This was the day I was the most excited about - venturing into Olympic National park, a day trip. First stop was Kestner Homestead Trail for a short 1.3 mile loop past the homestead and through a maple grove. It was beautiful and the trail was just right (sort of) for Maeve. The surroundings were so lush and green and we kept crisscrossing over streams. After our hike, we picnicked, flew the kite and fed the babies before heading to our second destination.

Naturally, we were off to the beach on our first full day, but first, we went to a kite store to buy a kite. And yes, we had sufficient wind and then some to fly the kite. I can't say wind blown sand is an environment best for babies. Conor was in the water with Holly and Greta and I had to wave him in because 2/3 of the littles were crying and 1/3 of the littles was whining. It was comical. Conor, Holly and Greta had a few more swimming opportunities just them that I hear were delightful. We did observe many a vehicle driving on the beach and I was determined to have the same experience myself. I'm not sure why it was so exhilarating/enjoyable/fun. Maybe because it's something I've never done before? I loved it. And no one complained when we followed up with ice cream.

Conor quit his job and so we went to Ocean Shores, WA for a week to unwind and have a change on scenery. It was a really lovely little town. We stayed in a little 3 bedroom house walking distance to the shore. Greta really thought she wanted to sleep in one of the bedrooms by herself, but when bedtime came around, she quickly changed her mind and bunked with her sisters. One of my favorite moments was when we were driving into town, almost to our spot, Maeve yelled, "BOAT CAR!" She had seen a boat on a trailer and immediately assumed it was just like Spokane's legendary boat car (a vehicle our family is obsessed with). Maeve also vomited when we had 30 minutes left of our drive. So yes, memories were made!

On the second day in Leavenworth... we swam, played at a playground, ate lunch, hikes (or walked, whatever) and drove home.

At the end of February, we went to Leavenworth for one night. Earlier in the month, we (I) had a big emotional melt down. I frequently feel like I've bit off more than I can chew, but everything kind of crashed in on me. So off we went, just the 5 of us, to relax and regroup and bond. It was such a chill trip. We stayed in a super family friendly hotel (with a pool! That was at the top of our priority list!) and we went for walks (hikes??) and played and ate. We were tourists and went to a nutcracker museum and ate gingerbread cookies. We had such a nice time! It was a reset that I really needed.