1D, 1D, 1D

I just realized that because we left on our big family vacation the day after the ONE DIRECTION CONCERT, I completely forgot to blog about it.  So here it is...better late than never:

Jordan has been dying to go to a concert for years, and I promised her if One Direction ever came to Seattle we would go.  So last Christmas, Tina and I got together and bought all the girls tickets.  The only problem--we had to wait until JULY!  But, I am pretty sure the kids thought it was worth the wait!! 

Such a fun night!!!

Back to School 2015

I think this was the first year where I was ready for summer to be over and the kids back to school.  The first week back was a little tricky, since Kya was sick with a strange stomach bug that made her throw up every night...not cool, and she was starting Junior High!!  She had to miss the second day of school:(  Then, Jordan started early morning seminary this year!!  Up at 5am--what?!  Why was I excited for school to start again?!  Well, we've been back for about a week now and I think we've worked out the kinks enough to actually enjoy being back on a schedule.  And, although it's still been sunny and pretty warm, there is a crispness in the air that I just love!  I love having my seasons back!! Thank you Washington State!!

 Kya 7th Grade

 Tyson 5th Grade

 Jordan 9th Grade

And this little gal gets Mommy all to herself!!

Saying Good-Bye

When we moved here two years ago, I told the kids this was it.  This was the last time we would pull them away from their friends, their school, their ward...etc.  Well, we found out this summer, that even though we could control what happened to our family (well, to an extent at least), we couldn't stop their friends from moving away from us!!

We had to say good-bye to some of our absolute best friends a couple weeks ago.  They had five kids, three of which lined up with our three exactly...and they hit it off perfectly.  They truly were an answer to our prayers when we moved here and didn't know anyone.  We are really going to miss them, at church, at school, at soccer, at carpool...oh gosh, this is going to be rough.  At least they just moved to Portland...

"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever."

 

Summer 2015 Vacation--Part 12 (The Last Day)

Our last day in DC we went to the Air and Space Museum.  I think the highlight for the kids was riding in the flight simulator.  When I watched them flip upside down multiple times, I was grateful to be sitting out with Summer!

 Even though we were tired and it was late, we headed out to swim in the Atlantic (something a few of us had yet to check off our bucket list)!!  And guess what?  The water was warm!!!  

The sun was setting over the water and it was so beautiful!  

A wonderful end to an amazing vacation!! 

 

Summer 2015 Vacation--Part 11 (DC..Day 3 & 4)

We decided to take a "break" day, which turned out to be a Zoo day.  We all ended up super tired and we didn't last long at the zoo.  We did see the "giant" Panda...although it looked more like "dead" Panda!!  It was SO HOT, so I don't blame him!

 

 

 

The next day was probably the hottest and the most walking...at least the fastest walking!  We had a scheduled tour of the Museum of Engraving and Printing, so we decided to walk around all the outdoor things that we wanted to see and then head back to the museum at 1:45.  Well, we barely made it in time and we were DRIPPING sweat from our SPEED walk!  This was still my favorite day though!  We saw all the things I was the most excited about!!

 First we saw the Washington Monument!!

Then the White House!!!

 

Then the Lincoln Memorial!!!

(By this point of our walk, I think I was the hottest and sweatiest I have ever been!)

  

  Tyson climbed up on this cement platform and said "take a picture" and it would have been so cute if his eyes were open and it wasn't blurry--fail by Mom!

 

We stopped for a quick picture at the Jefferson Memorial.  By this point, we were practically running to make it back for our tour time at the museum.

We finally made it to the museum.  This is the place where money is made...literally.  We had a 30 min tour (during which Summer was absolutely horrid) where we learned the process of printing money.  Pretty cool.  Tyson was in heaven.

 The kids had some fun at the gift shop!!

After swimming that evening, Tyson came in with a mosquito bite on his eyelid.  By the next morning it looked horrible!  Luckily we got him some medicine and a day later it had cleared up. 

Summer 2015 Vacation--Part 10 (DC...Day 1 & 2)

When we were on the way to DC, we realized that Mike had accidentally booked the wrong hotel.  But I really think it worked in our favor, because our hotel turned out to be just blocks away from a Metro station!  Which meant we didn't have to drive into the city every day, fighting traffic and paying for parking.  We liked the Metro SO MUCH better than the subway!!

And the pool at this hotel was our favorite!!

 
And there was plenty of room for snuggles.

Not to mention Krispy Kremes just down the street!!

Our first stop in DC was the Natural Archives Museum:

So many buildings in DC look like this...just enormous and beautiful!!  We all got to see the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights...I felt a bit weird that I was Canadian:)

 

Then we headed over to the Natural History Museum...I wish I had taken more pictures there!

Summer was obsessed with this statue...and yes, it is a naked little boy and his mother. 

She also liked the fish.

Tyson loved the rocks & gems section

There was a lot of walking, and reading, and tons of stuff about evolution, and some amazing animals and pictures...