Back to the US

Sunday

We got up early and headed to try to catch the early ferry leaving for Washington. The terminal was literally across the street from our hotel, so the commute was pretty easy. We were the 20th car on "standby" and #19 was the last one on the boat. Oh well, we didn't need to be on it, just thought we would give it a shot. The good news was we were the 1st car in line for the next ferry 5 hrs later! So we had the morning to walk around and enjoy the city. That afternoon we got on the boat and were headed for Washington. It was one of those days with a two year old.... He was exhausted and I hoped he would fall asleep in my lap, then I could fall asleep too. He didn't. He just wanted to be up walking around, making noise, playing with the folding chairs, etc... I was glad to see land again.

Our next destination was Vancouver, WA to stay with some friends, David and Lauren. We drove 2 hrs, ate a nice dinner at Outback Steakhouse and spent the night near Olympia. The next morning we finished the trip and arrived at their house. They have 2 little boys, almost 4 yrs old and 15 months. The kids were thrilled to have toys and kids to play with. We had a great visit with them and were able to just relax and recharge. It was much needed for all of us. I am so sad we didn't take any pictures while we were there. I think we just felt like we could relax and weren't on vacation anymore, so we didn't even think about the camera. Kayden and Halie got along as well as a 4yr old boy and 5yr old girl could and had a great time. Austin and Kael had fun chasing eachother around and babbling with one another! We really appreciated them opening up their home to us, especially after just moving in a few weeks ago.

Then, the trek to Colorado began. We were on the road for about 15 hrs the first day and about 10 hrs the second day. As we entered Denver, which is about an hour from Colorado Springs, we managed to hit 5:00 traffic. Awesome. We were exhausted, hungry, Halie managed to get altitude sickness or car sickness, and we just wanted to be there... We finally made it and were so thrilled to see the Winslows! John had made a wonderful taco dinner for us and the kids got to take a bath, which was a treat after weeks of showers!