Aunt Ashley Returns

We are so lucky that Aunt Ashley decided to spend some more time with us. After the McBride’s left us they went to Nauvoo and performed in the pageant there. When they got home Ashley decided that she wanted to spend more of her summer with us! We were lucky to get her for an extra 2 weeks!

This time was way different than when she was here with her family. Instead of playing tour guide and going nonstop she got to experience life in Seattle the way I do. I think Ashley liked it this way much more. More both of our styles!

She flew into Bellingham on a Saturday evening. Bellingham is just shy of 2 hours from our house so we were more than happy to make the drive and hang around Bellingham for a while. We have been wanting to go shooting for awhile so we went looking for some shooting ranges that were on the way to Bellingham. Sadly one we couldn’t get to and the other was too crowded. It was a nice drive and we loved the scenery!

We got Ashley and drove home. Sunday came and we went to church. That day after church we went to Discovery Park and walked around the beach. We weren’t there long, but it still is such a pretty place.

Monday we went grocery shopping. Seriously nothing exciting. We also had a lot that we had to get done at the house and it was great having an extra set of hands!

Tuesday we went to Costco. On the way Ryan got sick and puked all over himself and on his car seat. It was again great having an extra set of hands. Ashley took Lilly in Costco for me and I was able to get Ryan cleaned up and the car seat cleaned up without having to worry about Lilly running in the road or getting covered in puke. We also got Cafe Rio for lunch. (We used their app and were able to get both of us Salads for a dollar and some change!

Wednesday morning we had to get some stuff done for Preschool so we ran errands all morning. We had to be back that afternoon because Chris needed the car for a lake trip for work. (Poor Chris. He had a great time!) We got more done around the house!

Thursday we went to see The Pet movie in theaters. We couldn’t go to the theater I have been going to since the Blue Angels were in town practicing over the bridge we needed to take to get there. (It was also the start of Sea Fair here in Seattle so there were ships out and planes flying!)

Friday we hung out around the house, but that evening Chris took us out for deep dish pizza! We all enjoyed going out to dinner!

Saturday we tried again to go to a shooting range. This one was also crowded! So we went and grabbed something to eat and then went to Northwest Wildlife Park! I think Ashley really liked that. We got to see the bears for the first time which was great! We love this zoo. It doesn’t really feel like you are in a zoo, but you can see a lot of animals that live in the forests of the Northwest!

Sunday we went to church and that evening we went and toured one of the Navy ships that was out near our house. (Free) Ryan loved it. Lilly liked it just fine. There were tanks and helicopters, gear, and everything in between that the kids could climb on or try on. It was awesome to see! The military men were great with the kids and did a great job of showing them how things worked! I am glad we were able to do that!

Monday Ashley was kind of sick so we did take it a little more slow this week. I went grocery shopping without her. And the rest of the day we just hung out and did chores.

Tuesday we took it easy that day and that evening we went to the University of Washington and rented canoes and went canoeing. We all had a great time. We saw a lot of ducks. We saw a heron. There were so many lily pads. Both the kids did great and had  a great time! It was so pretty out and it felt great to be on the water! After canoeing we convinced Chris to take us to Dick’s for dinner as well!

Wednesday we went to the zoo. It was actually the most of the zoo I’ve seen. We let Ryan look for a few pokemon here and there at the zoo so he really loved that. The kids loved climbing on the statues and looking at all the animals. Lilly doesn’t like the scary animals so it was hard to get her to even look at the lions. She really wanted to see monkeys, but we didn’t get that far. Luckily she was happy with the wallaby and let them pass for monkeys.

Thursday we spent at home getting Ashley packed up and then we took her to the Sea-Tac airport. (She was flying to UT to spend time with her cousin.) It was hard, like always to say goodbye to Ashley, but we are sure we will see her again soon!

Ashley is great because she likes doing the same types of things we like doing. She likes watching the same shows we like. We don’t feel like we have to entertain her. I think she is just as happy to hang out at the house with us as she is to go out and do things. She is easy to talk to, but I also don’t feel like we have to spend the whole time talking. She is great with my kids and my kids adore her. There were fits when she left and they keep asking when she will come back! We laugh together, we cry together, we can sit in silence together! She is also Chris’ sister so she gets him as well! I keep trying to drop subtle hints that she needs to move up here and go to school here. Not sure if its working! We feel so blessed to have Ashley in our lives!

Saturday we wanted to do something kind of fun, but we also had a lot that we needed to get done. We decided to go on a hike on Cougar Mountain near Issaquah. Chris and I needed some time to talk and make a game plan about the next few weeks so the drive to our hike was a perfect time to do that! We didn’t hike long because it was fairly warm, and we all were starving. We were able to see some cool nature treasures and enjoy the outdoors. We decided to take the long way home so we could have more talking time and we grabbed lunch on the way home. We got some Southern California style Burros. They were Delicious! So far that is the closest we had to Mexican Food since we moved here!

We ran a few errands on the way home. At home we had to do some yard work and the kids enjoyed playing outside for that!

Now we are getting ready for my mom to come up! She will land tonight so we are super excited about that! We need some extra help so she will come for a week. We are lucky that we will get her over her birthday too! I am hoping we can take a break from working that we can do something fun and special for her!

We have been so lucky to have had so many visitors this summer! I hope that next summer is the same and we’d LOVE to have whoever, whenever! Summer is the nicest time in Seattle if you want to avoid rain and cloudy days, but we would take people in the spring, fall and winter as well!