Washington Visits

My parents are absolutely wonderful and flew me and Eloise out to visit twice in the last seven months! I am so grateful for them! It can be hard being at home alone with only a baby, so it was nice to visit my family and have some adult conversation during the day and spend time with them and some friends in the area.

The first time I visited was in March for a week and a half. It was pretty chilly and often drizzling a bit (typical weather for March), so we didn't get out a do a whole lot. I didn't mind one bit--like I said, I was just happy to have people to talk to in person during the day again! A couple highlights though: Eloise's first flight, Eloise's first time at the pool, playing Escape Room games until midnight, doing some shopping, and eating delicious food (like Boston's). Here are some pictures :)

First pictures are just a bunch we took with a nice camera in our yard. Look at tiny baby Eloise!

And here are a few taken with my phone with captions about the activities that we did.

Eloise's first flight!

And her first time swimming!

Eating out at Boston's

I visited again at the end of July/beginning of August before heading down to Oregon for a Nielson Family Reunion (coming soon on the blog). With nicer weather and Eloise being a bit older, we got out a bit more and went on some adventures in the area. Aside from these outings though, we spent a lot of time going on walks around the neighborhood or just playing at the house.

Some of the fun things we did was go to the park and to Lake Washington with family and friends, went on a few walks (the park Edith Moulton had been redone recently), visited Leah at work, and again went out to eat at delicious places!

Walk with my mama

My dad got Eloise to fall asleep a church, a real challenge!

Playing at a park with Leah and the girl she nannies

There were a few highlights/favorite activities of the week. The first was a day trip to Bainbridge Island. We took the ferry over, which Eloise just loved. She enjoyed being outside and looking around her. Of course, Seattle delivered its typical overcast and slightly drizzly day for the occasion. Once we got to Bainbridge Island (which is so beautiful), we did a little window shopping before stopping for lunch at Doc's Marina Grill. The babies (mine and Kayla's) were a little crazy in their highchairs, but we survived. Afterward, we explored the port city a little, stopping in the huge toy shop and a yummy candy store on the way. Our last stop was at the delicious Mora Iced Creamery for some of the best ice cream ever. Then, it was time to head home! It was a wonderful little day trip.

Sleepy baby on the drive home

My second favorite activity was when I went on a hike with my brother Sam. We drove to North Bend to hike Twin Falls. Wow, was it beautiful!! I had done a lot of hikes in Utah over the summer, and none were even a fraction as green as this hike! The trees were covered in moss and ferns grew everywhere. The highlight of course were the different falls we saw. The elevation was a little more extreme than what we had read about online, but it was a good workout. I was glad Sam was carrying Lou, not me. And it was nice to exercise at sea level again, it didn't feel nearly as hard on my heart. It was so fun, and so gorgeous!!

A final highlight was going to my dad's office building and posting up on a balcony to watch the Blue Angels perform over Seattle and the Puget Sound. The weather was just perfect to sip some soda (snagged from the work fridge, win) and watch all the stunts and loops performed by the jets. Unfortunately, I took more videos than pictures.

Finally, here is of Eloise with her great grandma and grandpa Nielson and her only second cousin on my side (my cousin's baby). My grandparents met Eloise back in March, but we never got a picture at that time.

Then, at the end of a wonderful week, it was time to drive down to Sunriver, Oregon for the Nielson Family Reunion and to meet up with Dustan again! The blog post on that trip will be up soon :)