Grandma and Grandpa Ball are now both retired and just moved to Anderson Island in the Puget Sound of Washington. Before taking the ferry from the "mainland" out to the island, we ran a few errands and the kids enjoyed their first "real" hamburger in a year...
The next week and a half was full of all sorts of fun. Kevin's sister Lori and her family came out to visit one day, Papa Kline came and spent a few days with us, and we had a blast exploring the island, playing, and doing all sorts of fun things together!
This is where Grandma and Grandpa go to church on the island. It's a fun house with a log-cabin feel on the inside. All of us added another third to the typical attendance in the congregation.
The kids were always excited to ride with grandma in her fun car!
The 2 cousins had a blast every day together. From singing, dancing, playing piano, and games, they truly were best friends.
Kevin took 2 days off while we were there and we went to Pike Market during one of them. We enjoyed all the fun crafts, foods, flowers and peaches! Our youngest found the smell of this particular seafood a bit gross.
What else do you do with a left-over peach bag? Wear it on your head of course!
The local raccoon came by to visit us a few days while we were there. Cute guy...but we kept our distance.
We went swimming in the (frigid) cold lake and had a good time jumping off the floating dock. Some of the kids even joined dad in swimming under the dock!
We all enjoyed using the kayaks and exploring the lake.
We introduced Papa Kline to his first s'mores and had a couple camp fires in the evening while we were there. The kids LOVE hearing Hobbit stories around the campfire.
For the 4th of July, we took the ferry back to the small town across the Sound and enjoyed a parade, outdoor market, and blacksmith shop...oh, and of course, lots of yummy food.
Later that night, we got a GREAT spot to watch the local fireworks go off right in front of us. We all agreed it was amazing...made up for no fireworks last year while in Thailand.
Shortly before we left, the family (minus Kevin) went to Wild Waves and enjoyed a day of roller coasters, rides, and the water park.
One day we all went to a nature preserve and hiked a few miles and saw quite a few neat things (frogs, birds, etc.) The kids completed the nature booklet and had an official ceremony of becoming Junior Refuge Managers!
After visiting the nature reserve, we stopped by the capital for a tour and lots of questions (and answers) about our government.
The time passed all too quickly and we had to say good-bye to grandma and grandpa.
We took the train from Tacoma down to Vancouver and really enjoyed it. It was really quiet, beautiful scenary, and a lot of fun! Highly recommend it.
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