Mom & Little Boys Visit Washington - Part Two (Cousins!)

A few days into our trip Aunt Nat was able to join us with her boys!! Charlie and Briggen always have the best time together and it was so fun to meet baby Hudson, who had recently turned 2 months old. The boys had a great time at Kids Quest and playing around the house. Charlie and Briggen played a game spanning several days where they pretended to be frogs and it kept them so entertained. 

Unfortunately William was sick so we didn't get to see his family until just before leaving, but they did stop by for an hour so we could meet baby Crusoe, who was born just before the New Year. He was still so tiny and new. We are thrilled to have another boy cousin added to this crazy crew!

Kids Quest is always a highlight - the box room can keep those boys busy for literal hours

Doing a puzzle together

Throwing rocks down at the water. The lake had risen all they way up to the Wiseman's patio.

Two little bear cubs - nice to meet you Hudson! 

Fun times on the sport court

Best buddies since birth

I always laugh at this photo because the angle makes Briggen look tiny even though they're actually the same size in real life

Meeting Crusoe, only 2 weeks old

Heading back home after a wonderful trip

The trek home from Seattle to Amarillo is often long and involves multiple flights. This time our itinerary was 10 hours and Griffin didn't fall asleep until the last hour. Luckily we had an empty seat on our row and he was free to play and sleep instead of having to sit on my lap.

Mom & Little Boys Visit Washington - Part One

Washington was calling to me extra hard this year since it was a Texas Christmas and two new nephews had been born since our summer trip. And if we waited all the way until the next July to visit, they would be big. So the logical move was to get there sooner! The boys and I flew to Seattle from Dallas after the holidays wrapped up, while Dave drove the two bigger kids back home to Amarillo.

Flying out of Dallas always means a pre-flight stop at Dunkin for a donut! Also my greatest hack for flying with kids is to bring your own garbage bag. So much easier than trying to collect trash in a little cup or shove it in the seat pocket.

Washington welcoming me home with a lovely sunrise

Cute pics of the boys from when we went down to the water to throw rocks

We spent a night at the cabin and there was lots of snow! This was Griffin's first real snow experience since last year he was still a baby and too young to go out and play.

Griffin helping Paco shovel

Charlie helped me build a snowman and then went inside to eat a snow cone

I got to have a ski day with my dad at Central, thanks to Grandmari watching the boys

Charlie, yet again, sleeping somewhere other than bed

My first ever Escape Puzzle! The story behind this one was you stumbled into a witch's kitchen while foraging in the forest. By looking for clues and solving riddles hidden in the puzzle, you would find which ingredient in the room would save your life. Unique and fun!

The boys got to model a new pattern for Aunt Amy' business. The was the Grow With Me Pullover. Both boys are actually wearing the same size, so it really does fit over the span of a few years!

It's hard to play outside in January, but when it wasn't raining, the boys had fun on the sport court

Family Football Weekend (Except Different Games in Different States)

Dave went away with Greg, Jack and his dad to California for a weekend in September. The main event was watching the Cowboys play the Chargers in the new SoFi stadium, but they also had time for a baseball game and a few other local highlights. Dave said overall LA was dirty and rundown, but he had a good time with his family. I told Dave to make sure he took pictures since I wouldn't be there to document, and came through with lots of selfies :)

With the Hollywood sign off in the distance

Griffith Observatory and Venice Beach

Harry Potter cast on the Walk of Fame

Ready for the big game

Cowboys won 20-17 over the Chargers

While Dave was away, we decided we should also go enjoy some football. It was no small feat to take 5 kids (ours + one friend) to a game all on my own, but the effort was worth it. WT won big and we had a great night cheering them on from the front row!! It felt weird going to a game at the university where Dave teaches without him, but I'm glad we went and had fun anyway. Go Buffs

Such a beautiful night for a game

After some early hysterics, Griffin managed to have a good time

Sidewalk chalk and popcorn served on the promotional frisbees kept them occupied when the game wasn't exciting enough

WT WINS!!