Vacation to Washington

Mt. Rainer, Washington - highest peak in the the lower 49

Hiking in Mt. Rainer National park

 We visited Washington recently for Derek's grandma's 90th birthday celebration. The party was celebrated during a three day family reunion. Family from California, Texas (us), Missouri, Kansas, Alaska, North Dakota and the Philippines all came together in Randal, Washington - in between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainer. The time with family was wonderful and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. And the food was pretty amazing. Derek and I rode down (4 hour drive from Camano Island) with Colin, Tobin, Preston, Trevor, and Trevor's lady friend, Becca. Friday morning nearly 20 of us went hiking through the forest to the Grove of the Patriarchs, home of 1,000 year old trees. This pregnant lady might have been at the end of the hiking line, but it was okay. Derek and his binoculars wanted a slower pace to spy on birds. I believe he spotted three new birds during our time in Randal.

Explorations like this are okay when you aren't pregnant. 

Derek, Anna and Omega. Omega is the last of 13 children. Nice name, huh?

I saw this tree and immediately felt a kinship - we both look pregnant! 

The three of us! 

Cousins - Grandma has 32 grandchildren and baby Fekkes makes 27 great-grandchildren! 

R to L - Tobin, Trevor and Becca (Tony and Morgan) 

Derek and Dad - They are so much alike! 

The handsome Fekkes Boys! In chronological order. 

We are missing Sarah Fekks (Colin's wife) and Caitlin (Tobin's girlfriend). 

These two trees are over 1,000 years old. Anna is climbing. 

Happy last few weeks just the two of us. Next time we hike, we will be carrying Baby! 

 Family reunions with the Wessier Clan (Lori's side of the family) involve LOTS of sports! Volleyball, kickball, basketball, obstacle courses, hikes, frisbee and more. All of the games were fun to watch, however, most everyone was at the mercy of the Fekkes boys. The top four scorers in the obstacle course ended up being the four oldest Fekkei.

I love this picture of Preston!  

Derek and I left the reunion early Saturday evening and drove back to Camano Island. Derek planned a BBQ with his high school friends. This was a really fun day. A few of the lady's are moms or are expecting. Fun pregnancy talk! 

Best FOOD EVER! Okay, so we were fortunate enough to meet up with our friends Jayleen and Cam, both we met in Korea. Jayleen is visiting her family before heading back to Korea and Cam now lives in America. We had the best Indian curry we've had in a while with the most delicious Nan! This was definitely the biggest pregnancy craving I've had yet! 

NAN!!!!!

Pregnancy cravings satisfied on our trip:

• Dutch pancakes - FINALLY! Sooooo good!
• Fish and chips! - ate it in the airport!
• Costco Pizza
• Indian Food
• Jimmy Johns
• Washington Cherries! 

Very successful trip! And great quality time with the family. 

We did some really fun things while we were in Washington. Here are the highlights:

• Family reunion
• Visited Derek's old church
• Took a trip to Bellingham - our dream city
• Had lunch with my sweet mother-in-law while Derek had lunch with his dad
• Spent amazing time with Presty watching the Olympics
• Bought Baby Fekkes 17 new outfits and me several maternity pieces. 
• Hiked 5ish miles - woohoo! 
• AND REVEALED BABY'S GENDER! 

Now, we are back in Midland for a week and then back to Seattle. Derek starts Seminary coursework a week from tomorrow. We couldn't be more excited for this new season in our lives together.