The simple things in life

 Sometimes the best vacations are the simplest ones. We debated long and hard about what we would do with our week off at the beginning of September. We knew it was going to end with a sweet treat -- seeing Ann and Tim get married at the end of it. But, before that, we weren't sure where to stay or  what to do. Go visit the San Juan islands? Stay in downtown Seattle and do the touristy thing? Stay somewhere outside the PNW and then travel back right before the wedding?

Well, we settled on staying in a little house rental in Federal Way so that we could be halfway between Seattle and Tacoma, a little closer to mount rainier and some of the fun stuff in that direction and we are so glad we did what we did! We got a little bit of everything without feeling totally beat down by traveling too much in a given day. 

 We booked a flight that left here at 5 pm, which I think is the first time we've ever taken that late of a flight out on a vacation week. But, I think it worked in our favor overall. We were able to do last minute packing (because work has been insane and there was no time or bandwidth to do it before then) and we still go tot do some of our daily fun, like gym class!

We donned our boots and we were ready to go!

Adler LOVES flying, but it's only because she gets uninterrupted tablet time. Riggs turned out to be much more of a touch flyer this time around because he wants to go and move and isn't yet engaged in the screens (unless football is on!). But he finally passed out -- face down--- on my lap. I don't even know how he wriggled into that position, but he did.

Day one was a huge success from the start. Daddy and Addie went out on the lake in the kayak while Riggs was napping and I sat on the porch in the sunlight watching them. It was bliss.

Then Tom surprised me with a very special treat - a night out after he somehow convinced Paul and Ashlynne to give up their free Sunday night to watch the kids. We got to dine at the Cliff House with a gorgeous sunset view and amazing northwest seafood meal.

Mornings were so pleasant without a phone call/text/email/alarm clock or other things weighing on my mind. In fact, more than once I put my phone on silent so that I couldn't hear even the happy social texts because I was trying to truly disconnect. And man, it was nice after a month of being on call 24/7.

We checked out the Point Defiance Zoo. And, while the zoo itself is much less thrilling than some of the zoos we have been fortunate enough to be members of, the outdoor fresh air was just the best feeling we all had had in a long time.

We played in the birds nest which appealed to both Adler who likes to pretend to be animals and Riggs who likes to use sign language to say "bird" all the time.

Next up was Owen beach at Point D where they have constructed a new play area that the kids loved.

But you know that Adler has been in Houston for too long when she told me that she couldn't go on the slide. "It'll be too hot mom, it's not in the shade." Because, usually in Houston, that is absolutely true. She took at least three times of watching me touch and hold my hadn to the slide to be convinced that it wasn't too hot. Then, it was non-stop sliding.

Nevermind that she got stung on the lip by a bee! She was happily munching on a pb&j (because, what else would we eat on vacation?) when the bee apparently got a little jealous... Fortunately she didn't react like she was allergic. whew!

Next up, we had to try to squeeze in a hike. And, we had to show the kids what a real mountain looks like so we took off for Mt. Rainier. Now, all was going great until we were on the final 10 minutes of the ride when out of nowhere, Adler asked urgently for a drink of water. Turns out....she didn't escape the Malikie genes of getting car sick. But, fortunately we pulled over right where there was a weeping wall which made for a much simpler rinse down/wash out of the sweatshirt (that she was fortunately wearing over her t-shirt) and the car seat cover.

I thought that might ruin the day, but she and Riggs were all about discovering the water fall and the trails

And once we reached Paradise we were off to find a tail that was doable for the kids (and, more realistically for us while carrying the kids)

I was in awe of the view the entire day, and we had the most PERFECT weather. Well, actually it was a little hot for hiking. definitely the warmest day we've experienced at Rainier.

Adler these days has taken to not smiling immediately. She sometimes draws a bargain that she'll only smile after she takes a few photos with a weird frowny face.

Ok, you might be tired of seeing pics of the same mountain view, but I couldn't get enough of it and now this is my digital memory bank for them. We needed a nice refreshing drink at the end of the hike

But admittedly, water just didn't quite suffice and we stopped for a milk shake on the way home too

 

Next up: Northwest Trek. We weren't sure what to expect, but we learned it was worth the drive. The kids got to see some great animals like wolves, bears, bobcats, and deer.

They even had skunks and Adler was VERY glad that they were in a cage.

 

 It's out of order, but we also go to go see a Mariner's game with the kids and meet up with our dear friends Nick and Jess!

Our next bucket list item to take the kids to was the Washington State Fair.

 It was a day of smiles, scones, rides, face painting, and horseback riding and adler LOVED it.

Perhaps, in part, due to the fact that she won a rainbow unicorn stuffed animal! 

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We also go to sneak in some apple picking just to round out our classicaly PNW week. Riggs is a big fan of apples, just like his daddy

And Adler enjoyed the lovely horse statue at the orchard and pretending to feed her apples

 

Last, but certainly not least, we had the epic ending: The wedding! On the way out of town on our way to Cle Elem, we stopped by for a Dick's cheeseburger and happened to be lucky enough to watch the UW volleyball team play an uncharacteristically early (11 am) game! it certainly wasn't the same as old times when we went to the games, but it was nice to share it with Adler.

We shared an adorable A-frame cabin (that I 100% want to go back to someday and spend an appreciable amount of time in) with Paul/Ash/Katie.

The Glassman's had an amazing time together and it was hard to say goodbye at the end of an incredible evening after a truly incredible week.

Oh, but let me also share with you an amazing series of photos as Riggs and Teddy bonded at the wedding ;)

And now, for the photo dump from the wedding because there are so many good moments captured by the camera:

Suffice it to say, it was an AMAZING week. I can't stop gushing about how incredible it was. Gorgeous weather, amazing company, fresh air, blue skies. It was so simple and so perfect. Like the skyline from the Space needle :)

It was REALLY hard to go back to work. but, it's been almost a month back now and we have since made it through a febrile illness that lingered through the whole family longer than we wanted to. But we're heading into our favorite month in the state of Texas. October brings with it cooler temps, halloween decorations throughout the neighborhood and the kids are so excited. Until next time (which is likely to be just halloween pics)!