Leaving Washington.

I've really been missing Washington a lot this week so even though it was two months ago, I decided I wanted to share some photos from our last day in the evergreen state and our last ferry ride to Seattle as we began our move to California.

Curran and Remy making a good effort to tackle the windy ride.

The wind turned out to be a bit much for Curran....

....and Remy.

Little man had so much fun walking Remy around the sun deck.

checking out our view of Seattle and the Space Needle before bed

I'm glad we had one night in downtown to enjoy some of our favorite Seattle things (oh Rachel's Ginger Beer, my heart aches for you!) before saying goodbye. Washington really has a special place in our heart. I can't wait to visit---and I hope that its soon!

Camping at La Push

We are getting to down to our last days in Washington! Sixteen days from now we'll be saying goodbye to our home here and setting out on a new adventure. 

We had a list of things we wanted to do or see while in the PNW but since we're leaving over a year and a half before we planned, we had to whittle down that list to the bare minimum. Originally a visit to La Push got cut but after Joey took his scouts there for a campout the weekend before, we decided it was too beautiful to miss. So we repacked the tent and headed out for an overnight at the beach.

Camping at La Push was a different experience for me because you had to do about a mile hike to the beach, so whatever you needed, you had to be able to carry (and one of us had to carry Curran, so that left one pack to hold everything we needed for the three of us). No car-camping here--this was the most real deal, didn't even bring a toothbrush, bare bones camping I had ever done. But it was actually quite liberating! Its nice to leave behind every extra thing for a couple days. Its amazing what you can get by without.

After getting to the beach we found a cozy spot to set up camp. We pitched a tent, found a stream of fresh water, and started dinner. Curran is a bit of a graham cracker fiend, so he was constantly begging Joey for one more.

After dinner it was all about exploring the beach. From the moment we got there, Curran was in heaven. Finding driftwood and stones, crawling over trees, digging in the sand....I'm not sure I've ever seen him so content or smile so much. He really was in his element, and it was such a joy to see him play and explore. 

He probably indirectly ate half his weight in sand, but who cares? Let them be wild and happy.

Curran was also extra lovey. He wasn't afraid of the ocean but he wanted to hold our hands, and he spent about twenty minutes running back and forth between the two of us, giggling and giving us the biggest hugs his little body could give. Seriously the best.

Before we called it a day we enjoyed a stunning sunset and, of course, lots of s'mores.

Did I mention that this kid did absolutely fantastic on our campout? There were no major crying fits, he slept really well, he wasn't scared of the ocean, and there were no injuries or crises. It was awesome! 

After sleeping in and lounging around in the tent the next morning, we warmed up in the chilly weather with oatmeal and hot chocolate. And it was just the perfect morning. A beautiful beach, idyllic Washington weather, hot chocolate, my kid happily playing in the sand, and a hunk of a husband sitting next to me--what could be better?

We packed up our things and then set out to explore the beach at low tide. We found too many jelly fish to count, infinite mussels, and lots of interesting seaweed. It was fun to point them out to Curran and watch him go "ooooh!" as we showed him something new. 

Seeing this little guy be free and happy exploring the world will be one of my favorite ways to think of him. There were so many reasons that we thought about not going, like rain (it rained our drive there and back, but never at the beach--can I get a hallelujah?!), timing with our coming move, work, Remy, etc etc., but I'm SO glad we did it and got to make those memories with our boy. We're really going to miss Washington, and this was a great memory to leave with.

Birthday Trip to the Zoo

I've recently realized that a kid's first birthday is great because its a perfect excuse to do fun stuff you normally like to do--in our case, a trip to the zoo. Its also great because it means that when the bookstore's kids club sends your baby a coupon for a free birthday cookie, you actually get a free cookie (I mean, he can't eat it anyways). And really, shouldn't all of the celebration for a child's first birthday really be for you, the parents, for actually managing to keep him alive for a whole year? That first year is no joke. We are survivors! And we will eat our son's free birthday cookie without shame. 

But right, back to the zoo---

Yes, so we figured that with how much Curran loves Remy and Marley as well as watching the seagulls flying along with the ferry, he would surely enjoy a trip to the zoo, and we would too. Because the weather was supposed to be gloomy his actual birthday weekend, we decided to go the week before--which actually worked out great because my ticket was half off for Mother's Day and Curran ended up being horribly sick the weekend of his birthday anyway. So it was a perfect day for a family outing in every way.

As soon as we got to the zoo we were greeted by this flashy peacock. Curran was definitely interested in him and kept saying "ahooooo, ahooooo" while he watched the bird turn and caw. Being the quiet observer he is, he calmly took in the sights and sounds, enjoying things in his own way.

He really took a liking to the aquariums and watching the fish and sharks swim about.

He wasn't quite big enough to reach the sting rays and little sharks, but he did pet a star fish!

This was so great! Elephants are one of my favorite so I was very excited when one walked right up to the edge and we were able to get an awesome look.

This picture of Curran sticking his tongue out while walking makes me laugh because my dad does it when he's working on or figuring out something, and my dance teacher used to tell me I did it too when I was trying to get a difficult step. Looks like Curran might be a Conrad tongue thinker too.

Once we stopped for a little break Curran made a bee line for the snacks. The man knows what he likes! And its so nice that he's finally wanting to really eat food now, though we have a long way to go (but more on that another time).

After a snack break we went to the amphitheater to watch the Indiana Bones show and see more gorgeous animals. The show had lots of audience participation which always took Curran by surprise and of course upset him, but once he got used to it he was fine. And he was so enthralled, he sat still for the whole show---I don't think that's ever happened! Now if only he would do that in church....

Happy boy! He's starting to really enjoy dancing and grooving to music.

Though a little hazy, we had a lovely view of Mt. Rainier while at the zoo. Seeing it never gets old!

We don't normally buy souvenirs from places like zoos or amusement parks but we thought we'd get Curran a special red wolf stuffed animal for his birthday and his first trip to the zoo. He enjoys petting him and carrying him around by the paw throughout the day.
We had such a lovely day with Curran and can't wait for future zoo trips as he gets older. Its a little thing, but I'm excited to see what animal becomes his favorite as he learns more about them. I love seeing who Curran is becoming and the things he's interested in. We love our bugaboo!