Love these family photos from Dad's 80th birthday surprise!
Back home to my family after a weekend in St. Louis:)
Flake Family Fall Fling at Hobble Creek ranch Monday night.
Charlie and second cousins.
Me and first cousins.
Meanwhile, Grace went to a pumpkin patch with her FHE group.
On Tuesday, President Oaks got put in as the new prophet. He was our area president in the Philippines.
Temple baptisms.
This kid.
Grace has been seeing a lot of deer near her dorm recently.
Wednesday, Alice got her learner's permit!
Then we were off to the airport.
Grandpa Gabe got the little boys from school.
Then the big kids got home.
They packed up and headed to Riverton.
In Seattle, we got our rental car, and ate at Pho 4 U.
The home team had Iceberg.
We saw a Voodoo Donuts across the street, so we got some.
Then on to the ferry to Whidbey Island.
And to our cute 125-year-old (renovated) cabin secluded deep in the woods on a private driveway.
On Thursday morning, I cooked breakfast in our cute kitchen.
The kids played games in Riverton.
Such a beautiful property! We were totally surrounded by forest.
Then we took a hike in the woods to find the Deception Pass bridge.
Forest + ocean = our favorite!
Amazing views.
Grace sent us pics of her amazing views: snow on the mountains!
We walked across the bridge - pretty scary!
Mt. Baker off in the distance.
Back into the woods to go down to the beach for a better view of the bridge from below.
Now we're talking!
Charlie was Chewbacca back home.
Toby had soup.
We enjoyed the beach for a bit, and even saw a seal.
Then we went hiking at Hoypus Point. We saw SO many banana slugs on this trip.
Paul loves ferns.
Charlie as Kalani Sitake.
Then we went to Ft. Casey, and old WWI fort. I liked the lighthouse.
And the view.
All pretty interesting and cool.
Homemade mac'n'cheese, one of the kids' favorite things Grandma Terisa makes.
Little trail by the barracks.
Then to the seaside town of Coupeville, where they filmed Practical Magic. (I don't actually remember that movie, but if you do, here you go.)
Dinner at Phad Thai, in a cool old house.
Grandpa and Charlie went to a women's volleyball game.
Grace went to a Halloween party.
We went back to the cabin for a cozy fire. Paul built like 4 or 5 while we were there.
Then we played Wingspan.
Friday morning, we were off to South Whidbey State Park.
Lots of ferns for my boyfriend:)
I loved the sound of wind moving through the trees.
And so many types of mushrooms!
I found Sasquatch!
I decided to marry him;)
Such huge old growth trees!
Back in Riverton, the kids went to a duck pond.
We took a look around Bayview Gardens.
Then back to the cabin for lunch on the porch.
Alice thinks this old picture of Grandma Terisa kind of looks like her.
Charlie and Danny rode horses at Uncle Todd's.
Heading to Oak Harbor for our anniversary date.
Yummy bread with hummus, and warm goat cheese salad.
Scallops.
Lamb chops.
Desserts.
Quick stop at Windjammer Park before it got too cold.
Toby watching football through Grandma Lu's window.
The antique-style phones actually had dial tones!
Grace stayed up until 3:30 am that night hiking the Y with some friends.
Saturday morning, quick breakfast at home before heading to Fidalgo Island.
The sunrise was insane!
Rosario Beach for tidepooling.
We saw harlequin ducks.
And lots of sea anemones and barnacles.
We read a native American legend about this statue.
Then hiked up to a viewpoint.
Then we drove up Mt. Erie to another beautiful view.
The kids got ready for game day.
We drove the loop around Washington Park, and had some close encounters with wildlife. This chickadee tried to land on our phones!
We saw a kingfisher.
Then down to the beach, where we saw crabs, a seal, and a great blue heron.
Back home, the kids went to the thrift store. Danny was happy with this new hoodie.
Meanwhile, Paul and I were gearing up for our whale watching tour in the cold, cold rain.
We ended up seeing killer whales!
Three of them!
I also really enjoyed the sea lion island.
Some of them followed our boat for a while.
Cool lighthouse.
Then a warm dinner at A-Town Bistro. Scotch egg.
French onion soup.
Clam chowder.
Grandpa and Alice met up with Grace in Provo.
Then they went to the big game!
Grace didn't get to go to the game (she didn't get in line early enough for tickets on her sports pass), but she did see another deer.
Headed to church on Sunday morning.
After the sacrament, we went on one last forest hike in Putney Woods.
Toby did well in Grandma Terisa's primary class.
Then a final picnic lunch by the Langley marina.
Talking about math at every meal.
Back into Seattle, headed to the airport.
Butterbeer floats.
Heading home!
The Riverton crew's daily schedule.
Alice let Charlie fix her hair.
Back home with our beauties!! Thank you so much to Grandma, Grandpa, and our kids for making this possible! We loved every minute of it!
