Lake Chelan

In early April we took a trip with our good friends the Fischers and McCombers to Lake Chelan. It is one area of Washington we have wanted to go since living here. The area was a little dead from the winter months, but it was nice weather while we were there and we enjoyed our stay. We got a place to share close to the beach and had fun cooking together and staying up late playing games and chatting. It was fun to take a trip together before the guys all graduated.

Elliot and Landon with their good friend, Harrison

This was a favorite activity for the boys while we were there. This hill was right outside the front door of our condo and they had fun sending the dump trucks down the hill at full speed.

One day we went to do a hike which turned into more of a trek across the side of a hill while paving our own trail. The end result was good, but it was a bit tricky getting there with the boys.

After our hike we went to the park for a picnic lunch and to let the boys play. They had a blast!

I just realized the majority of these pics are of the kids. I have very few pictures of the adults or the condo we stayed in.

Half Marathon and Seattle

For my 30th birthday I decided I wanted to run a half marathon. Some people told me I was crazy, but I thought it would be a great way to spend the big day. Brooks and I left the boys behind for the weekend and had a great weekend in the Seattle area. I didn't have a goal for the race other than to finish it, but my chip time ended up being 1 hour, 59 minutes and 59.9 seconds. I was thrilled to be under 2 hours! It was an exhausting experience, but one I will definitely do again. After the race Saturday morning, Brooks and I headed to downtown Seattle to explore. Brooks had to wait up for me a few times as I hobbled up and down stairs and walked slower than usual.

This was the very beginning of the race. I still look fairly happy here.

This was between mile 5 and 6. I started to get pretty tired around mile 9 and then had a burst of energy around 10. When I stopped to get Gatorade at the last stop my legs were really feeling it. I am so glad I did the race!

Down by Pike's Market

After dinner at the Crab Pot

Brooks got me these flowers for my birthday, but then we forgot them in our hotel room.

Videos - Jan. to March

Big Green Monster from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

We got this book from the library and they loved it! We might need to buy our own copy.

Flips off the bed from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

This is from our trip to Camas. Brody and Ashton showed the boys some awesome tricks.

Canmore walk from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Nothing too crazy in this video...great scenery and cute kids.

Tracks in the Snow from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

This video was from January I think. We got lots of snow this year and the boys loved playing in it until their hands got too cold. I would make tracks with the snow shovel and they had fun pushing the trucks around the tracks.

Gymnastics from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

This place has an open gym we go to occassionally. The boys love it!

Liberty Lake Hike

This is one of our favorite things to do in Spokane and Brooks wanted to go up there while there was a little bit of snow still. We are definitely going to miss this.

Canmore

For Spring Break, we met up with the Reese's at their place in Canmore, Alberta. It was a magical place and I can't wait to go back. We brought out all the winter gear and loved being in the amazing outdoors.

We attempted cross country skiing, but due to a few technical issues with skis and cranky kids, we didn't make it too far. Maybe I'll try it again sometime without the kids.

It was quite cold the first couple of days we were there, so we headed to Banff and checked out the Banff Springs Hotel. After Landon stopped screaming from his hands turning to icicles on the short walk up to the hotel, we enjoyed the time at the hotel. The highlight for the kids was the fish tank with a "Nemo" fish and the staircases to run up and down.

Showing off their muscles

We drove up to Lake Louise, but couldn't see the lake at all. We did get to check out the inside of the resort and see the ice sculptures outside as well.

This path along the river is a short walk from their place. We spent quite a bit of time down here checking out the bridge and eating icicles.

The downtown area had a festival while we were there and filled Main Street with snow. It was awesome to see people skiing in the middle of the downtown area.

Uncle Doug used his firefighting connections and got us a tour of the firehouse in Canmore. A friend of his, Earl, gave us the tour and the boys were in heaven. They were a little overwhelmed by the sheer size of the trucks at first, but they got over it quickly.

I love this picture of Landon showing his amazement with the trucks.

Our last day there, we took a hike in Johnson Canyon. Hiking with two, almost three year old, boys is a little challenging at times, but I am glad we did it. Frozen waterfalls are an amazing sight.

This is Elliot's new pose when he doesn't want to be in a picture.

Landon just chilling watching his movie on the drive. He does this a lot in his car seat and I love it. Right after this we realized he wasn't feeling very well. He threw up all over and we had to stop to change his diaper every 30 minutes or so. It was an eventful ride home.