Trip to Washington--Spending Time with Family in Ephrata

Like I mentioned in my previous post, Daxton and I traveled up to my hometown, Ephrata, for a couple weeks toward the end of Dallas's busy season last April.  It was an incredible few days visiting family and extended family.  Most of the time was spent on the family farm, exploring and playing with cousins.  Needless to say, both Daxton and I were in complete heaven!

My younger brother, Richard, and his adorable family live about a mile away from my parents' house, so Daxton was able to have lots of quality time with his cousins, Emma and Nora.  Grandma and grandpa spoiled them all with a couple ziggles to ride around the farm.  I LOVED watching them laugh and interact together...another perfect example of what our trip was all about!

Auntie Leisha got the coolest auntie award by chasing the kids around on the plasma car.  I still have no clue how she got her long skinny legs to fit on that plasma car!

These two were totally two peas in a pod during our trip.  Daxton wanted to follow grandpa wherever he went and grandpa loved his little companion.  It was pretty funny to see them drive off together...regular road rules definitely do not apply on the back country roads, which Daxton thought was pretty amazing!

Grandpa took Daxton along for several rides to check on the growing trees.  While they were out one day, Grandpa blew Daxton's mind by letting him climb and sit on one of the companies tractors.  To this day, Daxton still talks about how amazing the farm tractors are.

On a sidenote...I loved seeing this cutie bundled up in his beanie and sweatshirt!

To say this little one was spoiled while at Grandma and Grandpa's house would be a huge understatement!  I swear everyday, Grandma would pull out a new toy for Daxton to open and play with.  Not to mention all the one on one time with both grandma and grandpa!  He especially fell in love with the Jake and the Neverland Pirates lego set grandma bought.

These two!

My heart melted on a daily basis watching these two cuties interact.  I especially loved how cute they both looked Sunday morning before church.  You can definitely see from these pictures how much they adore each other.

Daxton may have had grandpa wrapped around his little finger...

This is when grandpa bought a couple ziggles for the house.

These two were inseparable.

One of Daxton's favorites was helping grandpa mow the lawn on the lawn tractor.  Grandpa even let Daxton steer on his own!

Some other fun adventures on the family farm...

Swinging on Uncle Ken and Aunt Darlene's tire swing

We loved spending time with Great Grandpa Bill and Great Grandma Doris.  Grandpa Bill was so sweet with Daxton, held his hand, and asked him all about Florida.  It was such a sweet experience watching the two interact.  I'm so glad we were able to visit grandpa a few times while we were in town.

On our way to visit Great Grandpa Bill, we stopped to get gas from the farm tanks.  I was so excited to see my friend, Jared, from high school.  I hadn't seen him in over 10 years!  It was so much fun to catch up and hear about his family and how everyone was doing.  He won the coolest friend award that day, as well, by helping Daxton climb up into a massive digger.  Daxton's mind was blown when Jared even let Daxton raise and lower the digger on his own! What an incredible experience!!

Another fun adventure Daxton and I went on was with Grandpa up to explore Sun Lakes and the surrounding areas.  Our first stop was at a little spawning ground for trout.  It was funny to listen to Daxton's questions.  We had to tell him all about what mountains, sagebrush, and rocks were.  Crazy to think of all the things he isn't familiar with from my childhood and all the things that would be unfamiliar to me as a child!

Daxton had lots of fun dropping little bits of gravel into the spawning area to startle the fish and make them swim suddenly. 

Hard at work...

Once again...

LOVE THESE TWO

Next Grandpa took us to Sun Lakes where we had a picnic lunch and let Daxton play on the playground.  Then we hopped in the car and drove a little farther north to Dry Falls.  I have to admit, the height made me a bit nervous with Daxton around wanting to explore, but he listened really well to both Grandpa and I, so we didn't have any problems.

Some of my favorite shots looking out into Dry Falls...

Such a beautiful (and scary) view!

There was a fun rock gazebo at the top of Dry Falls that Daxton had a blast playing in.  I had to giggle because it reminded me of the scene from "Sound of Music."  He even danced along the bench and sang.  Sure do love my little man!

Grandpa spoiled us with some yummy blackberry ice-cream and Daxton had a blast playing in the dirt, before we headed back home.

I love my daddy so very much.

He's such an incredible example of unconditional love, charity, and generosity.  I feel unbelievably blessed that he's my father and that Daxton gets him as his grandpa.

