While Rachel and McKenna were at EFY...

My sister Karen and her two girls came back to Washington with Grandma after the Jackson reunion. They stayed a couple of days with Grandma, then came over to meet up with us.  The next day we dropped McKenna and Rachel off at EFY.  They were excited for their adventure together.

But while they were gone, the rest of us had to have some fun too.  So we had some adventures of our own...

The Museum of Glass

First stop:  The Museum of Glass.

The exhibits right now were a lot of fun.

There was a room full of illuminated letters that we could play with.  Everyone had fun spelling their names.

William's favorite item in the kids' exhibit was the Donut Ninja.

We watched them work in the Hot Shop for a long time.  It was mesmerizing.

And no trip to the Museum of Glass is complete without a stop on the skybridge to wave at the traffic.

Walking the Narrows Bridge

Another day we walked the Narrows Bridge.  

It is tradition for Sydney to get her picture taken doing cartwheels at all sorts of places.  Everywhere they go on vacation, Sydney finds somewhere cool to do a cartwheel.  This time, her and Kate did synchronized cartwheels on the bridge with the cars whirring by.

Washington Ambassadors of Music Concert

While McKenna and Rachel were at EFY, and the rest of us were off having adventures, Sarah was at camp with the Washington Ambassadors of Music in anticipation for their trip to Europe.  Sarah got selected to participate in this group as part of the band, but at the first day of camp, she finagled her way into the choir as well.  They rehearsed hard for three long days, and then put on a concert for the parents and friends at the end of the third day.  Karen and I and the kids all went to cheer her on (and die of heat stroke in this un-airconditioned gym).  They sounded pretty great!

Here's a not-so-great picture of the choir singing that I took with my iPhone. 

And then the next day, I took this beautiful girl to the airport to go on a grand adventure to Europe.

Bella Bella Beach

We spent a glorious afternoon playing, relaxing, and soaking up those beautiful blue skies at our favorite beach.  

The Zoo
We took a trip to the nearby zoo and aquarium.

 Kate got selected to participate in the animal show.  She loved being up on stage.

 Feeding the budgies is always a hit.

Sydney and Kate petting the sting rays

Watching the sharks

Boating and crabbing in the Sound
Another day we took the boat out in the Sound.   We set out the crab traps and had a scenic ride near Anderson Island.

We spotted lots of seals and even more jellyfish.

We caught some crabs, but none big enough to keep until the next day (after Karen and her girls left.  Sorry!  They did taste really good!)

Saturday morning we picked up Rachel and McKenna from EFY.  They had a fabulous time together and shared lots of great experiences.  Then it was time for our fun week to end and we had to take Karen and her girls to the airport.  It was a great week!  Come again!