First Class: The only way to fly with a baby
We lucked out and used miles to come home this year. With those wonderful miles we got to fly first class with our sweet little baby. He did a great job and didn't annoy the other first class passengers too much. Matt enjoyed the free bloody mary's and I enjoyed the personal TV for each seat so I could spend 4 hours watching most of a 1 hour program (Play-Pause: help baby- Play- Pause: diaper change). We decided we're only flying first class from here on out, right after we decided to win the lotto.
First stop: Vancouver, WA (I failed to get our camera out for this leg of our trip. SORRY!)
My very kind parents picked us up in Seattle to drive us to Vancouver for the weekend. Unfortunately, they extended the highway from Seattle to Vancouver (traffic) and it took 5 hours instead of the 2.5 I was expecting. But we enjoyed the chance to visit and not be on an airplane.
We spent our first visit with the Millers, college friends of Matts. They have 2 daughters, Molly (6.5) and Lucy (4.5) who are very entertaining and adorable. Axel Rose Miller is the family's newest member and is about the same height/weight as Paul. He's the new pug in town and is one of the coolest dogs I've met. The Millers had a babysitter planned for the night, so we headed out for McMenamin's Cajun Tots! YUM!!
We had a great time with the Millers. It was short but sweet.
My friend Danna married her best friend Dustin on Saturday. We celebrated her wedding with Natalie, Brock, Lauren, Lexi, and Tim. It was a great time and everybody crashed at Lexi and Tim's for the night. Mark and Dawn babysat their favorite grandbaby so we could enjoy the wedding. It was awesome to hang out with so many of my friends for the night and amazing of Lexi and Tim to open up their house to us!! Thanks Bauers!!
Next Stop: Whidbey Island
Next we headed to Ken and Diane's on Whidbey Island. After a quick stop at the Statton's (to meet their adorable family) we hopped the ferry and headed over to meet Andy, Oly, Diane, Ken, Mark, Dawn and Grandma!! We had a lot of fun enjoying the island life and watching Paul perfect his crawling skills. We stayed for a few days, but unfortunately left Paul's sick-germs at the house infecting everyone. Sorry Grandma!
Next Stop: Natalie's House!
We got to spend a great night with Natalie, Brock and Lauren. They made us dinner, let us do laundry, and just kind of hang out. It was very nice and relaxing and great to catch up. The babies even did a decent job sleeping!! (how did I not take any pictures here?)
Next Stop: Indianola
Off to Indianola to visit with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Les and start preparations for FOF12. Even though there was a lot of work involved, we love to spend time in Indianola. We got to eat crab every night!! We went and showed Paul the Indianola dock. Erin and Patty joined us for BBQ and a photo shoot. And Grandma Kathy got to show Paul all his new west coast toys!
Final Destination: FOF12
FOF was held at a new location this year and it has been quoted as the 2nd best FOF ever. The field was very close to home base, so that was a real treat to not have driving to and from. We were also pretty close to civilization for food, groceries, etc. The boys worked hard to customize the field to exactly what we needed. We had a lot of old favorites and some newcomers (thanks Jarad and Ginger for the long drive from UT!) and look forward to even more people next year when word spreads about the great spot. There were also several babies this year: Ash (3), Nathan (2), Sadie (1.5), Paul (11 months), Josie (6 months), Lauren (4 months), and Stuart (3 months). It's great that so many kids can come to FOF, yet the nightlife was still fun! (or so I hear- preggo Lisa goes to bed early)
All in all it was a great trip and we are thrilled to get to do this every year. Thanks to all who accommodated our big journey and went out of your way for us. We appreciate it!!!