When we got home from our adventures with grandpa that day, we were excited to see Auntie Leisha, Emma, and Nora waiting at the house for us.  The kids had a super fun afternoon/evening riding the ziggles, writing with sidewalk chalk, and playing in the back yard together.  As you can tell from the pictures below, Daxton loves his Auntie Leisha!

It was so much fun to sit back and simply watch Daxton play.  I loved watching his little conversations with his cousins and how they played so well together.  I thought it was so funny how much he loves (and still does love) to line up everything he can get his hands on.  I also found myself feeling a bit nostalgic as I noticed how grown up Daxton was looking.  Maybe it was the jeans, shoes, and long sleeves (all of which he NEVER wears in Florida) but for some reason, he just looked so old.  And I have to admit my heart broke a bit.  Where did my baby go?

Love all the chalk up and down his legs!

Dallas and I wish so deeply that Daxton had siblings to interact with.  It makes us so sad wanting to add to our family and feeling the constant frustrations in not being able to.  Daxton would be such an amazing brother.  Since he doesn't have any siblings, his cousin relationships are so important to us and him.  You can tell in the pictures below, just how deeply he loves Emma and Nora.  It made me so happy sitting back and watching these three interact and love on each other.

One of my favorite pics from the day!

Daxton looks so crazy grown up, but I love how happy he looks.

If you didn't notice from the picture above of Daddy and me, I desperately needed a good hair coloring during our trip up to Washington.  Leisha suggested I go to April Porter, a friend a couple years younger than me, from high school.  It was so fun to have some "me" time and get my hair done!  I loved being able to catch up with April and hear all about what she's been up to since High School.  Plus, I LOVED the great job she did on my hair!  If only flights from Florida weren't so long or expensive...I'd go to her regularly if I could!

The new blonde do

Some other fun things that happened while we were home...

Nora got her first pair of glasses and I don't think I'm biased when I say they are the CUTEST glasses in the world!  She looked absolutely adorable and was so excited to join her all glasses family.

I took Daxton up to the sawdust piles.  Many an amazing childhood memory was spent up at these sawdust piles!  My brothers, cousins, and I would find cardboard or sleds and slide down these piles for hours.  I remember mom's love of having to do load after load of laundry from our adventures.  It was so funny to watch Daxton explore, dig, slide, and roll down the sawdust piles.  After awhile he stopped and looked at me and said, "Mom, I need to stop.  My bum itches."  That's about right! 

Daxton loved the freedom of driving around and exploring the family farm.  I'm so glad I caught this shot!  His face in the mirror showing absolute joy is priceless.  Growing up on the family farm was incredible and it's mostly in hindsight that I realize how truly blessed I am for the childhood I had.

Exploring the orchards...

Rows and rows of apple trees...

A toddler's dream

Halfway through our trip my younger brother, Stuart, and his wife, Angelica, drove up from Utah.  It was so fun to catch up with them.  Angelica is so great and I love her to pieces.  They both immediately started playing with the kids, which Daxton loved.  Dax thought Uncle Stuart was pretty funny trying to ziggle around the basketball court!

I LOVE this picture below.

It shows just how much this sweet boy loves his Auntie Jelly Belly and Uncle Stud Bud.

(Yes, our family gives each other ridiculous nicknames...)

It was especially fun when Heather and the girls stopped by on their way to and from Spokane.  I was an auntie before I became a mommy and I will always have such a deep love for my nieces and nephews.  One of my favorite things in the world is to watch them all play together, and even more now that they're playing with Daxton.  He loves them all so dearly and each of the girls were so sweet and kind with him.

Favorite pictures from our trip!

So much love!

Every night we tried to FaceTime with daddy.  I know it's hard on daddy when we are not around, especially since Daxton and Dallas have such a unique bond, so we made sure to tell him all about our adventures every night.  This usually meant during Daxton's bath time since it was the only way to keep him in one place long enough.

Love these two characters!

Last, but definitely not least, whenever we go home we make sure to visit the local cemetery.  Our family has experienced a lot of pain and loss over the years that has reaffirmed our love and faith in the Gospel.  Our knowledge of eternal families has brought us a lot of comfort as we've lost family members and dear friends over the years.  I love that our family has so many positive and uplifting ways of remembering those not physically with us.  Whenever I see butterflies I will forever think of my beautiful niece, Mara, and whenever I see pinwheels I will forever think of my precious nephew, Liam.

