Blake Getaway

I love the show The Voice and after last season I became even more of a Blake Shelton fan so when I found out he was coming to Seattle with Dia Frampton I had to get tickets!  

I bought the tickets in November for Jeff's Christmas present and we finally got to go to the concert this past Friday night.  We made a night out of it and stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel thanks to a great deal from Priceline.com.  The room was beautiful and although there weren't rose petals in the bath tub it was a wonderful night away. 

Jeff and I have realized in the past three years that it is critical to have time to get away and reconnect as a couple.  Luckily we have Aunty Janice and Aunty Linda who encourage us to get away for a night or two because they love our girls and enjoy spending time with them.  

 It sure makes our time away more enjoyable because I know they are in good hands and are getting completely spoiled.  Over the course of two days they went to dinner at Red Robin, the Skagit Children's Museum, and Chucky Cheese.  Needless to say they had quite the adventure!  

We hung out with the tourists and watched cheese be made, ate some delicious mac and cheese (thanks Christine for the recommendations),  bought some flowers, went to the Pike Brewery, and did plenty of people watching.  

We at 13 Coins which has been featured on the Food Network and Cactus which had an amazing happy hour menu.  We went to bed at 1:00am and slept until 8:00.  We did some shopping on the way home at stores that I really miss like Ulta and DSW shoe warehouse.  

Jeff and I did a lot of walking, eating, drinking, laughing, and just having fun together.  It was the perfect getaway!

First Garner Road Trip

I am so relieved and happy to report that the Montana road trip was a success!  The girls were amazing travelers and once again I stressed and worried for nothing.  However, I am glad I prepared as much as I did because all of the baby gear and toys were fully utilized.  The DVD player was a life saver for Katie and Carly's favorite piece of entertainment was this Doodler.  We left at 3:30am on Saturday and I am so glad we did because those three hours of peaceful travel time were a must. 

We took a break every 2-3 hours at local parks with playgrounds and let the girls run around for a while.   We also had to make a few pit stops for breakfast and potty breaks.  Katie seems to enjoy going potty when we are on the road more than when we are at home....go figure. 

We also took a 1-2 hour mid day break so that the girls could have lunch and run off some energy and then take a good afternoon nap.  On the way there we stopped in Spokane and they were having a Kids Festival at Riverfront Park so it worked out perfectly and Katie got to ride the carousel she missed out on at the zoo.  It's tough being the big sister sometimes. 

It was fun exploring the different towns looking for playgrounds.  Having a smart phone made that so much easier compared to back in the day when we had to use old fashioned paper maps (haha).  Here are some more pictures from our days of traveling. 

And on the way home we found ANOTHER carousel in Missoula.  It was perfect and Katie loved it even more this time.

 
We arrived in Billings where abundant sunshine greeted us.  We visited with family and played in the backyard a lot.   Uncle Kirby even found some of my cousins old toys like this radio flyer wagon that I also had as a kid. 

 One of the highlights of the trip was seeing my grandma Nats.  This was the first time meeting Carly.  She was also surprised to see how much Katie had changed since our visit to Texas a year and half ago.  My grandma moved up to Billings a few months ago because it was hard for her to be alone down in Texas.  I was very glad she made the move because we won't worry about her as much now that she is closer to family.  Plus, we can make the trip to Billings a lot easier than flying all the way to Harlingen, Texas.  Unfortunately I was chasing toddlers around on this trip so I always forgot to take my real camera.  These aren't the best pictures but it was all we could do with our phones. 
 

Katie loved getting a ride on Nats walker. 

We played outside a lot and just hung out at my aunt and uncles house.  Their house has stairs and the girls loved them but it made mommy and daddy very nervous.  We had to constantly follow Carly around and luckily she only took one little tumble.    

The girls played in the sprinkler, the wading pool, and investigated the fruit trees in the backyard.

 

 

 

 

My cousin, Kyler was playing his guitar one morning and my very musical girl wanted to watch him.  Then my Aunt found a little guitar that was perfect for Katie.  She loved it!

Katie loved her big second cousin. She was very interested in what he was doing and where he was.  Unfortunately my other cousin, Konner is still in California at Marine Corps training but hopefully he will be able to come out to Bellingham for a visit sometime soon.  

Overall it was a great trip and well worth the drive.  And while I was dreading the drive it was actually a lot of fun.  I see more road trips in our future but probably not for at least another year.  I am very happy to be home this weekend unpacking, getting organized, and catching up on some much needed sleep. Thanks Schmitz family for everything!  We love you all!