to washington and canada we went.

let me just start with my little rant.

I absolutely 

l o a t h e

rexburg. 

Idaho is beautiful.

rexburg however is not my idea of a good time.

sure I have definitely made some amazing memories here.

but sometimes (most of the time)

I would rather be anywhere than here.

So when we were able to leave for 6 days to Washington and Canada.

I was like get me the

h e c k

out of HERE.

+ of course my hubby felt the same way.

i love him

so as many of you know we have a little 3 month old pup

so we were definitely not leaving her at home

or with a friend in school thats too much to ask

plus we just could never do it lol

anyways we were so nervous to have her in the car for a 13 HOUR DRIVE!

but she could not have been better.

lets just remember she's barely 12 weeks old.

I could not believe it!

of course there was some confusion at first to where we were going 

+ why we were in there for so long

but once we stopped for our first pee break

she was out for at least 2 hours, then we stopped again in Coeur d'Alene to pee + walk around a bit

then she was out for another 3 hours!

ps you all should be aware that we have crate trained our pup

it has been the biggest blessing

she knows that is her home, her safe haven from the scary vacuum + the noisy dishwasher.

so as soon as she was given some water she walked into her crate on the backseat

+ she is just so precious.

so enough about my pup.

our trip was much needed, not only for us but my mum as well.

the week before she was able to visit my brother, future sister-in-law + their pup in san diego.

she had so much fun with them!

she had a whole two weeks visiting with her kids post wedding craziness!

the first day after we got to my mum's

we drove up through the mountains + first stopped at deception falls.

umm hello gorgeous!

it was so beautiful up there.

haha kahlia hated the noise!

she thought it was a giant bath tub lol

after that hike we drove

with my mum to a German town called Leavenworth.

It is literally the cutest thing. We had brauts + pretzels + kahlia loved how puppy friendly this town was!

We were able to stay in a pet friendly hotel that was really great, since she still wakes up once a night to go pee, we were able to get a room downstairs with a sliding glass door that lead right out to

the grass.

Plus she met so many other pups! She loved it!

when we got home the next afternoon we were able to take my mom out to a sushi dinner!

it was so great, I have always envisioned being able to take my mom to a nice dinner

with the wonderful husband I would marry + just feel like such a grownup

(i still feel like such a 15 year old sometimes haha)

sunday we woke up super early to be able to go whale watching near the san jaunt islands

let me just tell you a little something about me.

i love whales. 

specifically orcas.

i literally cry everytime i think about blackfish + how sea world is literally the devil.

anyways I would always have dreams that I would be swimming with whales + they are my best friends

yea. i know. so. weird.

but i have always wanted to see them in the wild.

swimming. actually swimming.

moving + knowing there is no restrictions for them. 

our whole day on the whale watching trip was getting more + more less fruitful

because going whale watching (i have been twice before without seeing any orcas)

you go in with the notion you might not see them.

they are wild, not trained in a pool to come see you on cue.

we were able to stop at friday harbor after lunch and be able to see "popeye"

the seal. he is just so cute. he hangs around the harbor because he knows he is cute + will get fed lol

on our way back into port i was so bummed for the third time i wouldn't be able to see orcas in the wild.

like maybe they just were my imagination that they actually were out there.

as i put my head down to rest on Z's lap I was drifting away when i heard it

"WHALES!!!"

i don't think anyone on that boat was actually on their feet yet, but you bet i was.

with eyes still blurry from slow sleep.

i grabbed my camera and headed toward the side they were on.

i saw it.

the spray. their fins.

i cried. 

i heard zach say "there they are babe, your whales"

i couldn't contain my excitement.

i got so little pictures because i didn't want my eyes seeing them through the screen.

i needed to know they were real.

they were. they were beautiful.

we couldn't stay for long because we were already late.

but i spotted them one last time. swimming towards the sunset. it was wonderful.

i was teary eyed all the way home.

my aunt was so sweet to babysit Kahlia that day + she was so cute to bring her to the dock so she could see us getting off the boat.

Kahlia knows her parents. it was so adorable. 

she ran right up to us :]

our last day we drove to vancouver. it was a short day trip but our favorite part was our hike

at capilano state park. it was so beautiful! I have never seen anything so green before!

washington+ canada will always have my heart.

we then drove to the old historic downtown which was really cute but super busy so we didn't

stop to walk around with Kahlia

she literally has to say hi to everyone lol

so next we drove to the vancouver temple.

since it was monday the temple was closed but boy oh boy was she a tiny beaut.

it was a special ending to a great weekend ( a very long weekend lol)

this vacation was exactly what we needed to push on in this bipolar weather, crazy, small town.

i love road trips with my small family.

i love my mom.

i love Washington.

*here are some pictures from whale watching + vancouver*