we visited paradise.
first stop, christine falls —
second stop, narada falls —
the kids and i are tiny little dots standing on the bridge at the top of narada falls.
third stop, paradise…
what am i doing in this last picture? i am taking a picture out the window of our SUV of that tree that stands alone on that little island. poetic,
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the washington-family-reunion-road-trip-vacation-documentation continues on…
after our stop at lake quinault, we continued on to montesano. Montesano, Washington is my hometown. i was born in Juneau, Alaska and also moved to American Fork, Utah the year i was in third grade, but I definitely claim Montesano as my hometown. I lived their most the years from the time i was an infant till i was thirteen years old. and now, my kiddos have been there! so cool.
when i was a kid my grandpa would always tell me this story:
in the early days there was an indian chief named Monte, and one day the indian chief from the next village over paid Monte a visit.
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my sela-bella is six today! and i’m not sure why, maybe because she started kindergarten, but turning six has been a big deal for this girl. she’s been talking about it for months! so, we celebrated like party animals!
for this party, i wanted an invitation that appeared 100% custom and unique, but i didn’t want to do all the work myself. so, this is what i did: i had a mini photo shoot at home with sela:
to make homemade confetti: use a 1″ hold punch + tissue paper colors of your choice. I recommend having the tissue paper folded in at least 4-6+ layers when punching the holes.
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now, i slightly lower my voice and speak in a whisper for this post. because dude, this day on our trip was so incredible it deserves a respectful whisper…
seventeen years ago, i took my husband {at the time, he was my fiancé} to visit lake quinault with my dad. husband instantly loved this place, as i already did. right at that moment, we said we would go back. over the years, we have often mentioned wanting to go back. then, we mentioned wanting to take the kids… and then, it happened. we went back with our kids. and it melted my heart that they all loved it.
one more place to call ours.
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we were emersed in the land of tall tall trees, which is why i think husband and i were inspired to play country music. i spent most of my teen years listening to country music, and pretty much haven’t since then… i currently thrive on adult-alternative tunes. husband has listened to country music on and off throughout his life, mostly off the past sixteen years. he listens to e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g else… and he’s known to sing around the house and adores karaoke. seriously. so, in a nutshell, our kiddos have not heard country music.
now, imagine if you will, the scene below:
now add six of us singing at the top of our lungs to alan jackson’s tall tall trees!
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we ventured out of Sequim, and headed to Port Townsend for one day. it still amazes me how much sunshine we had during our 10-day trip to Washington state. we spent six of those days in the Pacific Northwest with only ONE day of rain. most of you will never understand how amazing that is…
Port Townsend is a small section of the northwest that reminds me of the northeast. a beautiful waterfront community with no shortage of sail boats, seagulls, and fresh seafood.
while driving into the area, we spotted a VW fair and had to stop!
says Kiana: this is the car i want, exact color,
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