Washington Trip

Zach graduated from the Washington State Trooper Academy in March! Wahoo! I am so proud of my little brother and am excited for what this means for his little family. I was able to go and watch his graduation. It was.....fun. Kinda. Let me explain.

Jason couldn't come because of work and school (the usual) so I decided to take the littles and go with Carly and Will. We took my mini van (yeah, we rocked the mini van) and headed out. I tried my best to prepare the kids for the ride with treat bags they got to open each hour. They had everything from a few new movies, crayons and coloring books, treats...you name it. It worked pretty good for the first 10 hours! The drive was 14 hours, however, and those poor kids were DONE. The last few hours were miserable for everyone. Lots of crying (me included), tired bums, sleepy kids, restless bodies. You get it.

Morgan fell asleep while we let the kids get wiggles out at McDonalds

Brooklyn's hair was full of fruit snacks, rice cakes, and dried bananas by the time we made it.

Sunset on the Columbia River on our way

When we checked into our hotel we had the most amazing gift basket waiting for us from Haleigh and Zach. It was full of everything "Washington" related. There was a trooper uniform for Carson, a Minnie Mouse dress for Brooklyn, a K-9 dog, outfits for Morgan, apples, maps, food.... It was adorable.

Thursday morning my parents flew in and met us at the hotel and then we drove to the state trooper academy for Zach's open house. It was the first time we were able to see him and he looked so handsome in his uniform. I was so proud of him when I got to see all of the hard work he had put in for the last 9 months. Carson was so amazed at all of it and you could see how much he looked up to his Uncle Zach. He wanted to follow him around everywhere. In fact, he still talks about Uncle Zach all the time and how he wants to be a trooper like him.

 

At the open house we got to go see everything Zach had done while at the academy. He even got to take us through the driving course in his trooper car. It was pretty awesome and he is a dang good driver! Carson LOVED the ride and was so sad when he had to get out. I hope being in the back of a cop car doesn't become a habit for him....

Friday was Zach's graduation at the State Capitol building in Olympia. It was really cool. They all drove up in their patrol cars and parked in a row. Then they marched into the capitol building together. It was really neat to watch, even through the rain. :)

The graduation took place in the state capitol building which meant there was no place to sit and it was a big quiet building where every noise echoed off the walls. The kids were pretty tired of being quiet by that point, so I didn't get to see much of the graduation because I was trying to keep them quiet and occupied. Carly and I did our best to keep the kids entertained with the camera while we waited for it to start. 

The good looking group of State Troopers ready to graduate!

We were all so proud of Zach and it was awesome to watch him graduate. We had a party for him later that night  - complete with donuts. :)

Little Miss Morgan hanging out with Nana.

On Saturday we were able to go do something the kids would enjoy - the Tacoma Aquarium and Zoo. They had lots of fun looking at all of the different animals and fish. Brooklyn got kissed by a walrus through the glass and Carson got licked by a tiger through the glass. Apparently my children look tasty.

We were able to take the kids swimming at the hotel. Brooklyn loves the water and was my little fishy. Carson only likes swimming for a few minutes and then he is ready to get out. Maybe someday we will be able to convince him to stay in longer.

On our final day in Washington we went to Tugboat Annie's for lunch. It was yummy! The view was pretty amazing, too.

It was great to be able to see Zach and Haleigh and to visit Washington. I really miss them and wish they lived closer so we could see them more often. It's hard not seeing them or being able to spend time with them! However, traveling without my husband was really hard. Having a 3 year old, a 20 month old, and a 3 month old on a long car ride and in a hotel for a week was a little too much. They were tired from late nights and early mornings, not being able to get their energy out. Mealtimes in restaurants are rough and I was ready to come home. I don't think I will be traveling without my hubby again for a long time. :)