Our Trip to Port Angeles, in pictures!

I'm sorry it's taken me SO long to get these up! We've had a whirlwind couple weeks since we've been back, so please forgive me!
We were in Port Angeles, WA from Dec 20 to Dec 31. The week before we left was packed with, well, packing. And a little fun! The girls and I had breakfast at Ihop one morning, and Lucy and I took in a screening of The Princess And The Frog. She loved it!

We went out to lunch at Chik-Fil-A, and then headed across to the theater. She bounced all over the place, but so did most of the audience. She was frog-obsessed for about 72 hours after the movie, but our trip got her back into reality pretty quick.

Here she is outside the theater. I tried to get her to look up, but the sun was way too bright!

Once the movie was over, we kicked it into high gear to get ready for our trip. That meant a very early bedtime on the 19th, as we had to be up at 3am the next morning.

Both girls were angels for the entire trip to WA, including a little mishap in the Orange County airport involving one lost toddler and two oblivious parents. Molly snuggled right up and passed out for most of the trip, and Lucy was busy looking out the window and chattering about airplanes.

Molly made sure to stick close by Mama for most of the trip. I loved this pic because you can see Molly nursing in her favorite position. I usually try to hold her down in public, but she likes to get up on her knees. It's just about the most ridiculous thing I have to deal with. Thank goodness the public nursing is over for the most part. I'm really not a modest person, but Molly needing to stand up while she nurses is a little much.

I loved this picture, even though it was a bit blurry. Lucy still holds on to her paci addiction, but Molly is really learning to fight back and get angry when she needs to! I feel like most of our days are spent yelling, "Put it back! Put it down! Give it back!"

Once we hit the farm, Molly was quick to attach herself to Papa. Those two spent a lot of time together, wandering around, reading books, hunting for snacks and generally "being." I think his mellowness is calming to her. He just carried her around for most of the week and she was a very happy girl. We ended up with a sick little Molly for about 4 days out of the 11, so everyone actually got to see her quiet and lethargic side. She ended up snuggling with just about everyone, trying to keep her fever in check and get that tooth through!

Lucy and Daddy made some time to get out and explore the farm. Lucy wasn't too keen on the whole idea of the great outdoors. You can tell she's a city slicker. She said outside was "icky" and the barn "smelled like poop."

Yeah, looks like she just hated every minute.

Molly had lots of time with her fellow red-haired cousins. One of my favorite parts of the trip was watching her with her big cousins who would climb into her baby prison and lie on the floor while she beat them up.

She also had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa, who liked having a "not so heavy" baby around for awhile. Molly loves books and reading, so Grandma Susie was the one for her!

Lucy was quickly introduced to the flag raising and having to carry a gun. She was very unsure of the whole process. Behavior like that will land you on KP pretty quick, but I think her cute little face got her out of any serious trouble.

We were so lucky to see so many members of our extended family while we were in town. Molly was especially tickled to see Great-Great Uncle Mike's mustache.

We also got to spend some time with Dad and Tammy, who live in a menagerie. Lucy loved seeing the guinea pigs and bunnies and dogs!

Molly was more excited about the general lack of rules and new places to climb.

Cousin Rachel was quick to nab the kids and keep them very busy with various activites. Lucy thought Rachel was her sister, since they had the same color hair. Kind of like Marty going back to Africa, I guess.

Molly got a little extra attention from Uncle Chris, who happens to be a sucker for cute little girls. We had a great time visiting with Chris and Kasie!

What happens when you tell a two-year-old that she has to wait to open presents? Sad face.

Everyone pitched in to give Grandma and Grandpa a new laptop and webcam for Christmas! They were so shocked and happy!

We went to Mass at 5pm on Christmas Eve and were so blessed to have both girls conk out after a long day of family, food and presents!

Christmas morning brought lots more activity, fun and of course, presents!

This picture kills me. If Lucy's in the house, everyone will have to take a turn with the stethoscope. Gotta keep those tickers going!

I love the missing shoe.

We headed back to Dad and Tammy's on Christmas night for some more fun. Molly was told she wasn't allowed to climb around in this chair and I couldn't resist her reaction. "No" really hits home with this one!

Lucy, Molly, Meg and Maddy!

Me and Dad!

Andrew, Lucy, Mom and the boys took a hike to Madison Falls the day after Christmas.

While we were in Washington, we were blessed with the opportunity to stay at the Walker Guest House. It was so nice to have a little retreat to ourselves amid all the hustle and bustle of family time and holidays. Uncle Milo and Aunt Terri have a lovely place and if you're ever in the area, this is the place to be! We loved that we could see all the way to Canada from the living room!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was having the opportunity to spend time with our dear, wonderful friends, the Davis family.

Here are Sarah and Katie making the state of Washington out of napkins. These two are...a class act.

Sarah and Aaron picked up Frugal's for everyone and we all met up at the Hook for lunch. It was cold, but if you wait for warm weather in Port Angeles....

Let me tell you about Nathan. Nathan and Lucy are about the same age, and they've NEVER gotten along. It's ridiculous. Getting them to share anything is like pulling teeth. I have no idea why they just can't play together, but they can't. It's funny because Sarah and Katie and Nina and I played together nearly every day of our childhoods with very few problems. You put Lucy and Nathan in a room together and somebody's not going to make it out. And they're both incredibly charming and well-behaved children!
So, knowing the history of violence that Lucy and Nathan have, these pictures are hilarious. Nathan in blue stripes with a blue cup. Lucy in pink stripes with a pink cup. Coincidentally completely matching. Both secretly plotting to do harm while smiling so innocently at the camera. They even high-fived and giggled together before getting down again and starting the madness all over.

Something seriously amiss with these two....but how cute are these pictures?!?!

Lucy also LOVED having Aaron's undivided attention for a whole morning of tea parties and other fun. She thought he was REALLY something!

And Molly....well...Molly climbed.

We had a wonderful trip. We were able to spend so much time with so many wonderful people!

But let's be serious. Lucy's vacation highlight was being able to walk through the castle doors to board the plane. This was seriously a dream come true for her and she was nearly speechless when she saw our gate all gussied up for some promotion.

We had a blast on vacation, but one little miss was very happy to see our house again. As we pulled into the garage, she yelled, "We're in Texas!" She thinks our house is Texas.

And how nice is it to have the whole state to just the four of us?