Memory Lane: WA 2010

More from August 2010 "Memory Lane"... These are photos from a wonderful vacation we took to see friends Gabe & Hana and their boys, Liam & Silas, in Washington State.

Sam & Liam hamming it up and shoveling rocks along the beach on Guemes Island.

College friend Mike Sterner and his family also joined us on Guemes. Here Gabe takes Sam, Liam, Elinor and Ruthie for a row.

Lots of feasting on fresh crab. In this photo: Mike, Blair, Gabe & Kevin.

Very happy boys.

Our hosts Hana & Gabe with wee Silas who was just 8 weeks old!

Blackberries grow wild all over the island. Yum.

The Sterner girls proved to be intrepid blackberry pickers.

Jack & Sam getting to know baby Silas.

Hana with Silas.

After a few days in the San Juans we traded beach for the mountains of the Methow Valley.

Truth be told, the above family portrait was taken on what turned out to be a less than graceful hike for our family. Unexpectedly frigid air coupled with fatigue got the better of our Sam Q. who was decidedly grumpy and unimpressed with the mountain view. Alas... At least he did his part to make the outing memorable!

The Masts pressed on without us...

We celebrated Jack's 1st birthday at the little cabin we rented. This photo of a tired Jack and his store-bought cake is quite sad looking, but we did manage to get in some festive singing and hip-hip-hoorays before the birthday boy was ushered off to bed.

More beautiful hikes...also known as schlepping small children through the woods...

Kevin with Sam & Jack.

Hana with Silas.

The sweet little cabin we shared.

Our view.

What could be cooler than licking an ice cream cone from a horse's saddle?!

In Seattle we met up with more college friends. L to R: me & Jack, Gretchen Muller, Beth French, Kristin Moore-Huey (my roommate for three semesters), Kristin's son, Hawkeye (in stroller), and Sam.

At the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle.

I think Sam will never forget watching the fish mongers shouting and tossing large, whole fish through the air to impress the tourists. Even now we still play a game where we throw the boys onto the bed and yell, "Sockeye! Bag-o-Rocks!"

We also stayed a couple of nights outside Seattle with my Uncle Jon and Aunt Cheri, and visited with my cousin Nikki and her family on Mercer Island. Unfortunately I failed to capture those visits with photos but we had such a nice time with all of them and truly enjoyed their hospitality.

Such a fun trip!