Trip to Washington--Fox Hollow Farms

Our last full day in Seattle area, was spent exploring a super cute little farm out in Issaquah called Fox Hollow Farm.  Katrina and Sadie were super excited to show Daxton all the fun animals and activities.

I love how Daxton's hugging Katrina in the picture below!

Heather was such a sweetheart to spend another day taking Daxton and I on adventures!   She chose the best spot for sure!  Fox Hollow Farm was absolutely adorable with everything centered around hands on activities for children.  We had so much fun and Daxton couldn't have been happier!

Before we entered the farm, we saw the cutest little pony that was about the height of Daxton.  It even came over to the fence and stuck it's nose between the wood while Daxton was watching it.

The kids loved watching all the different animals eat and play around in their pins.  Daxton thought the pigs were pretty funny.

The location could not have been more beautiful!

It was nestled up against the most beautiful green mountains, with lush trees, and interesting animals everywhere.

Our favorite were all the free roaming peacocks showing off their gorgeous feathers.  They even had a stunning albino peacock, which I didn't even know existed.

One of the kids' favorite spots was the chicken coop.  There were so many baby chicks for the kids to interact with!

We quickly found out that the chicks were really friendly and all we had to do was sit still.  Pretty soon we were covered in baby chicks!  I LOVED how sweet Katrina and Sadie were with Daxton.  They were so patient and helped him interact with each of the animals.

So many baby chicks!

There were also adorable kittens and bunnies for the kids to hold.

Petting the different goats along the walking paths...

They even had a little pony for all the kids to ride!  It was so much fun watching each of them take their turn riding the pony.

Katrina was first...

Then a VERY excited Daxton...

Followed by an adorable Sadie...

The part that made Daxton almost lose his mind, was finding a whole section just for driving!  There were several jeeps for kids to drive along the circular driveway.  Both Sadie and Katrina were so sweet to help Daxton not drive off into the bushes.  The kids circled multiple times and had a BLAST.

We then explored the path down to the little river behind the farm, where the kids had fun throwing rocks and jumping in the creek.  They found a funny chair along the way and pretended that Daxton was the king with Katrina and Sadie his guards.  It was so funny to see them try to not smile while I was taking their picture!

There was also a super fun corn pit that kids had a blast playing in. They spent a long time jumping, rolling, and making "corn" angels.  I loved watching them laugh hysterically with each other.

You know it's been a magical day when a meltdown occurs when you're trying to leave.  Daxton could have stayed there forever and been perfectly content.  It was such a cute little place and full of so many fun things for the kids to do.

The next day, Daxton and I made the sad, long journey back home to Florida.  The 6 hour flight went by quickly with this sweetheart traveler by my side!  We played games, ate snacks, read books, and even built a little fort under the folding tray which made a perfect hiding spot for him to watch his movies.  This seasoned traveler was an absolute dream!

Our last view of the mountains as we left Washington...
Man, how I miss mountains!

Daxton and I had such an incredible trip visiting family in Washington.  It was so great seeing him interact with his grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles.  The absolute hardest thing about living in Florida is being so far away from my side of the family.  It was so wonderful being able to spend such quality time with all of them.
Hopefully we'll be able to visit home again, sooner rather than later.

Trip to Washington--Spending Time with Family in Seattle

As I mentioned in my previous posts, Daxton and I were able to spend a couple weeks visiting family in Washington state last April.  Since we live so far away and miss everyone so dearly, we spent the entire time visiting family in Ephrata, Cour D'Alene, and then Seattle.  Towards the end of our trip, Grandma and Grandpa (along with a couple of my younger brothers and their families) brought us over to Seattle for a few days of family fun.  My oldest brother Bryan and his family live over in the Seattle area, so we were super excited to stay with them again.  Our first night was spent at Grandpa and Grandma's hotel for a big swimming and pizza party.  Daxton loved showing all his cousins his killer cannonball skills!

Riding home from our late night swimming party!
(L to R) Daxton, Heather, Katrina, Natalie, Max, and Sadie

The next day we all met up in Seattle for a day full of family adventures, starting with a Duck Tour!

Before loading the bus/boat...

The kids were already having tons of fun with their quackers!