I loved taking Daxton to the cemetery and telling him about heaven, angels, and those that we love who've passed.  He had so many amazing questions and I was humbled at his ability to understand.  I loved being able to share with him fun stories about Matt, TJ, and Jamie (close high school friends who've passed) and stories about being raised with Grandma and Grandpa Adams.  It was such a peaceful feeling listening to Daxton, Emma, and Nora talk about their angels watching over them.  What a blessing the Gospel brings, sealing our family for the eternities. 

As I led Emma, Nora, and Daxton around the cemetery to visit each of our family and friends' graves, I couldn't help but cry a bit when I saw TJ and Matt's tree.  I remember so vividly when it was planted, the summer after my senior year of high school.  All those memories came swiftly back, and yet there it stood with three perfect little children playing under it's branches.  Had that much time really passed?

Visiting home was incredibly therapeutic for me.
I love our adventures we are having in Florida, but a part of me will always be back in that small little farm town I grew up in.  That small town which hosted some of the most amazing people whom all shaped me into the person I am today.  So many incredible memories made in a place with only a handful of stoplights.

Traveling to Washington in the Spring

Having been through 8 busy seasons with Dallas over the years, we have figured out some basic survival methods to help us get through the long tiring hours of being separated.  Dallas's busy season ranges mostly from January to beginning of May and one of the main things that help us survive is keeping busy.  These months are a great time for my friends to come visit or for Daxton and I to travel.  Dallas loves when we are busy or gone during that time period, so he doesn't feel as guilty about not being home with us.  Even though we miss daddy terribly during this time, we've tried to take advantage of quality time together with each other, family, and friends.

Daxton and I's main adventure was traveling home to Washington for a couple weeks to visit family.  It was the first time in two years, since we moved, that we were able to return to my hometown.  Being so far away from family has been the absolute hardest thing for me with this move to Florida.  When I used to visit my hometown, I would contact all my old friends and set up numerous reunions and parties, but living so far away has changed me a bit.  I adore all of my friends and cherish those memories, but this trip I was missing my family to such a high degree that all I wanted to do was be with family.  I hope my friends forgive me for being so secluded this time around!  The entire focus of our trip was to give Daxton as many opportunities to bond with his grandparents and extended family as possible.

It was my first time flying cross country with a toddler on my own and I was so nervous.  I fully realize that I worry to an obnoxious degree, but I had nightmares of him screaming, throwing fits, or crying the entire 6.5 hr flight from Fort Lauderdale to Seattle.  He usually travels so well, but I think I'm still traumatized from our first cross country flight mom and I did with Daxton when we moved out to Florida.  On that flight he was only 17 months old and we had chosen to do a red eye since he slept so well in his car seat.  Boy, was it a LONG flight of rubbing his legs, trying to calm his screaming self down, and thoroughly annoying all the passengers next to us.  Needless to say, I was SO nervous that would be repeated, but without my mom to help.
  
I was very prepared with all sorts of new games, books, activities, shows on his iPad, and snacks, and even his own pair of headphones.  My prayers were definitely answered, because Daxton did amazing!  Obviously it also helped that he is a couple years older now and it wasn't a red eye flight!  Daxton seriously was an angel.  He watched a few Toy Story movies, colored with his new No Mess markers (LOVE THEM!), read his new tractor books, and ate a lot of snacks.  He wore his new headphones the entire flight, even when he wasn't watching anything.  I think it helped him to cancel out some of the back ground noise, which he's a bit sensitive to. 

We arrived in Seattle around 9:30-10pm (Pacific time), so we were EXHAUSTED by the time my brother picked us up and brought us to their house in Auburn.  The next morning Daxton had so much fun with the kids before sending them off to school.  Natalie showed Daxton her cool Cello skills and even let him use the bow.  He was pretty excited about that!

The highlight of the morning for Daxton, was when Sadie took him for a drive in their Barbie jeep.  She drove him up and down their long driveway and Dax couldn't get enough!

On a sidenote, it felt so strange to actually be cold in the morning!!

Easily one of my favorite pictures from the day!

This is exactly what the trip was all about...

Giving Daxton the opportunity to bond with his cousins.  I love the excitement and love in his face while playing with Sadie!

