Walla Walla Washington

Walla Walla, Washington.  It's just fun to say!  Shane and I got a golf & hotel gift certificate package from his Uncle Ron and Aunt Mary last year at our wedding.  Since our one-year wedding anniversary is just around the corner we decided we should use it before it expires.

We stayed at the Walt Whitman in downtown Walla Walla.  Downtown was so cute with little cafes and lots of wine tasting shops. 

 
We definitely want to go back for wine tasting.  But this weekend was all about golf. We played at Wine Country which was gorgeous from the entrance to hole 18.  Blue skies, wide open space, and no noise except grasses blowing in the breeze reminded me of home.  It was healthy for my soul to be there.

Yes - I do have a crazy bird infatuation.  I love that Shane just "gets me" because he snapped this picture for me :)  He's the best husband!

When we finished golfing there we ventured a half hour away to Pendleton and golfed at Wildhorse Resort & Casino.  We got there just about at 6, got twilight rates, and pretty much had the whole course to ourselves.  We made it almost through 2 full rounds in one day, got tons of fresh air, spent some fun time together - it was a perfect day!  

Isabella 4th Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Isabella!  Yep, I'm a few weeks late posting pictures.  She had a "Tangled" party this year. 

Her Gramma Wagner had brought a cake that weekend for the girls dance recital weekend.  The girls ended up hardly being home because of all the dance activities so we used the cake as Isabella's birthday cake.  The ballerina on top was a big hit with Isabella because she was quite the twirler this year.

Pinata hat

Tangled wig in action!

Island

Shane made Debbie an island for Christmas and he just finished it.  He worked really hard on it.  Shane works 4 jobs (seriously...no really....seriously) and still makes time to finish stuff like this on the side.  He burned the midnight (more like 3 am oil) in the past few weeks to push and finish it up.  It looks really amazing!

 

Vanna showing off her Daddy's work

Geoaching

Heidi and Tyler introduced us to "geocaching" on Father's Day weekend. 

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices where you navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and try to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.  Tyler and Shane found geocache locations around the Everitt house and we set out to find them.  The geocaches might be as something as simple as rocks or little trinkets or sometimes even money!

 

It was a great way to do a little hiking and be out in the great outdoors.  The kids don't think of it as hiking when there is a treasure hunt involved. 

Last summer Isabella was a little camera-shy, sometimes you'd get a pose, sometimes not.  Sometimes she'd smile, sometimes not.  Obviously this camera shyness has disintegrated!

www.geocaching.com

Vampire Teeth

Isabella got these vampire teeth one weekend at a birthday party.  It was her favorite toy that weekend, these teeth went with us everywhere for two days.  At Walmart she likes to get a sticker from the greeter and I guess her forehead seemed like the best place to put it that day.

Backyard Camping

A couple of weeks ago we went camping...in the backyard. Alot of work for one night but looking at how much fun the girls had, it was entirely worth it!  And the best part, clean bathrooms just a few steps away.  We blew up the air mattresses, both girls read us a bedtime story and it was lights out under the starry sky.  We didn't put up the rainfly so we could see the stars which was good distraction since neither Shane or I slept at all that night.  Air mattresses just aren't as comfortable as they once seemed to be for some weird reason.

Fishin Derby

A couple of weeks ago Heidi and Tyler invited us to a fishing derby put on by their financial planners at a private pond outside of Eltopia. It was a beautiful way to spend a Saturday morning and the girls had a blast.

Kennedy needed a little help baiting her hook but other than that, she caught her 5 fish limit all on her own. 

I love this picture because she just so peaceful, content, and patient!

Even when fishin, she knows how to strike a pose.

A beautiful fish and a beautiful girl

 Isabella had a short attention span for fishing.  I did alot of chasing her around the pond while she explored.  Fortunately, this place was full of fun things for her to do. 

Don't judge a lawnchair swing by its cover...this was surprisingly comfortable.

Looking at "Murky Minnows"

Writing our names in dirt.  Do you remember being able to sit like this for extended periods of time?  I sure don't.

Girls with their Aunt Heidi

 Both girls got to take home prizes, Isabella picked a new fishing pole and Kennedy got a new fold-up chair in her favorite color, orange.

This was my first year going and I can see why the kids like it so much.  It was a fun morning in fresh air.  Thanks to Aunt Heidi and Uncle Tyler for the invite - the girls had a great time.

But all's that well doesn't always end so well....We sorta forgot these fish were in the back of Limo Family Truck when we got back home for about 3 days.  You cannot possibly imagine (unless this has happened to you) how seriously bad the smell was.  Shane says he "Grumpier Old Men'd" his own truck.  I laugh just thinking about it - seriously - it was bad.