Our travels (Part One)

Wow!!  It has been such a great weekend.  We got to spend lots of time with family and see some amazing things.  There is just no way I can get everything into one post.  We had such a fun time in Vancouver and Seattle that it was a little sad to come back to boring old ordinary Cheney.  Whitney has already asked when we are going back to see Magnus and grandma and Uncle Conner.  So I know she liked the trip. 

My mom lights the brownies for my birthday. I prefer brownies to cake, so that is what I asked for instead.  And it was delicious.  I wish I could go back in time and have another piece. 

Whitney was very good at helping me open my presents.  She loves unwrapping gifts and I enjoy watching her just as much as I enjoy unwrapping things myself.  I got some great gifts from my family - some books, a season of Boy Meets World, a couple of large food containers, and some ankle weights that are good for exercising.  Thank you everyone for the wonderful presents.  I love birthdays.

And Rachel loves ice cream.  Will gave her a little bite of his vanilla ice cream and the she kept leaning forward to get more bites.  She got antsy if Will was too slow, not that I blame her.

After a not too terrible car trip, we made it to Ruth and Dana's house really late Friday night.  Whitney loved, loved little Magnus.  She would hold his arm and half walk/half drag him all around.  They played and read and spoke baby jibberish together.  It was so cute.  Whitney got out a ton of books and was reading them to Magnus and Rachel.

Here Whitney and Magnus are in the hallway throwing a ball back and forth.  I think Whitney did most of the legwork here and Magnus mostly watched.  I am glad Whitney really liked her little cousin.

There is a park really close to Ruth and Dana's house that we went to for a little while.  Whitney helps push Rachel in the swing.  This only made me a little nervous since Whitney has a hard time remembering that the swing comes back and you have to stay out of the way.  Thankfully, there were no major injuries to any children while at the park.

Will brought his bubble stuff to the park and impressed all the kids.  Magnus enjoyed chasing after the big bubbles.  Ruth and Dana got a turn making the big bubbles also.  It was a little breezy, so it was a little bit of a challenge to make the bubbles.  The kids didn't seem to mind though.

The children's section of the Vancouver library is awesome.  We went there Monday morning while Dana had to work.  Whitney and Will take a turn in a little boat.

There were all kinds of contraptions to twist and turn.  It was like a little children's museum that promotes learning while playing.

Rachel liked the library as well.  She is playing with one of many things against the walls that you can maneuver little pieces around.  I think this one you move apple letters on an apple tree to try to make the word apple.

Here we are at Ruth and Dana's house.  We got to spend lots of time playing games together (props to Ruth who creamed us all at Balderdash) and talking together and just sitting around relaxing.  Rachel sits on their little cow; it was one of Whitney's favorite toys. 

Anyway, it was quite a fun trip.  I will have to post some pictures from the zoo in a couple of days.