It was quite amazing!!


Rita, Madison and Natalie having a picnic lunch while whale watching

What a lucky day for the kayakers!


Beautiful spot!!
Later that night, Justin watched the girls as us ladies went out to a great wine bar for another mommies night out. I SO wish I could have gotten some pics to capture our night - it was so great to spend time with these ladies!!

Candice & Natalie enjoying a BBQ before we headed out for the night.

Beautiful view of Friday Harbor before heading back to the mainland.

Park Playdate

Today we went to Washington Park for a playdate with Amelia Netzel and Logan Conaway. It's been so much fun to watch these little ones grow up from little babes to toddlers now. I cannot wait for the years to come!!

From baby to big boy!

I didn't realize how much T was going to become a "big boy" once he turned one. It literally happened over night. It became even more apparent once he started walking. He is so curious about everything around him and can do things that continuously surprise and amaze us. Where did our baby go??

Happy 4th of July!!

Since the 4th of July was on a Monday this year, we were excited to do as much as possible with our three days. We started the long weekend with a semi-camping trip, followed by watching the fireworks from our back deck.

We began the three-day weekend by going to the (maybe 10th annual??) Corrado Fest over the 4th of July weekend. Every year it's a little different - sometimes it's over Labor Day weekend, sometimes over 4th of July. Sometimes there are over a 100 family and friends there, sometimes only 30-50. But Sam's parents, Greg & Mary Jo Corrado, always graciously host us every year at their lake house. We all camp in their spacious front lawn that seems built just for this occasion. And then hang out all day/night, in their seaplane hangar, go boating, swimming, go for a ride in Greg's seaplane, play horseshoes, corn hole or the guys' version of whiffleball/baseball. Never a dull moment at the Corado Fest!! Since Greg & Mary Jo are really our age at heart, they look forward to this fun chaos as much as we do!

Of course this year, things were a little different for a few of us as we turned this into a family-friendly affair and brought our little ones. It was definitely a different experience, but so fun to have Tristan experience his first Corrado Fest!





Camp Corrado, or sometimes referred to as Dignity Village


4th of July outfit - yes, I will continue to do this with him for as long as he lets me :)



Of course we had to bring his car - it was definitely a hit with all the wee ones!


Nick Zervis showing us his sparkler skills


We know the best way to tire out a toddler - invite him to be apart of our dance party!


View of the lake and the hangar below - such a relaxing weekend!

We then ended our weekend by curling up on our back deck to watch all the firework shows in the Portland area. It always amazes me how many spectacular home shows there are in the valley below. I'm pretty sure 99.9% of them are illegal :)

Dad & Tristan curled up together on the back deck with a view of Mt. St. Helens in the background.

I also had to get a shot later in the night of them together. Tristan loved the fireworks -he stayed snuggled up with us for almost an hour outside!


Doesn't it look like a war-zone??