We've been on the road again...

Two years ago, before we sold our home in Redmond, Washington, and packed up for a year in France, we went on a local trip to the San Juan Islands. This little group of cabins books out two years in advance so we dutifully booked a week for the summer of 2010. As our girls said goodbye to all of their friends they were comforted in being able to say, "We'll be back in two years!" Well, two years has come and gone so we packed up the dutiful minivan and headed north.

There were two parts to the trip: seeing old friends, and the San Juans. We spent five days at our good friends the Serafins. We met the Serafins when they moved in four houses down when Tennie was about two and a half, and their oldest, Sela was a year younger.

A little flashback photo compliments of Ashley

Our kids disappeared for hours on end. Ashley and Zig have a yard that easily outshines any yard I've ever seen. They have animals; a trampoline; an orchard; a beautiful, thriving flower and vegetable garden; a huge tree swing, a fire pit, and a tree house with all sorts of swings and ropes and ladders, with the highlight being a zipline. With open-ended days they came up with all sorts of games and ideas. Tennie and Sela even spent an entire afternoon trying to create their own sunscreen (really more like a mud pack).

At the end of each day they were filthy so we'd pile them in the bath and then they would gather around the table for some drawing and snacks.

Tennie and Sela, now 10 and 9

Adele came marching in to the kitchen one evening decked out in costume

The three younger girls found great joy in taking their clothes off...

It turned in to a "Naked Parade"

Enjoying what we call a "dip 'n lick" (Emergen-C Fun Dip style)

After dinner one night the kids put on an impromptu talent show. Sela sang Taylor Swift, Nina and Adele sang, "Honey, honey, oh you thrill me" from Mama Mia, and Rollin and Ceci did whatever they could to steal some of the attention.

One of Tennie's talents was a conversation in French

The girls sang a Willy Wonka song

Ceci making things up as she goes...hoping for laughs

Ceci, Tennie, Sela, Nina and Adele

Ceci on the zipline

The wobbly bridge to the tree house

Tennie on some of the ropes under the tree house

Ceci and the Serafin's gigantic dog Kona

Ceci doesn't realize her marshmellow is on fire...

...now she does.

Luckily Tennie was doing a slow roast and came to her rescue.

Adele and Nina

A campfire isn't complete without singing "Who put the overalls in Mrs. Murphy's chowder".
I hope the neighbors didn't complain...

We saw a few other friends, too. One night we went with Zig and Ashley and Todd and Lori Thompson to a concert (I don't even remember who it was...that shows you how much we were talking instead of listening!!!) at a chateau/vineyard. Other friends, Dave and Lisa Sharp, gave us their tickets when they couldn't make it home from a trip in time.

Our friends, the Parry's came over to the Serafins to play. Their boys, Aidan and Seth, are good friends with Tennie and Adele

We went to a farm we used to visit often, and met our friends the Cases.

Adele in heaven with her new little goat friend

It began to eat Tennie's hair!

Niko Case, and his sister Emily, changed a lot! It was so good to see them.

We saw one of Tennie's best friends, Emily Martin (on the right)

And her second grade teacher, Miss McCathern (and another friend, Crystal Jolly, we happened to see)

We went to our old ward/congregation and it was like going to a family reunion! We were welcomed so warmly, and it was so good to see so many people who have impacted our lives so deeply. What good good people. In seeing all of our friends it felt like we had gone "home".

I'll post about the San Juan's tomorrow.