I really appreciate when cities invest in their park systems. We enjoyed our visit to Beacon Hill Park - it was so fun to see the goats. John and Hudson were the goat whisperers. And the babies were pretty cautious about the goats. Maeve was solidly on team Allison the whole trip and that really began at the park.

We finished our park visit at a playground where Ira was totally crushed in the splash pad by another kid and scraped up his face. Poor guy.

A fun little evening on the beach and playing in the park. Ira and Enoch did not like the dry sand on their feet. That was way too much for them so there's some grumpy faces in connection to that. Enoch did enjoy walking through the water and Ira is super into boats. The kids had a great time running around and playing hard.

Our trip to Victoria was pretty close to what we thought it would be. Lots of balancing out babies, nap times and big kids. One of our first stops was China Town. Holly was really interested in going and I was there for it. It was very fun to walk through and look at the shops and the buildings. Fan Tan Alley is such a neat little spot. The other night I dreamed that a neighbor (or someone??) stole the Hearts Content sign and I was like, "uh-oh, that's not good." So hopefully it's still there in real life!

After our China Town visit we went to my brother, John's, office and got the tour. Kind of reminded me of visiting my Dad's office, something my kids don't really get to experience because Conor works from home!

Wrapped up our first full day with a pizza party at our Airbnb with cousins!

Before we drove home, Holly, Greta and I skied the Browns Farm Loop. My heels killed (seriously the worst blisters) but when in Methow, am I right? Holly and Greta paused to wait for me a few times. I loved watching the mist burn off in the valley as we skied. We skied past a horse in her pasture and were pleasantly surprised when she came when I called to her. And then we finished packing and drove home. We'll be back!

On our second full day in Methow valley, Conor, Holly and Greta rented skate skis. The did a short 40 minute loop around the farm where we stayed, rested and then went for a big long ski. They skied from our trailhead (Browns Farm Trailhead) all the way to Wolf Ridge Lodge Trailhead - just over 11km and Conor said it was mostly uphill! I met them at Wolf Ridge and I'm so proud of my girls for really getting after it and doing all that distance. They were pretty wiped out at the end of it. Conor and the girls all really want skate skis of their own. So ski swap, here we come!

While Conor, Holly and Greta were on their adventure, I was on baby duty. I insisted that Maeve and Enoch got outside while Ira napped. We built little snow people and checked on the chickens.