I had never done the Duck Tour in Seattle and was super excited.  It was fun just to be a tourist in our home state!  Daxton and I have done SEVERAL duck tours in San Francisco, but he was a bit too young to remember any of them, so it was fun to see his excitement  as the large bus/boat pulled up.

Loaded up and excited to start the tour!

Our tour started at the Space Needle which was pretty fun.  I loved watching the kids' reactions to everything as we drove by.  Because there were no windows it got a bit cold for us Floridians, but we somehow made it through.

I adore this picture!

I love his excitement and bright eyes.

It was hilarious to watch Emma, Katrina, Nora, and Sadie's reactions when the bus drove into the water!  There were a lot of squeals and giggles.

Just some of the beautiful views while boating through Lake Union...

After the duck tour was over...

Everybody LOVES grandpa!

I love Daxton's look of adoration in the middle picture below.

After the Duck Tour, we all drove over to the Seattle Aquarium.  Right as we walked in the entrance we saw a massive tank from floor to ceiling.  There was a diver inside demonstrating the thickness of the glass.  The kids had so much fun placing their hands up against the glass trying to give the diver a high-five.

Daxton and I have always been HUGE fans of aquariums and the Seattle aquarium has always held a special place in my heart.  It was so much fun spending the day with family here.

Exploring the touch pools...

Daxton is a huge fan of starfish.

It was pretty cute to see that he could identify almost all of the sea creatures throughout the aquarium.  He pointed out sea anemones, urchins, starfish, jellyfish, and all sorts of other animals along the way.  I was a rather proud momma watching him get so excited about learning.

Can't pass up a good photo op!

Sadie and Daxton thought it was super fun to pretend they were caught in the octopus tentacles.

Daxton loved watching the octopus and moray eels.

The kids also had fun running back and forth along the pier between the Aquarium buildings.  The aquarium has a really cool seal enclosure with an outside viewing area, where the kids had a blast watching the seals swim.

Uncle Richard was a sweetheart and helped Daxton up and down for better views.  The kids also had fun trying on wetsuits and pretending they were riding on the back of a whale.

We were so glad that Bryan, my oldest brother, was able to get off work early and join us at the aquarium.  Daxton and I even did another loop through the aquarium with their family before heading back to their house for dinner.  It was such a fun day at the aquarium!

Can't get over that cute face peering through...

Goofing off with his cousins...

We loved being able to spend the day with family on the duck tour and then at the Seattle Aquarium!  Seattle is such a gorgeous city, but I loved watching Daxton interact with his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents most of all.
We love our family!

Trip to Washington--Spending Time with Family in Cour D'Alene

For those of you still reading this blog, thank you for being so patient in my continual quest to update and document our past adventures...

My previous post told all about Daxton and my adventures in Ephrata with family this past April.  We had so much fun visiting family and playing on the farm, especially Daxton.  One of the days on our trip, mom took Daxton and I over to Cour D'Alene to visit two of my favorite aunts and extended family members.  Some of my favorite memories growing up were with my Aunt P (Pauline) and Aunt Carol.  I loved watching Aunt P and my dad make each other laugh hysterically as they reminisced about all the mischief they got into as children.  She always had the best stories and best ideas for gags.  Aunt P has an incredible gift of making everyone she interacts with feel absolutely loved.  Uncle Jim, her husband, is one of the most loving and sweet men I've ever met.  I always joked that hugging Uncle Jim is like hugging a big teddy bear.  They are such genuine and loving people, which they obviously passed on to their children, because my cousins are the same way.
I also have wonderful memories with my Aunt Carol.  She has the kindest smile.  When I was a child, she would always bring bright colored nail polish whenever she visited.  She would paint my toes and fingernails and I loved being pampered by her.
Needless to say, I was very excited to be able to visit my extended family, even for only a short while, after so many years.

Mom, Daxton, and I drove over to Cour D'Alene in the morning (about a 2.5 hr drive from Ephrata) and met up with everyone at Aunt P and Uncle Jim's house.  We were welcomed with a yummy home cooked lunch and gifts for Daxton.  Aunt P and cousin Hannah had picked out the most silly toys for Daxton to explore.  We couldn't stop laughing as he opened his bag and found all the classic gag gifts, including a whoopie cushion!  We spent a few hours catching up with everyone, laughing, eating, and watching Daxton adore their dog, Bear.  It was an absolutely perfect afternoon!

