Mukilteo

That's right... Muck-il-TEE-o. It's a little town on the coast of Washington state, about thirty miles north of Seattle. Last month Richard and I braved our first cross-country flight with Jane to visit my dad and stepmom, Juli. It was a long time being cooped up on a plane, but definitely worth a great visit! (Also, we lucked into a bulkhead row on our two longest flights... highly recommended! We just put a blanket on the floor and made a little play area for Jane. She had to be in our laps during take off and landing, of course, which a flight attendant rudely reminded us when she said "Y'all need to hold onto yo baby!")

Anyway, it was so refreshing being out on the cool and breezy Pacific Coast. I definitely sympathize with the locals who are a bit tired of the clouds and rain, but I think the sunny days with bright blue skies and a high of 78 might almost be worth it! It was kind of nice having to break out the fleece jacket when we're used to sweating through tank tops.

Ok, I'm getting to the pictures... Of course I forgot, as usual, to take pictures of anyone besides Jane, but we had a wonderful time visiting with my dad and Juli. Also not pictured below are Juli's incredible dinners. She is somewhat of a gourmet cook and amazed us every time we sat down to eat. She even figured out a way to make French toast fancy! Yum...

Ooo, I did find one non-Jane picture! These are miniature little succulent ground covers in Juli's gravel driveway. You can walk and drive on them, and that actually helps spread them. Aren't they amazing?

Here is a picture of Jane holding a picture of me that my dad had... Do we pass the look-alike test?

One of the best parts about Muliteo is Lighthouse Park, which is a beautiful community recreation space down by the water. Here we are on the beach in our sweaters... weird for us Southerners, eh? Jane was unphased by the rocky shore and freezing cold water. What a tough little girl!

Can you see the ferry coming in to dock on the right? The ferries are a quintessential part of Puget Sound, since a lot of people live on islands and work on the mainland.

Here is Jane on her first ferry ride. One of our favorite things to do when we visit my dad is take a ferry across the sound to get ice cream. (Of course I would pay to cross a large body of water just to get ice cream!)

Windy sunset (see hair). 

Another awesome part of our time out west was taking a side trip to visit our dear friends, the McDonald's. They were our neighbors in Nashville for several years before moving back to their home state of Washington. Here are some highlights from that visit:

Jane's first photograph (entertaining herself with the digital camera on our drive to the McD's).

Trying to take a nap in the car. Usually Lovie and Paci are all it takes, but not this time. Is that a look of defiance?

Jane and three-year-old Sam were so sweet playing together. It was fun watching Jane "live" and play with another kid for a few days.

Ok, this is AMAZING... Check out the size of these bubbles! Our friends have this giant bubble wand that is super cool. Don't you want one?!

(Awesome pictures courtesy of Hannah)

We also went cherry picking. The trees were amazingly fruitful, literally! (I love getting to use that word in a legit way.) Seriously though, the trees were only about five feet tall and covered with cherries. De-lish!

Our last view of one of our favorite Washington landmarks, Mount Rainier.

This one's for you, Dad!