Family Reunion | Part 1

A couple weekends ago, Liam, Lyla, and I flew with my mom to Washington for a family reunion! The last time we went Liam was Lyla's age, so it felt like a crazy time warp experiencing my daughter taking some of her first steps on the same farm that my son did just 3 years before. We missed having Nic with us so much this time but he started his new job the Monday we were out of town so he had to stay behind. 

It was Lyla's first flight ever and the only one that Liam can remember so far and they both did great! Lyla struggled with ear discomfort during take off and landing, thankfully I had nursing to help her while Liam happily ate his sucker. :)

My aunt picked us up from the Seattle airport and had pizza waiting for us when we got back to her home. Lyla with her foot in her plate of food about kills me haha ...

My aunt and uncle live on a golf course so Liam had a blast getting to ride on their golf cart!

That night Liam and I had to share a bed for the first time. He's always slept in his own bed so as I was tucking him in and telling him I was going to be staying he said, "No mom, you find your own bed." haha For a few minutes there I thought I might just be sleeping on the floor but I rubbed his back a few times and he was fast asleep and never even knew I stayed. ;)

When we woke up the next morning, we piled in the car and headed to Mount Vernon where the rest of my mom's family was waiting. This angel fell fast asleep on the car ride there and I had the sweetest view getting to ride in the back seat with her ...

Liam spent the first half of the drive awestruck by all of the cranes, giant buildings, cargo ships, and stadiums that make up downtown Seattle! Then when we hit farmland, out came the tablet. haha

Until we showed up here ... this incredibly breathtaking place ... my aunt and uncle's farm! We never left outside!

Besides getting to visit with and hug my extended family, probably the second best part of this trip for me was witnessing this place through Liam's eyes. He was not only surrounded in all of his favorite things but actually got to ride on most of them for the first time!!! My Uncle Keith giving him his first ride on a tractor and letting him even drive it too ...

And his riding lawn mower ...

My uncle also has an obsession with collecting model trains and built these incredibly intricate tracks around part of his property ...

A little boy's heaven! I think I heard, "Mom, I'm going to go play with my combine harvester" at least 100 times while we were there and it made me smile even bigger every single time. 

To top it off, my aunt has created the most magical toy room for her grand kids to play whenever they come to her house and both Liam and Lyla were in love with it ...

Lyla girl even found a dolly ... look at her reach for it (melt my heart!) ...

More and more family began to come by and visit! My Grandma Jan with my mom on the left and Liam playing ball with my Uncle Jim on the right ...

Lyla and my cousin, Melissa ...

The same push toy airplane Liam learned to walk with the last time he was here and the same swing he rode in too ... that swing gave me quite the scare this time though when the knot came undone on the left side while she was swinging in it. Luckily she was perfectly fine and didn't seem phased but it sure scared her momma quite a bit! 

Liam adored being surrounded by other kids to play with the whole time we were there! These are my cousin Melissa's kids (minus Carter who was Liam's favorite friend while we were there) ...

And I can't possibly leave out my mom's best friend, Janel. She is always the life of the party! I was cracking up watching her try and hang all of these solar lanterns to "decorate the yard" that she brought with her. haha Laughing even harder at the jokes she was telling around the camp fire later that night!

As I expected, Lyla rarely got set down the whole trip. haha Everyone loved meeting her, holding her, and FEEDING HER! Devouring a chocolate chip cookie in this one ...

That was our first day at the farm! Soaking up that 75-80 degree weather with the perfect amount of breeze. Visiting with people I love that I haven't seen in 3 years and excited to see many more the following day. Part 2 (day two) of our trip tomorrow ... X)