There's Something In the Air Out There...

I've been silent for a while. I have a million reasons, really, why there had been radio silence over here. My son isn't a newborn anymore and requires more attention. Our 60 pound puppy fills in the gap where Bubba leaves a little space. And, of course, I have my two gorgeous daughters to fill my days and my heart.

I also did a hard reboot of sorts. With one part adventure and 2 parts curiosity, our  little family of 5 took a trip to the West Coast. Drew has always been drawn to that area of the country and I have always wanted to see the temperate rain forests. So, we decided to just do it - (see what I did there, Oregonians?)

I also decided that I was going to step even further away from my phone. I had already deleted Facebook from it weeks prior so that I had no distractions from my kiddos. But I decided that I wouldn't be on Instagram, wouldn't go to Facebook through the web, wouldn't get on Ravelry. I was going to use my phone for necessary communication and that was it.

We spent one of the best weeks of our lives on the the West Coast. We began our journey in Portland and headed through the rain forests...

 And keep going until we hit the Pacific....

We crossed the Columbia and stood on the beach where Lewis and Clark led their expedition.

We visited Zoos, Islands, Ferries, and a Giant Space Needle.

We also took a day hike into Olympic National Forest. I don't know which of us had the most fun, but it was truly a transforming experience for each of us.

We climbed the "giant Space Needle", visited REI, waterfalls, and trains. And after what seemed like the shortest week on record, we boarded a plane and returned home.

My girls have never liked windows down in a car. They probably get that from me because I generally don't enjoy the sensation. However, every chance we had during our trip we had the windows down. Maybe it was the extra oxygen, maybe it was the newness of the place- I'm not sure. But I DO know that upon our return home, Moo asked us to roll down the windows. As we turned out of the airport and came to speed on the highway she said meekly "Mommy? Can you close the windows? It just doesn't smell the same."

And she was right. The Pacific Northwest seems to have crept into our blood. There's just something in the air out there.