Quick Trip to Yakima and a Visit With Friends

A few weeks ago Peter and I had to make a quick day trip down to Yakima to pick the boys up and bring them home. The original plan for them to hitch a ride home with Pete's sister fell through for some reason and they had to be back that Friday night in order to attend cub camp the following day, so there was no way around not going. I spent the morning quickly running errands to fix a tire at Les Schwab and doing a few tasks at the school before picking Pete up from work and making the long drive down. We made a quick stop in Ellensburg. We walked the campus and Pete made a quick tour around the newly remodeled Technology building where he spent his years working on getting his degree. We also looked around the Wildcat Bookstore, finding a few CWU items to purchase. After that, we finished our drive down to Yakima. We stopped at my parents house, which the boys happened to be visiting. We didn't have long to stay and visit before having to head over to Pete's parents house for dinner and to grab the boys stuff. Our friend Grace and her son Eli were able to sneak over to visit us. It's been a year since we last saw each other. Her son was just a newborn when I last saw him. Now he's a rambunctious toddler, and a cute one I might add. After all was said and done, we finally left Yakima around 9pm to head home. It was a long night, along with dealing with the dog trying to run off when we stopped for a bathroom break and calling 911 to report a drunk driver. It was officially Saturday when we finally able to crawl into bed.

Nielsen Family Reunion 2013

Earlier in August we attended the annual Nielsen Family Reunion. This year, we were actually in charge of planning. We found a new location, a cabin rental just 5 minutes outside of the entrance to Mount Rainier. We were able to rent the Large Lodge, which accomodated everyone nicely. Everyone loves the beach, but it was definitely nice to have a change. And having everyone in one location, especially with no cell service in the area, sort of forced everyone to talk and mingle with everyone. The only planning Peter and I wanted to do was in regards to meal planning. We felt it needed to tweaked just a little with more organization. It worked out nicely, with each family signing up to bring certain items for each night. Everyone made a day trip to Mount Rainier together. On another day, we went with Daniel and his family to some lake. He fished while boys swam. It was a nice vacation for us, getting to visit with family and eating delicious food. We look forward to next years. Aunt Janet and Uncle Dave picked the next location - Fort Worden. Aunt Janet asked if I would plan the meals again, which I'm happy to do. I truly enjoyed planning this years event. There were some kinks and a few off moments with certain family members where we thought "what were you thinking?!", but we accounted for such things during the planning process. Enjoy the pics! We can't wait to see everyone again next year!

Exterior View of the Lodge

Interior View of Downstairs and our Bedroom

Random Pics During Our Stay