Washington Break!

Lots of fun stuff have been happening in Cali on our road to figuring out how to live here, but that'll be covered later. Mostly because Brent has all our pictures on his ipad at school right now.

After every one of Brent's quarters we get a break! Also, before I move on, let me just brag for a minute on Brent. He's a 4.0 student!! He worked so hard his first semester and pulled off perfect grades. So he deserved a nice break!

We few to Washington to visit his family for two weeks. His parents live on Birch Bay, and you can't get a better view than that. It's stunning to wake up every morning to waves and bird calls. We spent a majority of the first week on Brent's dad's boat.

I come from a cattle ranching background through my father and growing up every summer on my Grandparents ranch. So I don't feel comfortable around sea things! But I was so surprised how much I loved being on a boat. I also love crabbing though could do without the eating part.

Pulling up the crabpots is actually quite hard! They're heavy, especially if they're packed with lots of crab.

 I don't like touching the crab, so I get the part of measuring them to make sure they're big enough!

I have to say, one of the things I love about Brent is he is always exploring the world around him. It's like being married to a five-year-old sometimes, and he makes me look at the world differently. Here is him showing me all the things that are growing on the side of the dock.

One day we went out on the boat to the island off Washington's coast. It was so fun to explore these islands, and as you can see, very beautiful!

We had so much fun visiting family. We loved playing with the kids (and even got to go to Great Wolf Lodge with Brent's sister and her three kids) and eating really good food with Grandma Mary.

Throwing rocks into the water entertained this little guy for 15+ minutes. 

 This was one brave girl! She was nervous but was game to try any ride! 

Apples Apples Book! I think I read this book at least ten times in two days with Gage. He would surprise me by having certain parts memorized. It really made me laugh each time.

Brent LOVES the water. So of course he plays catch in freezing water with his nephew. 

 This melted my heart. I didn't even prompt this! She just started hugging my little belly bump and would say goodbye to 'baby'. It's funny how she has more faith that there is something in there than me. I've seen the ultrasounds, and I still question every day that there is actually a human in my belly. But not Adelle! There is a baby in there and she insists it will be a girl. I feel like I might never disappoint anyone more than her if I have a boy. 

We also got to spend some time in Canada! We went to a really cool mine museam with Brent's parents along with Whistler where the 2010 Olympics were done and hiked with Brent's twin. That hike was so beautiful but really hard for me. My body really reacts differently to exercise now that I'm pregnant.

  Wahoo! We're going inside the mine!

Isn't this view unbelievable? 

My sister-in-law also really surprised me by throwing me a baby shower! It was so sweet, and I was so excited for all the adorable baby things!

It was so nice to have a long break and to visit so many family members. As you can see, we really packed in the events during this time!