We Love Washington!

Well, most of you know by now that we are moving to Washington in August.... just 4 Short (and yet really long) months away. I am excited and terrified at the same time. There is so much traffic in the area that we are going to live (and I have no idea how my family will ever come visit me because of it). The purpose of our visit was to drive through some of the towns we were considering moving too, and to sightsee. We needed a break. 

We stayed with Lyle's Aunt Gayla and her family. It was so nice of them to let us stay with them. We really appreciated it!

We left early Wednesday morning and drove all the way out to Bellevue the first day. We rented a car, which was an excellent idea. It was a little more expensive, but we didn't put the miles on our car and they would have taken care of any break downs we may have experienced. Having that stress off of our plate was wonderful. PLUS, it was pretty fancy! It was a Nissan Altima and it was basically brand new, with only 2000 miles on it! It was so fun to drive! 

It had keyless start up and entry. 

It was semi-automatic, so Lyle could drive manual if he wanted too. It also had the new car smell still. I'm going to be sad to take it back tomorrow. 

When we pulled into Bellevue the first night and the only night we stayed in a hotel, the temple popped up out of no where and the next morning we knew we had to at least drive around it really quickly. 

The back of the temple. 

Then we went to downtown Bellevue, to Bellevue Square to be more exact. The mall there is where Lyle will be working and there was an amazing park right next door. 

I told Lyle I could live somewhere like that and go for a nice jog around the park everyday. Too bad a studio in that place is about $1800/month......

We also got lucky enough to have quite a bit of sunshine and some beautiful mornings. 

This park is literally across from JCPenney (you can see it's sign slightly through the trees in the back). So, Lyle, can go there for a lunch break and enjoy any nice weather that may happen. Unfortunately, we will live far enough out of town that I won't be able to join him. 

It is soooooo mossy there! I'm definitely not used to seeing tree trunks covered in it. And the cherry trees in the back are gorgeous.

That was a fountain..... too bad you can't see the water actually running down it. 

This is the place.... (haha) that Lyle will be working at. 

This park is exactly as old as I am! It was meant to be. :)

The next day, we went into Seattle. It was so fun! 

And, of course, I had to take Lyle to Pike Place Market. It is my absolute favorite! 

 We got there extra early as most people were still setting up. But it was worth it to enjoy it before the crowds got there. My favorite part is looking at the flowers! There are sooooo many and they are so reasonably priced (too bad I haven't ever been able to get any because we are traveling). Tulips are my favorite! Look at how gorgeous they are. 

Those bunches in the front range from $10 to $15. I would buy some every week if we lived close enough! 

These are the people who throw the fish. We didn't ever get to see them actually throwing them, though.

This is one of the many reasons I am so excited to move here! Fresh fruit stands are everywhere and the fruit is usually good enough that I actually enjoy eating it! Unlike the usual fruit in Idaho. Lets just say that I actually ate 5 oranges in the 5 days that were our "vacation" (2 of them driving). I never eat oranges because they are too tart and I can't stand it. But the ones we got there (actually at the Yakima Fruit Stand in Bothell) were wonderfully sweet and only $.69/pound! I am sooooo excited to go back for that! 

We also tried many of the little food places there. This little cheese "factory" had some really good curds. 

They had a viewing window so people could see the process, it was fun! 

I think you are getting the picture that we basically stopped and looked at everything....

AND...... Lyle got to go inside of a REAL Magic Shop! 

He was so excited. :)

This stray children sign made me laugh. 

Then, to end our sight seeing, Lyle humored me and allowed me to go to the zoo!!! 

I absolutely love zoos (I even got some cotton candy)! 

I'm not an amazing photographer, so I only have a couple of good animal shots. 

Anyways.... now we are home..... and we start school again on Tuesday...... BUT, it's our last semester! Then we get to go and start grown up life! We are so excited!