Cousin Camping Trip!

We had such a fun weekend with family.  Seth's family came and stayed with us and then we rode the ferry together to the peninsula to stay at Zion's camp.

 

Beth and her kids came and Phil and Geniel.  Lots of memories were made.

Ely was so funny pushing the swing and then running away and letting himself get pushed by the swing as it came back.

We did archery.

 

 

Lots of fish were caught.

 

We did a scavenger hunt and found Moroni's box, a place where camps can reenact Moroni and the golden plates.

Beth was great at having kid activities.  She did the scavenger hunt, had a camping bingo game and Maddie and Grandma Geniel did face painting.  Here are Iron Man and Captain America.

Max's rock collection. 

We traded off supervising kids with adult time.  Beth, Lauren and I had girl time and explored the camp.

I also got to see my friend/former roommate Rachel who happened to be staying at Zion's Camp the same weekend.  Her sweet babe was sleeping but she and Jase look cute together.

This camp had a fun playground, archery, canoes, row boats and paddle boats, a stocked lake, swimming in the lake when it's warmer, a rope's course and lots of places to explore.  We loved it.  I didn't get pictures of all of it, but I captured a lot of our fun. 

 

 

 

Girl's Weekend!

My only remorse from this fun weekend was not taking more pics.

I got to drive up early Friday afternoon and do dinner and a movie with a friend.  Then we met up with the others who couldn't get there until later.  We enjoyed having girl time thanks to my friend's dad's timeshare.  We only had one choice of where to go because of how late we scheduled it, but even though it was quiet weekend at Birch Bay, it was so much fun with these friends.  Lots of talking, laughing and relaxing was all I needed.  We took in a traditional Dutch lunch and saw a comedy show.  I didn't even get a shot of all of us.  Oh well.  The memories are what are more important.

 

Temple Date

Heaven on Earth

Birthday Fun!

The Epperson birthday marathon has begun.  Tony starts off the year in February but then we have a few months off until May.  In May we have mine and Ryan's birthday, then in June we have Jase and Max's birthdays.  So fun!

I love birthdays.  I know I'm supposed to despise them but they're a great chance to reflect on blessings and all the fun and learning experiences I've had. 

We celebrated simply and wonderfully on Saturday with a family day.  Max had a baseball game.  He got to be one of the "pitchers" or kids who stands next to the coach who pitches (coach can't field the ball).  He also had his wish come true when he got to play catcher!

Then we headed off to the Seattle Aquarium.  The kids have been wanting to go here forever and I love the ocean and sea life so it was perfect.  We got to enjoy a beautiful sunny day on the Seattle waterfront and learn about animals.

 

Then we headed over to the Fremont troll.  The kids haven't seen it and I haven't been in years.  Almost every time we go over a bridge we quote the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Then after our first dinner choice didn't work out, we decided on Red Robin.  Tony and I got to laugh about how the last time I had Red Robin for my birthday dinner was 10 years ago.  My roommates organized a birthday dinner for me and Tony was one of the people who came (and one of the ones I really wanted to come ; ).  It was just about a week later that we started dating! *Happy sigh*

Sunday was my actual birthday and it was great!  The primary kids sang (seriously, how can you not smile when a bunch of cute kids sing to you?)  Then Tony cooked dinner.  Ben and Kara came over and we went to see "From Cumorah's Hill" which was put on by the church youth.  This performance was very special to me because years and years ago, seeing this performance helped me feel the Holy Ghost witness to me that the Book of Mormon was true scripture.  I stood up in fast and testimony meeting and shared my testimony about the Book of Mormon and how I came to knew it to be another witness of Jesus Christ.  One of the youth performing in From Cumorah's Hill was going to be singing a solo--that part that had touched me years ago and he dedicated his performance to me.  This is a random performance I found on youtube.  It's not the one I first saw nor the one I just saw.  I wish I could share one of those, but this will have to do.  

Fox Hollow Family Farm

We are in love with this cute family farm that we got to visit today.  I love finding fun new places to discover.  This farm had it all.  The kids can't wait to go back and show dad.
It's in Issaquah, right near Tiger Mountain where people hangglide and paraglide.  There are actually two paragliders but I can't see where they are in this picture any more.  I could see them when I was taking the picture.  And it's a cute shot of the inflatables and gazebo where we picknicked today.

The kids got a cup of veggies to feed the animals.  Not all of the animals wanted them, but most did.  There was a llama, miniature ponies. sheep (with baby lambs), chickens, geese, and pigs.  There may have been more but that's off the top of my head.

Inside the barn there were large horses, baby chicks (the boys were in love and kept leaning in to hear them "peeping") and baby piglets. 

The kids got a kick out of riding these 4 wheelers.

Everywhere we went I was taking notes because Tony and I dream of having acreage and a beautiful home and animals.  Someday.  For now I take pictures of this farm because it was so idyllic.  And look how cute Jase looks in his little hat.

They loved riding this train.

And they really loved riding the pony.  This is Pegasus.

We ended at the Sweet Shoppe and play area.

I wonder how soon we can go back? ; )