Our Annual Trip to Washington (Part I)

We always look forward to our annual trip home to Washington to see family and friends. This trip was especially fun since Ethan is now walking around and a lot more interactive! We were so thankful that our family friends, Tom and Julie Boyer, invited us to house sit for them while they were on vacation. They have a great house with a large back yard, lots of toys and all the baby accessories we could ask for (they babysit their grandkids during the week). It was so nice to have a place spread out and make our home!

We got in on Thursday and I got to spend the day on Friday doing girl stuff with Kelly. Then Saturday we kicked off our trip with my brother's wedding. We only got pics of Ethan on our camera, but I'm waiting for more from Sean. Ethan did o.k. at the wedding, but he was pretty tired. Luckily Tom and Julie had this portable high chair that we used, which was perfect for a snack break!

We ended up leaving the wedding a little early since Ethan was jet-lagged and grouchy, but we decided to make the most of the day and invited Rich, Allisha and Skyler out to the Boyer's for a play date. I didn't get any pictures of the boys together, but they had a great time playing on the porch/playground!

On Sunday we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Walker's house before church. My dad had been busy garage sale shopping in preparation for our visit. This car was one of his finds and Ethan LOVED it! Good find Grandpa!

We spent Labor Day with Aunt Kelly, Anderson, Shina and Mack. Kelly wanted to take Ethan to the Hands on Children's Museum for his birthday present. The boys had a great time and it was the perfect gift! Thanks, Kelly!

Me and Ethan exploring the puppets

The things moms and dads make kids wear in order to get a good picture!

The trains were definitely a hit! We had a hard time getting him to look up for a picture!

All the boys playing together...

Mack was such a good sport, especially since the two littler boys hadn't quite mastered the concept of sharing or "turns" the way he had!

At first, Ethan wanted nothing to do with the lighthouse. But then he realized how handy it was for playing peek-a-boo and he was hooked!

I love how both Ethan and Anderson are looking at Mack with such concern and Mack is just having a good ol' time! These boys aren't sure what to think about their older friend who is a Hands on Children's Museum pro!

He loved "shoveling" the rocks at the sorting pile.

Visiting the farm
They had a tree that you could "pick" apples off of, which Ethan thought was pretty neat!

He made a quick stop and tried to make friends with the girls who were playing doctor...they didn't really pay him much attention, though, so he gave up and moved on pretty quickly. Look how sad he looks!

Another train set! This time he dug in with his dad.

Ethan's love for cars, trucks and other vehicles really came out on this trip home. He even has a "car" noise he makes while he pushes them around! Maybe all the cars he played with at the museum had some influence on him. He was fascinated by the lights on the ambulance.

Aunt Kelly and Anderson take the wheel!
We ended our visit by making a trip to the water table. Ethan loves water, so this was right up his alley!

It was sure a great start to our vacation. Thanks to Kelly for the great birthday gift to Ethan! The boys had a great time. More pictures to come in part II!