Week 3 has ended and we still feel amazed at this world all around us. This has been a week full of challenges, incredible experiences and lots memory making with family.
Thanks to Chris and Kevin Gilge we were able to stay in an adorable “trailer turned into cabin” in the woods up at Lake Merwin in WA.
It rained quite a bit and we enjoyed laying around such a cozy space and watching movies
Random dance party happened on the deck outside-crazy fun!
We made a few snail friends and lots of tears when we had to set them free.
Went fishing for a bit before we got rained out
Halle was the only one that caught a little trout… her first fish
Got to hand feed deer! What a magical treat for us, to see them in their natural habitat, yet be brave enough to trust us.
Made new friends, Larry and Linda who live at the lake
Then off to Seattle and Lopez Island!
My sister in law’s family has a cabin on Lopez, one of the San Juan Islands. We hopped on… well I should say drove our RV onto a ferry and across the water we went.
Noah and his cousin Enzo on the ferry
The kids loved their first experience on a ferry. It was a day before this that we realized Isaac thought we were going to take a “fairy”!!! With all these new experiences, the poor boy is ready for anything!
Once making it on the island, Jeff broke the exhaust pipe off the RV on a road that we all agreed would be safe. Big bummer and big replacement cost. That same night, a stinky smell in the RV became unbearable. The next morning after sleeping all night in a horrible stench, Jeff sniffed out the problem. An internal battery was going bad and was leaking sulfuric acid all night into the air. We were very glad to remove that battery and now have a new one that won’t make us feel like we are swimming in our own sewage! Despite these setbacks we had wonderful experiences on Lopez and the pictures to show for it below.
Halle and her cousin Mina
Driving the roads of Lopez:)
My brother and his wife took us to a Horse Drawn farm.
The amazingly yummy and colorful cauliflower amongst other veggies we bought for the week
Isaac had his 5th Birthday while we were on Lopez. He had been asking for a pinata all year and thankfully there was one given to us on this special day! It was such a fun surprise for him!
Big Five Year old!
Jeff getting ready to go kayaking! Big weirdo in a small life jacket:)
We hiked and had a picnic while watching seals swim
My brother Matt, Ann, and their kiddos Enzo and Mina. They are generous hosts who love to show us a good time.
Mia and her daddy
Back in Seattle, we enjoyed hanging around Uncle Matt and Aunt Ann’s house… playing horsie
Boys on their electronics
One last big adventure while in Seattle was making it out onto Lake Washington. Once again a boat was provided and we had an experience of a lifetime.
Tubing fun
wake boarding
Noah getting his first lesson from Uncle Matt and a shot at wake boarding… he got up on his first try, but not for long. He did awesome!
It was a beautiful day on a gorgeous body of water 
We are now headed east towards Leavenworth, WA. We drive away with a brand new exhaust pipe and an anticipation for the second half of our trip. We are heading east and back down towards home. Home… what an interesting word. We miss home.
We Like It Here 
Hi Jeff and Amy, I really enjoyed your news letter the pictures . What a beautiful family you have. So happy for you and so glad the kids are having such a good time. Thanks so much for sharing with the FB family. Love you, aunt Jo
Love this week’s pictures. So glad you are ok after the battery leakage! Wish I would have gone to Leavenworth when we lived in Spokane. If you are in Missoula on a Sunday, the Clark Fork City Church was the parent church to the church we attended in SLC. They have a new pastor so I don’t know about him but it might be worth a try! Travel Blessings!