We are back from our wonderful trip visiting Uncle Shannon and Aunt Sarah in Oak Harbor, WA. I have a lot of pictures below but all of them are on a slideshow to the right. I've also included two maps. The first is to show everyone where Whidbey Island is relative to Seattle. It is quite a ways north since you can only get on the island either by bridge (Deception Pass) on the North or ferry on the South. We did both! Whidbey Island is beautiful and extremely picturesque. We had great weather and good times!

Whidbey IslandDay 1: We got up early to make our flight to Seattle.

Her Parker and Bennett are watching the planes takeoff and land before we caught our flight. Bennett really got excited when he spotted a plane. He would squat down and point in the air. Very cute but I didn't catch it on camera! Here is a picture before take off. Everyone was having a great time and we hoped it would last ....but it didn't so I will spare you the details. Another picture after takeoff. Unfortunately the silence and friendliness only lasted a little while. Day 2: We all woke up much earlier than usual since we were on Pacific time and tried to stay quiet for Shannon and Sarah. Once we got going, we dediced to go to Dugualla Bay to pick strawberries. Bennett really got into it and had strawberries all over him. We had lots of fun and the strawberries were delicious and juicy, definitely not like the ones from the grocery. Now, everytime Parker sees a field of cotton or soybeans she says "there's our strawberry patch".

Since the weather was so perfect we went to the City Beach so they could play in the harbor. This was one of the warmer days and the children walked around in the water and threw rocks since the beaches are made of them mostly.

Bennett relaxing with Uncle Shannon probably watching a little Dora or Toot & Puddle.

Day 3: We got up and went to the Deception Pass Beach. While we were there we threw rocks and watch boats go by. We also collected rocks to keep. Deception Pass is a dramatic site to see. Below Parker is posing in front of the Deception Pass Bridge.

Parker and Bennett sitting on some drift wood below the bridge.

Here they are throwing rocks. They loved to throw rocks. Parker would pick up some so large they just fell behind her. After visiting Deception Pass we went to the base to see some of Shannon's jets take off. Some of the pretty shoreline was on the base and there was lots of it.

The jets were extremely loud so we covered their little ears but they enjoyed seeing them takeoff.

Later when everyone got home we took Schatze to run and play on yet another beach (there are so many and they are all beautiful!)
Schatze is a very good swimmer!

Bennett discovered his shadow.

Another picture of everyone relaxing. Not sure what day it was but I'm sure it was after a long day.

Day 4: We took the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan island. Below the kids are playing around with Shannon who also plays a lot like a kid.
This is the best we could do for a picture.
1Parker looking out the ferry boat window. She was the only little girl with a bow in her hair

This is the only family picture we managed. Mom and Parker are looking up because we told Parker that we saw a Bald Eagle so that she would stop staring at the ground.
I love this picture. They are looking below the dock for crabs and other fish.

Most of our days the little ones were tired not to mention the adults as well. This is a cute picture of Parker and Schatze after a long day.

Day 5: This was the one somewhat rainy day we had and we all stuck close to home except for a little excursion to the neighborhood park. Below, Parker is on a contraption kind of like a hamster wheel. She loved it! I think every park needs one of these.

Bennett loves to drive anything.

Day 6: Shannon had a doctor's appointment in Anacortes so he took us to a place he had heard of called Jungle Playland. It was located behind a Christian Center and seemed a little strange until you went inside. It was fantastic! It was like a McDonald's playland on steriods. It was also large enough for adults to manuver. Both Shannon and I went down the slides with them. Below is a picture of the tallest tower and twisty slides.

Bennett and Shannon on the slide. After 30 minutes, Bennett would just make a circle going up and down this slide.

Shannon playing in the ball pit with Parker and Bennett.

On the way back to Oak Harbor, we took the scenic route and went to the top of Mount Erie. From the top you could see just how much water surrounded them.

When we arrived in Oak Harbor, Sarah had some wonderful goodies for mom and I and some fun toys for the children including a beach basket with beach toys in it. Bennett really enjoyed digging in their back yard. Towards the end of the week we were wearing down and stuck close to the house.

Going home was a much more pleasant experience. Bennett fell asleep before takeoff and we were able to lay him down at our feet (when it was safe) since we were in the front row. He slept a little over half of the entire flight home....we were blessed not to mention so was everyone else in the cabin!

Parker also fell asleep right after takeoff for at least an hour or so. I made it through the lunch that was served and then she woke up just in time to get one of the chocolate chip cookies they served!

We stayed busy and had a wondeful and memorable time. We miss Uncle Shannon and Aunt Sarah very much and can't wait to see them in the Fall!

Poppa Jack found Parker and Bennett a turtle to play with a few days ago. Clif asked me "why would you do such a thing to the poor turtle?" and he was right. After two days of Parker playing with him, one night he crawled out of the tub and went far, far away. He was fun while he lasted!

The weather has been so nice when it rained on the 4th (the majority of the day) we weren't quite sure what to do. In the morning, they went out to play in the rain on the deck.

Then before lunch we baked some cookiesIt finally stopped raining during nap time so we were able to go down the street to a 4th of July party and see some amazing fireworks. The couple has grandchildren and lots of toys to play on/with. Bennett immediately took to anything that was motorized which was unfortunate for me since he can't steer! He kind of got the hang of it by dark. Thankfully, there was a cute little bicycle that he could pedal.

Parker caught some kind of bug that she was proud of!

Bennett taking Parker for a ride

And finally the fireworks started. Parker kept saying over and over how BEAUTIFUL they were. After ten minutes or so they both got ansy so we went to another place to watch the show.

The back of Coco's truck worked out perfectly! They could watch the fireworks and still play around a little while being contained!

On Sunday, there wasn't any rain but it was too overcast to swim so we played with bubbles, rode bikes and took many rides in the golf cart.

Monday the sun was out again so we were back swimming although the temperature of the water has dropped significantly! We partially put up this tent and put some walls around it and Parker and Bennett were busy for at least an hour or more playing which is always good for mom!

We've been very busy while visiting Coco and Poppa Jack in Centralia. On Wednesday we went over to St. Louis to the Magic House and had a great time. It was very crowded but we managed to hang out a few hours with only losing Bennett once!

There was a fishing area that Parker loved and wouldn't leave! You catch the fish with a magnetic pole and then take it back "up the creek" and let it go.

Parker in Fairytale Land Playing in the sand Bennett driving a truck Playing in the Lewis & Clark exhibitionWe ended the afternoon playing outside (the weather has been fabulous in the low 80s) and I knew by the time we left Bennett would be sitting in the water....and he did! In fact, he was playing and just decided to lay face down! I had to carry him out in his diaper and I kept getting funny looks but he had a great time!

Taking a little break with cups of ice. Parker is dressed in one of Coco's very finest dresses. She loves anything long and flowy and Coco's closets are full of fun things!

Another fun activity is playing on the dirt pile. It is now gone and leveled out around the pool but it was fun while it lasted!

On Thursday, we went to Sandoval to pay our respects to the caravan of a fallen soldier from Scott Air Force Base to SalemMost of our days are ending like this!