Tourists in Our Home State

Here are some more pictures of some of our adventures from home.  We truly felt like we were tourists  in many ways. Since our house is rented out my sister and brother-in-law graciously let us stay in their basement.  In my opinion, I feel that this turned in very well.  I enjoyed having time with them and the rest of my family.  We were allowed to call their house "home base" and go everywhere we needed/wanted to go whenever we wanted!

I hope my friends who are less familiar with Washington State enjoy these pictures of our summertime adventures!

When we got home and picked up Cooper, he was so excited that he wanted to get in the car and just go! Definitely Tim's dog! Thanks again to the Kleins for watching him last year!

These next pictures are from Eastern Washington.  It was very hot this summer but also very dry.

While the wildfires raged in the mountains, the smoke came to the lake.  These are pictures of the sun at about 6:00 in the evening.

After the smoke had cleared out a  bit, we went up to Dry Falls. I stopped and took a picture of the canyon/coulee from above.

Dry Falls was once larger than Niagara Falls.

We brought Delaney's good friend Lexi with us once.  Here is a picture of them with Janna at Dry Falls.

The illusive "Gene" came to see us. So nice to see friends you have seen in a long time!

Yes, that is me pulling Janna in a floatie. Just some fun in the sun!

Since it was so hot, the kids staying in the water until almost 9:00 this night.

We also went to Grand Coulee Dam.  The new laser light show is great. I would recommend that you see Grand Coulee Dam sometime in your lifetime. It's huge!

We also went to a Mariners game with our good friends Paul and Jill!

This is where the WORLD CHAMPION Seattle Seahawks play, Century Link Field. Otherwise known as "The Clink". Sadly, we didn't get to see them. 

Paul was a little startled by my taking his picture.  It was so nice to see him and Jill!

It's great to see the Mariners win a game!

And of course, we had nachos and what you see above, GARLIC FRIES! YUM!

We then went and visited our friends Mark and Glenda who were staying at Birch Bay one afternoon.

It was so nice to see them and Savannah. Such a wonderful dog!

Janna was startled when I showed her a small crab on the beach. It was moving towards her at a fast pace when I showed it to her!

The tide was coming in but the water was really warm!

No, we didn't make this sand castle but we had to take a picture of it. It was impressive. Sadly, I'm sure it was gone by the next day. Washed out with the tide.

Delaney getting a henna tattoo.

Janna got one too!

This guy was nearby watching the girls getting their tattoos.

After getting the artwork, I had to show this kids and Tim a little bit of my childhood. I went to the C Shop every summer. I love the candy sea foam, the ice cream and the white chocolate. All hand made there!

The day before I flew out to Beirut the family spent the day at the Seattle Science Center as well.

We went to EMP, Experience Music Project. A music museum dedicated to the history of music, mostly from Seattle.

This is a "tornado" of instruments. It's at least two stories high.

We also went to the Butterfly House in the Science Center. This was a big hit with the girls!

A few of the eating

This one thought Delaney was interesting....

We then went up the Space Needle. The girls had never done this.

What always surprises me is that many of the students at our school have a picture of this on their computers because of Windows 8. They don't realize that it is real!

The "Lego" version.

As always, the view was spectacular! ...and cloudy!

In the distance, where we saw the Mariners Game.

It didn't seem so high up when we were up there. But this view makes you realize how tall it is. It takes 45 seconds to go up the elevator to the top.

As always, Washington State is home. The place where we grew up. I am happy we had the summer there but happy to be back in Beirut!

Two Weeks of Adventures - on the Far Side of the World from Beirut!

Welcome to the Summer! Here we are! Back in Washington State visiting family, going to the lake and seeing places and people with a new appreciation! After being here for two weeks we haven't seemed to slow down very much.  Here are some pictures of just a few of our adventures so our friends on the "Far Side of the World" can see where we are from!

The girls and I went on a walk at Boulevard Park in Bellingham with my sister and niece. It was a beautiful day!

This is my wonderful sister, Libby. 

As you can see, the beaches here are rocky but still great places to go.

There is a wonderful walkway along the water. Not quite the Corniche in Beirut but still beautiful in it's own way.

A little goofy here. I think they were getting wet. My sister, Libby, my niece, Audrey, and Delaney and Janna.

Cousins, sitting on the grass and just talking. Quality time.

We then went to the other side of the mountains to Eastern Washington.  It reminded me more of Lebanon because it was warmer but it still was nice to not have the humidity.

We visited Grandpa Jack. Hmm, Delaney is being awefully hopeful. I think she will have to wait a couple of years.

 And then we were off to the lake!

It's wonderful to be with the ones we love AND in the water!

Elijah was pushing is Dad into the water. Too bad he got pulled in too!

J caught 10 rainbow trout and one bass.  We watched the "master" fillet them for him.  Thanks again Mike!

Playing games with new friend and family.  It was a hot day but cloudy so it was bearable.

Nice selfie!

More games

More attitude!

On our way out of town, we stopped at Dry Falls to get our yearly picture of the kids.  

We then went up into the mountains to a town called Leavenworth. In the past, Leavenworth was a dying town. In order to save the town they made it look Bavarian and it is now fun place to go and see it's style.

On our way to breakfast.

Yes, waffle with blueberries and whipped cream, bacon, yes, bacon and an egg. One happy girl!

Biscuits and Gravy for this one. Of course, she had bacon as well!

This is the local park

 We then went for a walk at the Riverside Park. What a beautiful place.

This is a man made lake to help Steelhead grow and return to the river. 

The girls along the Wenatchee River.

Our beautiful trail

On our way out of town we stopped at a dam along the highway before going back over to the west side of the mountains.

We then went over Steven's Pass and stopped at Deception Falls.

Along the water

I added this picture because this is the type of forest I grew up with.  To me, pictures like this will always remind me of my childhood. 

The falls were really loud and we were getting wet!

The falls seem to go up and up....

and up...

And up!

This was the view from the bridge looking down.

We will have more summer adventures to show later. I hope this gives you all more of an idea of where we are from (if you don't know Washington).