The Smith's Go To Washington - Part One

This is a trip nearly three years in the making! G & Zack came to visit us in Washington! This was a huge deal, especially seeing how it was the first time either of them had been on an airplane and G is scared to death of heights...but they braved it and came anyway, way to go G & Zack!!!



We got to have them with us from Monday afternoon until early this morning and we had such a fabulous time with them. We love having family come to visit us. Don't get me wrong, we love going home - but when we do, we are pulled in a million different directions...so many people to see...not nearly enough time...and we are exhausted by the time we get back to WA. However, when someone comes to visit us, we get to give them our undivided attention for the entire duration of their stay which results in some pretty amazing quality time.



We were so glad to have G & Zack in our home and we made sure to take them on some Washington adventures!

We started off with a picnic at our local beach. Zack loved picking out all sorts of snacks to bring with us.

I think he loved eating them, too =)

Spot also came along on this Washington trip...

I took Zack to Build-A-Bear in Memphis, Tennessee, to make Spot before we moved to Washington...he was just three at the time. Spot is his best buddy and goes just about anywhere Zack goes.

He would like to be a brave tree climber, he just needs a little help getting started.


Then it was time for some rock exploration on the beach.

Did I mention this beach is called "Sunnyside?" Not too much sun going on today...or for most of their trip to Washington. I was bummed that the weather didn't cooperate, but G & Zack didn't mind one bit. I think they were enjoying a break from the triple digit heat and humidity in Mississippi.

We took an afternoon trip to the zoo.


We brought Derek along with us, too.


Checked out the shark tank...


Including the "catfish shark" as Zack called it.


And I found a new love - tiny little seahorses called Quarterhorses.

So tiny, so cute!

Zack got to ride a camel...

...and he asked us to pretend like we didn't know him, lol.

Then we went into a cute bird exhibit where you could buy a feeding stick and feed them.


This is what happened when Zack held out the stick...

Ha, ha, ha!! He totally freaked out, but it didn't seem to bother the bird, lol. Then he dropped the stick...poor bird.

But Derek picked it up so the sweet little bird could snack.


Our little monkey sure loved the other little monkey today.

Brothers?? Twins???

We also enjoyed the other zoo animals...

Like the cute little penguins, Mr. Popper's of course.

And the elephants...

We did get to watch them being fed and getting their feet all hosed off, quite fun!

And the lone tiger out for the day...

This one is just a year old and had just woken up from his nap. I must admit, his intense stare at Zack made me quite thankful for the fence.

But the walruses were the show-stopper for the day.

We watched them for the longest time and really enjoyed their playfulness.

This guy was pretty worn out from his first day of adventure.


And it's a good thing he got some rest because we had more fun in store for the next day!