WA Vacation Days 1 and 2 -- Arrive and 4th of July

We had the BEST vacation to Washington from July 3-July 13. SO NICE! We started our vacation a little rocky with not being able to catch a flight out since we fly stand-by. My mom came down to the airport and hung out with us to give us an extra hand with Jarem. But Rose was generous and used her miles to buy us a flight out of Phoenix. We had so many bags and Eric’s bike box was so big that we actually needed two cars just to get our luggage home from the airport. So Aunt Linda and Rose met us at the airport in separate cars. We were so happy to be there and see them! We stopped at Burgerville (fast food burger place) on our way to Olympia and enjoyed a nice lunch together. That evening we hung out at Rose’s house and had dinner out on the balcony at their house. Everyone enjoyed fresh seafood (except me and Jarem of course) and soaked in the amazing weather!

Saturday, July 4th was one of my favorite days of all time! We had such an amazing day! In the morning Grandma and Grandpa Gary were ready to play with Jarem! Gary even made Jarem a Mickey Mouse pancake. So cute... After that, Eric decided to start his training for the big bike ride he had coming up that next weekend. So Eric and Gary jumped on the tandem bicycle and rode from Olympia to Tacoma. It was about 55 miles and SO HOT! Hot there is different from Arizona because of the humidity. But they had a nice ride and made it to grandma’s house safely. While they were riding their bikes, Rose, Jarem and I drove over to Eric’s grandma’s house and visited with grandma. Then I snuck out for about an hour and went down to the Tacoma waterfront to get some pictures of the air show. This was my first ever air show and I didn’t have the best view but I definitely had fun! We’ll have to go to the one here at Luke Air Force base one of these years. I’m sure Jarem will enjoy that when he gets older.

After the air show I went back to grandma’s and we all piled in the car and headed over to Aunt Linda’s house. She had planned a BBQ for all of us. We had SO MUCH GOOD FOOD! She made everything from ribs to homemade fruit salad. YUMMY!!! We ate in the backyard and had so much fun. Jarem loved running around in her beautiful yard and it was such a nice afternoon.
Nap time... Jarem, Gary and Grandma all napped. I was jealous!After hanging out in the yard for a few hours, Eric and I headed back to the Tacoma waterfront. Rose and Gary took Jarem home for bedtime since the fireworks there don’t start until 10:00pm. They start so late cause that’s when it gets dark in the summertime. It is nice having such long days! We went to the Freedom Fair at the Tacoma waterfront and walked around and had so much fun. After getting our full of the Freedom Fair, we hiked up this massive hill (think streets in San Francisco) and met Aunt Linda, Eric’s cousin Kacia and her fiancé Chris at their friend’s house. Their house is at the top of the hill and has the most amazing view! We had a perfect seat (in the middle of the street) and watched the amazing fireworks show. The fireworks there are so amazing. They are shot off a barge in the middle of the water. Across the water we saw other shows in the distance. Fourth of July in Washington is definitely a must-see.
This is the barge they shot the fireworks from.