A few photos-catching up

One of the homes we rented-Country Victorian. Built in late 1800s by a man with the Hudson Bay Co. 

Deception Pass State Park

Smores with view of Puget Sound

Cama Beach on Camano Island

Boys on a date with mommy 

Amazing Sunset-unedited 

Vancouver, BC by Coley

PHOTOS:

-Stanley Park (above)

-Steam clock in Gastown

-Knox using chopsticks in Chinatown @ Hons. Vancouver boasts the third largest Chinatown in the U.S. 

-Crossing the border was a first for the kids 

  Vancouver is my favorite weekend trip that we have taken. It was a very "New Yorkish" city but not nearly as crowded. Vancouver has a Chinatown area which my family and I went to. We ate at Hons and enjoyed the amazing dumplings. 

  One thing that really caught my eye was how many coffee shops there were. On one street alone there were FIVE Starbucks within a mile of each other. 

  We also visited Stanley Park which is larger than Central Park in NYC. 

The rest of the trip is as they say "history", and if you reader want to know more you must go to Vancouver yourself!

Coley

LaConner, WA

Our rental home is about 6 miles outside of LaConner. It's such a cute and tiny little coastal town. It's right on the water with lots of fishing boats, small shops, and fantastic restaurants. We have only been in town a couple of times to walk or hike at the park. Everything closes by 6 so there isn't much nightlife.

Family in LaConner, WA

Boats in LaConner

Coming up soon...guest post by Coley on our trip to Vancouver, BC. 

Bellingham, and Bow Washington-Chuckanut Drive

Last week the kids and I drove about 30 miles to Bellingham. It's a quaint town on the Puget Sound. We walked about a mile along the seaside trail to a park, visited the unbelievable Village Bookstore, ate at Fairhaven Fish (double decker bus) and ended our time with Mallards Ice Cream (all natural and yummy).

On our way home, we took the scenic Chuckanut Drive along the winding coast with amazing views. We stopped for cheese tasting at Samish Bay Cheese and enjoyed the Bread Farm Bakery in the tiny and surprisingly cute town of Edison. This was probably one of my favorite days because I love discovering places on foot, trying local foods, and seeing such amazing scenery. 

Fairhaven in Bellingham

Fairhaven Fish

Samish Bay Cheese-Bow, WA

The Bread Farm in Edison, WA

Guest Post by Parker

Dear friends and family,

I write this to tell of my trip to Seattle, Washington. On our way, we went to Sedona, AZ. When we walked by a restaurant a strong wind picked up and I heard a loud CRRRAACK! Some of the outside-seating umbrellas had started to fly away.While my mom tried to get the whole family under a covered walkway, an umbrella was right over my head. If the wind had stopped, I would have a huge lump on my head. One umbrella landed on top of a building and one landed in a tree (see the photo below).

Peace,
Parker

😦

In Idaho we all shared this ice cream potato P.S. It was not on a real potato.😀

Check out this huge cookie. It was the size of my face.😋

Idaho City and Roaring Springs

This morning we drove about 45 minutes to Idaho City, a historic town with a current population of about 500. We scored some books at the town's used bookstore (donations only). Then we hiked 2.5 miles along a creek and picnicked at the Pioneer Cemetery. 

Once back in Boise, we headed to Roaring Springs. By some accounts this is a top 10 water park, and we all had a blast. Tomorrow we drive to Washington. 

We have to prepare the kids that the next few weeks won't be like this-adventure every day. Daddy actually has to work:)

The Oregon Trail

Hiking Idaho City

Used Bookstore

Roaring Springs Water Park-Boise

Boise, Idaho

  I must say that Boise was never really on my destination list, but it just made sense for us to stop here, and I'm so glad we did. It's a really beautiful city nestled down in a valley. 

 After a few intense travel days we had a leisurely morning...I ran on the Greenbelt which runs along the Boise River. We had a picnic at a park (one of 150 in Boise). After stopping by Boise State's campus and seeing the blue turf, we swam in the hotel pool. For dinner we went to Westside Drive-In (featured on Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives) and tried fried steak and and ice cream potato (ice cream that looks like a potato). Then we stopped by Powells Sweet Shoppe and strolled downtown. We discovered a neat little book shop called Rediscovered Books. Now everyone has their head in a new book. Shh! 

  Tomorrow we plan to take a hike and spend the afternoon at Roaring Springs.(a top 10 water park)

Boise State's Blue Turf

Westside Drive In-fried steak & ice cream potato

Travel Day

Today was our longest travel day. We drove from Flagstaff, AZ to Boise, ID. We crossed the Colorado River, drove through The Great Basin, Salt Lake City, Utah and spotted the Great Salt lake. We use tickets in the car to earn treats like ice cream and listen to lots of books on tape like the Redwall series. 

The Grand Canyon

Rainbow on the drive from Flagstaff to GC

The boys

Sweet Coley

Hiking the outer rim

My love! (Photo by Coley)

The first few days.

Well so far we've spend two full days on the road, but we finally had a sightseeing day in Sedona, AZ. The highlight was an off-road jeep your that took us to the top of the rock formations. 

I know. I know. I'm terrible at blogging. No surprise there. I am, however, determined to re-birth this blog for the summer. The Stout's are headed on a journey to the Pacific Northwest. This is a timely adventure as we have just finished a year of American History, geography, etc. The kids (and I) have learned all the states and capitals and many features of US geography. We will be taking about a week to drive out/back. Some of the locations on our journey are The Grand Canyon, Park City, UT, Boise, Idaho (Roaring Springs-a top 10 water park). While in Washington we hope to enjoy the Pacific coast, drive into Canada, and spend time in the city of Seattle. On the trip back we hope to hit Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, and Schlitterbahn (a Kansas City water park). Who knows what else we might get into along the way. Here we go....!!