Family time

I love when my grandpa comes into town for a visit, cause that means we all get together for some family time. This year, he came and stayed for about a week and a half. That first Saturday, my uncle Bub and aunt Sara had us all over for dinner at their place on Mercer Island.

We had BBQ'd hot dogs, and sat out on their patio enjoying the great weather. After dinner, we headed to the backyard to play some badminton. The guys ended up playing quite a bit more than us ladies, we're better at spectating. Rex also got in the game and snatched the birdie as often as he could.

trying to hold Rex back

The next morning, we all met at my mom's house before we set out for a day trip to Port Townsend. We had done a similar trip last year when Papa was in town that was so much fun we decided to go again. We all piled into the suburban and headed out to the Edmonds ferry.

First on the agenda was lunch. We had eaten at the Courtyard Café last year, and I've been dreaming about their homemade bread and ginormous slices of pie ever since. Definitely worth the drive out there!

Bub and Max playing checkers

pesto chicken salad sandwich and apple pie

Fully stuffed after lunch, we walked around the cute little town of Port Townsend and did some window shopping. It was a pretty overcast day, but it eventually burned off and we had the sun shining as we took a walk along the beach.

creepy artwork in Port Townsend

homemade donuts being sold out
of an old elevator

Mom had us collect some rocks for her garden, so we combed the beach and had the guys lug around the heavy bag.

Joe and Max finding a secret
passage way

After our walk, we made our way back to the car and drove to the ferry line. Turns out Sunday was a busy day to be heading back to Seattle, but we made the most of it by stopping for ice cream.

back to the Kingston ferry

The weather was much better on ferry ride home, so we enjoyed the view from the top deck.

Mom and the boys

Papa with his favorite grandkids

The following weekend, I had everyone over to my place for a patio party and to check out the new fence. The weather was perfect, so it was nice to sit outside and enjoy it. We even had some entertainment from the little girl that lives next door. She was out playing and chatting it up quite a bit. 

Clint took over the BBQ and grilled teriyaki chicken, Mom had brought her delicious watermelon salad with feta, tomatoes and pistachios (per Clint's request), and I whipped up a batch of roasted potatoes and a BLT chop salad.

Clint manning the grill

sneaky picture from the balcony

BBQ chicken, watermelon salad,
potatoes, and BLT chop salad

For dessert, I bought an assortment of frozen treats from Trader Joe's (sans popsicle stick for Mom), including Clint's favorite - the mini ice cream cones.

Clint and his favorite dessert

It was great to have the fam over, I love hosting! The next day, Papa hit the road early to make the drive back down to Palm Desert. We all had such a great time having him here, and now I'm counting down the days for when we get to visit him in October!