Trip to Washington: Roommate Reunion

The last night we were in Washington we were lucky enough to have two of my roommates/friends from BYU-Idaho, and their handsome other halves, over for ice-cream. We had a great time with Shauna + Steve and Kersie + Kyle!  The guys were so great to put up with Brooks' shenanigans ;) while Kers, Shauna, and I had fun trying to get Ava to crack a smile (goodness that girl's poker face is unreal) and to show off her new-found baby steps. Loved every minute of catching up...and reminiscing, goodness I miss the good ol' college days. :) Love you ladies!

^^ Coaxing Ava with the phone..."Come on baby girl!" ^^

^^ Kersie and Ava's matching, lime green socks. :) ^^

^^ I can only hope that one day when Ava goes off to college she'll be blessed to have roommates like I had! ^^

Trip to Washington: Double Date

Later Saturday night, after the triathlon (hence me looking exhausted in these pictures), my sweet parents were awesome and gave the littles some Grand-mom and Gram-pa time while Adam and I went out on a double date. :) We met up with my lady-love Britney and her handsome husband Adam who I've been friends with for ages, but my Adam has never met them, so I was beyond thrilled that we could all finally get together! It was a night filled with laughing, bottomless steak fries, milkshakes, burgers for the boys, plenty of talk about our ridiculously cute littles (wish Brooks and Ava could've played with Jude this trip!), some grown up talk (oh glorious adult conversation without interruption;), and more laughing. :) After snagging some pictures, even one with Lady Liberty herself, we said our goodbyes all too soon...goodness we need to live closer!!

Thanks for the fun night Adam and Britney! Love you both to pieces.

^^ Photo bombed by Lady Liberty ;) ^^

^^ Love. Her. ^^

Trip to Washington: Next Adventure, Burgerville, and Powell's

This part of the trip was actually the day we spent in Portland. :) Love that city. My Dad and I first stopped by Next Adventure...that place is awesome and we found some great deals on gear. Then we enjoyed lunch at Burgerville first...the smoked salmon and hazelnut salad with a fresh strawberry shake hit the spot! And with our full and happy bellies we went to Powell's Bookstore. Even with an epic meltdown (Brooks was distraught to find that the isles were not race tracks for the umbrella stroller...apparently we need to go to more book stores and libraries) we had a lovely time. Brooks soaked up story time with "Gram-mom," and I found a few fabulous books to bring home. And I even bumped into an old friend from high school! It was a good day. :)

^^ Thought these old backpacks were awesome. Wish this place was closer! I found some steals... ^^

^^ She doesn't mess around with her icecream. HA! ^^

^^ While the kids and I got some fresh air (to cool down after Brooks' tantrum) I saw a sweet friend from High School! What are the odds?? :) So good to chat and catch up for a few minutes, that Caitlin is going places! Congrats on med school girl! ^^

^^ I saw this sweet sight four times while in Washington...they played hard and slept hard. ^^

^^ Love all the bridges over the Columbia River. :) Bye Portland!...until next time. ^^ 

Trip to Washington: Home Sweet Home

Two weeks ago the kids and I flew to Washington to visit my parents. "Gram-mom" and "Gram-pa" were so good to us! This first post (of a few I'll post about our trip) is filled with pictures of our time spent at home sweet home. :) Adam came towards the end of the week to cheer on my Dad and me as we raced in the Beever Freezer Triathlon, hence he's only in the last few photos of our gorgeous, rainy hike to Cougar Creek, one of our favorite walking trails, on Sunday after we listened to inspiring General Conference messages. :) Thank you so much Mom and Dad for such a wonderful week!! You were so patient with the kids (it was a rough week for those two) and me.

We love and miss you more than we can say.

^^ Lots of little handprint traced. :) ^^

^^ Looking out the airplane window as we landed in Portland. ^^

^^ Ava was in my Baby Bjorn at the airport, so that's why it only shows Brooks so excited to see "Gram-mom" and "Gram-pa"...he was GIDDY! ^^

^^ He ADORES her ^^

^^ Ava loved the Cheerio necklace Grandma made her...cute and tasty ;) ^^

^^ My Mom's pumpkin curry soup and spinach, strawberry salad...one of the many delicious lunches she made...miss her cooking. ^^

^^ Training with my Dad!  It was a beautiful ride that day... ^^

^^ Grahams and milk...a favorite snack in the Stum house ^^

^^ A rainy afternoon called for snuggling in blankets to watch 'Aristocats' and sip hot cocoa with Gram-mom...Brooks was in Heaven ^^

^^ German pancake brunch for General Conference! ^^

^^ Nothing like that PNW green. ^^