After the kids left for school, mom had arrived to pick us up and drive us back to Ephrata.  Our hometown is located in the center of Washington, about a 3 hour drive from Seattle.  It was hilarious as we drove through the mountain pass to see Daxton's reaction to things.  First of all, there are no mountains in Florida so Daxton kept talking about how big everything was.  But my favorite was when he noticed the snow.  He said, "Oh mom!  Look!  Elsa's outside!"  Yeah we may visit Disney World too often if he immediately thinks that all snow is made from Princess Elsa...

When we arrived home at Grandma and Grandpa's farm, Daxton could not have been more excited, especially when I showed him how soft the grass was!  Over the next couple weeks this kid basically lived outside.  I loved watching him experience all the things I grew up doing as a child.

Daxton loved finding all the pinecones from our backyard and throwing them into the canal.

Most of all he loved all the one on one attention from his grandparents!  Grandma pulled out all the toys for him to play with and he was in absolute heaven.

It was a pretty great start to our adventures on the farm!

Maren's Visit--Lion Country Safari, Beach days, Rain, and Ice Cream

Over the next few days while Maren was in town visiting last spring, we were able to have several more adventures.  Sadly, though, many of our plans had to change drastically each day due to the weather.  Poor Maren!  We figured a visit in April would be fine, since the rainy season usually doesn't start till mid to late May, but we were definitely wrong.  We had to be pretty flexible with our plans and adapt to the massive downpours that hit us for the rest of Maren's stay.

One of our adventures was taking Auntie Maren to Lion Country Safari.  Since the first part of the park is a drive-through safari, we figured we couldn't go wrong incase it rained on us.  Daxton LOVED showing his Auntie Maren around the Lion Country Safari.  We saw lots of different animals and Daxton was very excited to tell Maren all about them.   

Our favorites were all the curious ostriches who loved getting their pictures taken.  Several pecked at our windows and ate the bugs off the front of our car. 

By the time we finished the drive-through safari park, dark thick clouds were hovering above.  We hurried into the walk through section of the park so we could feed the Lorikeets and Giraffe.

Feeding the Lorikeets is always so much fun!

I love how they calmly land on your arms and even head at times.  Maren was able to hold a small cup of fruit smoothie for them to drink out of.  I love their brightly colored feathers.

Daxton's favorite part of Lion Country Safari was feeding the giraffe. We bought several pieces of lettuce for the giraffe to eat.  It's always SO crazy watching giraffe eat.  Their tongues are incredible long and dark black.  Maren was a sweet heart to lift Dax up several times to let the giraffe grab the lettuce out of his hands.  Each time the giraffe would wrap their tongue around the lettuce leaf it would touch Daxton's arm or hand.  He would squeal loudly and then start laughing with joy.

My absolute favorite though, was watching this cutie tromp around the safari park wearing this ensemble, which he picked out himself...

Nothing like a batman tshirt, camo shorts, dragon rainboots, and a safari hat!

Even though the weather didn't allow many beach days, we were still able to squeeze in some time at Lauderdale By the Sea before a massive storm rolled in.  It was funny that we were chilly since it was still in the 80s outside.  I guess it just shows how pathetic Daxton and I have gotten over the past couple years of the Florida heat.

Panorama of Lauderdale by the Sea

This little man still had a blast even though we were a bit cold.  He ran around chasing birds, splashed in and out of the waves, built sand castles, and thoroughly entertained Maren and I.

Daxton was especially silly, when he found out how fun it was to fill buckets of ocean water and then pour them on the top of his head.  It was quite entertaining!

At least it was absolutely stunning!
Even if the clouds were rolling in...

My favorite part of the day is always when I get a little snuggle time from this active toddler...

Watching the storm roll in...we were able to stay all the way till it started to rain since there wasn't any lightening. 

Easily one of my favorite pics of Maren!
She has truly perfected the classic jumping picture.

The storm rolled in pretty quickly, so we packed everything up and tried to wait out the heavier part of the storm under a gazebo.  Gotta love Maren's priceless expression below.  The heavy rain was pretty much the soundtrack to her Florida trip!

Before dropping Maren off at the airport, we decided to squeeze in one more fun adventure by eating at Jaxson's, a yummy ice cream parlor next to the beach.  Daxton was pretty excited when he realized he got his own ice-cream sundae with his meal.
Maren and I split an amazing creation as well...

Daxton and I were pretty sad to have to say goodbye to our Maren. We had so much fun while she was in town visiting.  I've loved having her in my life the past 12 years.  So many amazing adventures and memories.  She's been an incredible friend over the years and we love her dearly.

