We had the pleasure of celebrating Mark and Michelle's wedding on Saturday, March 19. What a joy it was to see the two of them get married and commit to spending their lives together. We are so excited to not only have a new sister, but to have a niece, Taylor! She is eight and a complete joy. It was such fun to get to know Michelle's family, meet some of Mark and Michelle's friends, and spend time with the whole Ellis crew.
Here are just a few pictures from the celebration. We're so thankful for the blessing of Michelle and Taylor.
A few weeks ago, Mackenzie and I filled our Honda Civic with camping gear and supplies and went on a three-day adventure along the Washington Coast and around the Olympic National Park. We've been to the Washington Coast before, but never to the Olympic peninsula.
And believe it or not, this is only the second time we've been camping since we've lived in Washington. The first was for our second anniversary. It wasn't exactly a disaster, but we did get rained on quite a bit, and in hindsight it didn't seem like we packed all the supplies we should have. That wasn't entirely the reason we hadn't been camping again, but I think it kept Mackenzie from wanting to do so anytime soon.
But we wanted to take a short trip this summer and knew we needed to do so with a small budget, so we decided to give camping another go. I'm happy to say our second experience was far better than our first.
We stayed at Kalaloch Campground, literally one block from the beach. Even in August it was cloudy and cool, but we kept a warm fire going at all times while at our site. We even did most of our cooking over the fire, which I think was one of Mackenzie's favorite things. We went with a few of the tried-and-true camping favorites (hobo stew, franks and beans, smores, etc.) and even tried making bacon and coffee over the fire.
While we were there, we took a few hikes along the beach, as well as a few day trips to the Hoh Rain Forest, La Push, and Ruby Beach. Driving just a few miles from the coast, the sun would start to peak out and the temperature would increase by at least ten degrees--weird Washington weather.
My favorite part was lunch along the Hoh River. We found a spot just off the beaten path, stuck our feet in the freezing cold water, and enjoyed the view.
On our way home we took the northern route and stopped along the way to explore Port Angeles, Hurricane Ridge, and Port Townsend. We're already making plans to go back.
This weekend we went to the Washington coast with some friends! Two of the guys are in the army, so they were able to rent an army owned beach house, quite inexpensively. It was a great time - relaxing, filled with laughter, and lots of smores!
We drove out on Friday night with our friends Matt and Courtney. Tucker joined the group and was a very good boy. We played some lively games of Catch Phrase on Friday night then headed down to the beach on Saturday. We made a fire pit, grilled hot dogs and smores, and played frisbee and football. Tucker also had his first beach experience (with us anyway). He loved the water and we could barely coax him out! Granted the wet dog smell was not the greatest. :)
We just got home last night (late!!) from Chicago and Indianapolis. We flew to Chicago on Wednesday with Nate and Kara after their visit to spend some time with the fam. It was nice to have 2 whole days where we weren't painting or doing any housework - it was amazing!!!
Then on Saturday, we drove to Indianapolis with Rita and Gary for Nana's (Cliff's gram/Rita's mom) 80th birthday party! It was a surprise...and boy was she surprised. It was nice to see family and spend time with Mark and Trent. (They drove over from EIU.)
Sunday morning we went to church with Bob, Sheron, and Brit (Cliff's aunt and uncle/Gary's sister). It was nice to see their church - it reminded me of my church in Alabama. It was great! Then we went back to Sheron and Bob's for an Easter brunch. It was exciting to see that whole side of the family and all the new babies that have been born since the last time we saw everyone. Amazing how time flies.
We flew home late last night...getting it at 11 is rough, but well worth it! Then it was back to work today...crazy as ever. It was a beautiful day though, which was awesome. We got home, mowed the lawn, I went for a run...great day!
