Walla Walla

We just got back from our yearly trip to the west coast to spend time with Kristin's side of the family. This year our trip was centered around one of Kristin's cousins getting married in Walla Walla, Washington. The locals say that the town is so special, they had to name it twice. For those of you that have not been to the southeastern part of Washington (which was me until last week), it is a dry place, and reminded me of west Texas at times. When you get near the Blue Mountains, you start to see wheat fields and vineyards. Here is a picture that I took from where Kristin's parents were staying for the week:



When we got to Washington, Kristin's parents picked us up at the small airport in Pasco, which is near where Kristin's grandmother lives. We stayed at her house for a few days while everyone else flew into town. Natalie stayed busy playing with their dog, Babe, which reminded me of my sister's old dog Kavu and playing in yard with a sprinkler Kristin's Aunt Mary bought her. I think she was doing her little Saturday Night Fever pose in this one:



Most of our time was not spent in the Pasco area, but in Walla Walla. More specifically, we spend more time hanging out at a house in the country where Kristin's parents were staying. If I were to turn around from the picture I posted at the top, you would see the salt water pool for their place. This pool was extremely popular with the kids, and some of the adult kids. Although I didn't get any pictures of it (because I was in the pool), Natalie's favorite thing to do was to jump off the diving board! She didn't want any help either. She would walk out to the end of the diving board, we would all say, "Jack be nimble, Jack be cool, Jack jumped into the swimming pool!" And with no delay (sometimes before we even finished the song), Natalie would jump into the pool. The diving board was a typical one, about 2-3 feet off the water.

She is getting good with her shoulder floaties, and would then swim to the pool ladder. I would stay in the deep end, treading water, until she got back up on the diving board. This routene quickly changed to me hanging from the diving board while I waited (treading water is a workout, and I was on vacation, and I had just eaten Mexican food...okay, I think my manhood is not in question anymore, I will move-on). We played the "jump from the diving board game" for 20 minutes, and then we just hung out in the shallow end. Here is a picture of Natalie playing with her cousin Elise and the two grandmothers, Mary and Terri:



On Saturday, Kristin's cousin Bryce was married to Sarah, and Natalie spent most of the ceremony playing the nursary with Dad. We have been trying to extend her time in church before she melts down, but on vacation, at a wedding, was not going to be one of those teaching lessons. On the other hand, at the reception, Natalie was in her true form on the dance floor....even before the music started. Here is a picture of her and Elise burning off some energy:



Natalie did try to start her own dance, but it didn't really catch on. Well, I don't think that she was given enough time from Mom for it to really catch on anyways. She literally, stopped dancing, sat on the ground, lifted up her legs, put them back down, got up again, and kept on dancing. She did this several times before we put a stop to her crazy dance moves.









We left Walla Walla the next morning, and then flew home the next day. I took more pictures of our trip, and they can be seen here:

Trip to Walla Walla