Next it was Josh's turn...

...to be picked up at the airport and join us for a fun weekend.  On the way home we stopped by Richard and Diana's place for a visit, and dinner and games!

There's something to be said for getting geeks intellectuals together.  They are awesome!

Actually Richard has been spending hours turning pictures into 3D.  Very cool!

Michael was obviously super excited for company, and we were excited to be his visitors!

If there is anyone who loves games as much as Richard and Diana, it's Katie and Josh. Umm, I think Katie won?  Maybe!

I think we were all winners when it came to dinner.  Diane shared this great recipe for Coconut Curry Vegetables with me a while back, and Diana was kind enough to let us make the big mess in her kitchen, and then she did the clean up!  Thanks, Diana!

Meanwhile, Eleanor played happily with Michaels cute quiet book and other toys, and was entertained by Michael playing the way boys do!  What a fun evening!

Little Eleanor's First Visit to Grandma & Grandpa's House

The timing couldn't have been better.  This little girl has just learned to go to sleep with out mommy rocking her endlessly, and she is much happier about riding in cars than she was for many months, and she is happy to be held by anyone and entertained by all!  We thoroughly enjoyed every minute with this little cutie pie, who has found her way snugly into all of our hearts. 

Anacortes

On Wednesday night the sun finally came out and we abandoned our original dinner plans and headed into the sunset.  That means, going west, and that means going to Anacortes. We took Diane to our favorite chowder spot.

Look at that, the sun was nearly blinding us, we hadn't seen it in so long!

A nice walk out at Washington Park was how we finished out the evening.

The next morning, after Diane and Eric ran 8 miles, we took a hike up on  Chuckanut.

The trail varies between gentle and steep inclines through the woods until you get to this great lookout spot.  We have to watch Pifford, he tends to get a little too close to the edge of the cliff!

I love being in the woods and seeing the fresh new greens and the moss and ferns.  It's so rejuvinating!

Pike Place Market

Diane came home to visit for a week, and Brittney came home on the same flight.  It was bright and early on Wednesday morning, so we made a quick trip to Pike Place Market while we were in Seattle.  Diane hasn't been there since she was very young, and wanted to experience this all important destination in her home state.

We got there just as the shops were opening and had fun browsing through kitchen shops and taste testing fruit.

So glad she got to experience the bubble gum wall.  It's almost as famous as the market itself.  What a variety of colors, and flavors, I'm sure!  It's actually quite artistic.

Brittney is getting dangerously close to all that ABC gum!

Doesn't it look delicious?

No, wait Diane, I have gum in my purse! 

What a great place!

With so many flowers to choose from, we spent quite awhile picking out bouquets to bring home.

Then we got to enjoy them for a week!

I love the flowers growing on the roofs.  So fun!

Diane spotted a whole bunch of these lanyards that say Philippines on them. 

That was fun.  You never know what treasures you'll find at the market!

Leavenworth!

 

With a rare free weekend, we made a quick trip to Leavenworth.  This was Eric's first time.  He definitely liked the warm weather and the ice cream cones!

We started off right, with a yummy dinner on the way.  There is this great little bakery in Gold Bar

that serves sandwiches made on delicious homemade bread.

 

Eric got the hot turkey sandwich.

Keith and I each got the turkey, cranberry, cream cheese sandwich.  That was a pretty big meal!

Our hotel was decorated in the Bavarian style and it overlooked the Yakima River.

We were lulled to sleep by the sound of rushing waters.  The river was so high it actually sounded more like a water fall out side our room.

We were lucky enough to get tickets to see "The Sound of Music".  It was opening night.  The weather was warm and only cooled down a little the second half of the show.  We all really enjoyed the play.  Maria was the same as last year's show, but the Captain was played by a different actor, he was better this year.  The kids were really cute, too.

The sisters were singing to us about turning off our cell phones before the show started.

Afterwards Keith took our picture by the Captain and Maria.  It looks like we're in town, with the windows behind us, but that's a bus used to transport people up the hill to the amphitheatre who would rather not walk all that way. 

Saturday morning we played our first round of golf on the putting course.  The hotel we stayed at includes free golfing!  It was 18 holes of fun and frustration, but mostly we just enjoyed the warm sunshine and the beauty of the course.  And I love my hair in this picture.

Here we are standing behind the very large waterfall.  It was cool and refreshing back here.

Eric spent most of the day trying to decide which hat he should get.  This fedora was a nice choice.

Later in the day my brother Wes rode into town.  We shopped around with him a bit, and decided to play another round of golf in the afternoon. 

Look at that finesse!

Here is that big waterfall behind us.

 

 We took a lunch break and listened to the authentic austrian band play and sing for us.  They were awesome yodelers.

Love their hats.  I think this was what convinced Eric he needed one too.

 

Lunch in Leavenworth means waiting in a long line for the terrific brats at the corner outdoor restaurant.  This was Eric's first brat, and he really liked it.  I went for the hot dog.  And it was soo good.  Great lemonade too.

At Kris Kringles we like to find our favorite Christmas ornaments and shoot a picture.  Speaking of shooting, Eric's says, WARNING Trespassers Will Be Shot.  Survivors will be shot again. Ha ha.

And Keith's says Fisherman lives here with the catch of his life.  Aww, cute.

 Awesome hat!

Super, oversized Australian Cowboy hats!

 And he's getting back on the road again.  It was fun meeting up with Wes and sharing the afternoon.