Come back and visit anytime!
Hopefully there'll be better weather this time :)

Maren's Visit--Everglades Alligator Farm

Maren's visit in April continued with one of our favorite adventure's the next day.  Since it was the weekend, Dallas was able to watch Daxton and let us girls have a fun day out together.  We decided to make it a crazy one by exploring the Everglades Alligator Farm.  We had great sunshine and very low crowds which made for a perfect day to visit.  

When we arrived we booked our airboat ride first.  We should have thought about how this would effect pictures for the rest of the day...

Our selfie before hopping on our airboat ride, looking pretty cute and fresh...

The Everglades Alligator Farm is my favorite place to take visitors now, because it's the only places we've found that does a "thrill" airboat ride, plus they offer headphones which make it a lot more enjoyable.  We were able to get the front row, optimal for the best views and craziest ride.

Our driver did several different 360s with water spraying all over us.  We had so much fun and laughed the entire ride.  I was so glad I brought my go pro to capture our experience!

On our way back in, Maren took off her sunglasses at which point we realized just how wet we had gotten!  Guess she forgot her waterproof mascara!

These pictures are absolutely classic!

So in love with this shot!

Makeup and dirt all over our faces and hair.  I love that neither of us cared and we simply had a blast of a day.

After our airboat ride, we explored the rest of Everglades Alligator Farm.  We of course saw tons of alligators, and were a little shocked to see that it was mating season in the breeding pond...

We also watched a great alligator wrestling show and then held baby alligators after.  Maren was pretty excited to interact with her first alligator.

After our adventures at the alligator farm, we drove up the road for yummy fresh milkshakes and produce at the Robert is Here fruit stand.  It was such a great day with Maren.  I love that girl so much and count myself so lucky and blessed to have her as my dear friend!

Maren Visits--Jungle Queen Cruise

Mid April brought us a great surprise...
Auntie Maren came to visit!!
Maren has been one of my dearest friends since 2002 (wow that ages us a bit!)  I was so excited when she called and told me that she had a few days off and wanted to come visit.  I immediately went to planning several fun adventures... unfortunately the week Maren was in town it rained... a lot.
We were still able to have a lot of fun, but didn't get to have nearly as many relaxing days at the beach Maren was hoping for.  I told her it meant that she simply needed to come visit again :)

For our first adventure we found great deals on the Fort Lauderdale river cruise, the Jungle Queen.  It was my first time going on this tour so I didn't quite know what to expect.  It was definitely fun, probably because I had Maren by my side, but it wasn't the best river cruise I have been on in Fort Lauderdale.  I liked how it took us up river which usually is not toured on most cruises.  But we were NOT impressed with their "private" island we stopped at for an hour in the middle of the cruise.  We made the most of it, though, and Daxton was a sweetheart for the whole tour which made things that much more enjoyable.

Maren and Kirsten Selfie! 

Daxton was pretty entertaining dancing along to the music and making funny facial expressions.  As long as he had a little snack in hand, he didn't mind how long the cruise was.

Going up river through Fort Lauderdale...

Daxton was pretty excited when we saw daddy's building (the one with the huge pyramid on top.)

Some of the gorgeous views along the way...

Like I mentioned above, this tour was one of the only cruises that takes you this far up river.  It was fun to see different sights and go under one of the main freeways.

The island we stopped at was outfitted with several different animal enclosures and had it's own alligator wrestling show.  Everything was rather small though, with large crowds from our giant boat, which made it difficult to maneuver.  Maren and Daxton were able to find a good spot to view the alligator show and quickly became best buddies.

We were able to see lots of different birds and lizards and there were even some animals we were able to take pictures with.  Of course Daxton ran away the second we asked him to hold a bird.

It was pretty fun to see all the natural wildlife wandering around.  I'm constantly in awe of how foreign things still feel!  Massive green iguanas walking around at your feet are not something I grew up with!

I love that Daxton is growing up with such unique experiences that have shaped his little personality and mind.

After exploring the island, the cruise continued by taking us down river, through Fort Lauderdale, and into the intercoastal.  We loved looking at all the million dollar mansions and yachts.  It was gorgeous but so crazy to think that people live that way.

Overall, is was a really fun afternoon, but I have to say that I wouldn't choose the Jungle Cruise again.  There are much better river cruises available, but it was fun to try it out and have another adventure with my girl, Maren.