(L to R) Aunt Carol, Me, Daxton, Mom, Uncle Jim, Aunt P, cousin Hannah, and cousin Dana

My aunties, Aunt P and Aunt Carol

Love them to pieces!!

Daxton was madly in love with them within five minutes of meeting them!  

(L to R) Aunt Carol, Me, Daxton, Mom, Uncle Jim, Aunt P, cousin Jodi, and cousin Dana

I could not get over how much this sweet boy loved their puppy, Bear!  And I have to admit how refreshing it was to not be sneezing and have my eyes start to water or scratch while being around him! Bear is a hypoallergenic puppy with hair instead of fur and was so sweet with Daxton.  Wherever Bear went, Daxton followed.  At one point we were all eating lunch outside on the patio and found the two laying under one of the tables together.  It was such an adorable sight seeing them interact...almost made me want to get a puppy...almost :)

After visiting with family for the afternoon, we drove up to Sandpoint, Idaho to visit my friend's gravesite.  I first met Jason when I was a student teacher at Sunset View Elementary back in 2004.  That following year I was offered a permanent teaching position in fourth grade, where I taught for the next four years before marrying Dallas and moving to California.  Over the course of those four years teaching at Sunset View I made some of the best friends in my life, including Jason.  We were neighbors for several years, in the same ward, and had several of the same friends outside of school.  Jason quickly became an older brother to me and one of my closest friends.  After I got married, Jason and Janelle came to visit Dallas and I in the bay area several times (usually at least a couple times a year) and I got to visit them back in Utah several times.  I have some of the best memories with them both.

When Daxton was 3 months old, Jason lost his ongoing battle with depression and took his life.  The devastation and pain that followed; losing someone in that way; is still hard to process at times.  My heart hurts to this day for his family and friends.  I take comfort in the gospel; in a loving Father in Heaven who has provided us with the knowledge that we will see our loved ones again.  I know our Savior, Jesus Christ, has encircled His arms around Jason and taken his pain away.

Jason's memorial in Utah fell on the same weekend as my cousin's wedding in California.  Dallas and I tried desperately to find a flight that would allow me to attend both, but we were unable to find anything, especially with a newborn baby in tow.  Missing Jason's memorial was an incredibly hard thing for me.  I found the lack of closure very difficult throughout the following months.  I wanted to make sure I had a chance to say goodbye and was so grateful to my mom for being willing to make the journey up to Jason's grave while we were home in April.  

Sandpoint is an additional 1.5 hours north of Cour D'Alene, so after visiting family we made sure to get to Jason's gravesite before the sun went down.  It's located in the most gorgeous clearing, nestled up against a beautiful forest with pops of color from all the wildflowers.  Right when we arrived, my mom immediately bent over to pull some of the weeds that had grown and brush off the fallen leaves.  My heart broke a bit watching her.  She has too much experience with taking care of loved ones' graves.

We wanted to leave something special from our family; the two symbols of our family's angels.  A butterfly for my niece Mara and a pinwheel for my nephew Liam.  Jason's headstone is stunning.  I've never seen one quite like it, with so many details from his life.  I loved telling Daxton about each of the pictures and sharing stories from our past.  As I was taking pictures, I looked over and noticed Daxton had sat down in front of Jason's headstone and placed his arms on his knees.  He had never sat this way before, and hasn't sat this way since.  To the regular person it would mean very little, but to me it was a tender mercy.  This was one of Jason's favorite poses in almost all the pictures of Jason I took.  It makes me smile every time I look at this picture.   

Some of the beautiful details of Jason's headstone...

It's weird to think that Jason never got to meet Daxton and vice versa.  It brakes my heart when I think about it.  But I did love the chance to tell Daxton about Jason and further explain Heavenly Father's plan for all of us; to return to Him someday.

It was such a beautiful evening visiting Jason's grave.  I miss him and his friendship, but count myself lucky that I was able to call him a dear friend.  I'm so grateful that I had the chance to visit his beautiful and peaceful gravesite and to find a bit of closure after these past few years.