Autumn Ramble - Day 6 - Leavenworth

We were told that the little town Leavenworth would be a fun stop for the day, and that the drive there would be filled with fall colors.... and it was!

 





 Not sure the girls appreciated the colors as much as we did, but they both took long naps and when Akemi woke up, she kept herself amused with the box of tissues.

 

 In Leavenworth we....

 found a huge pretzel

 

 stopped for a bear hug

 

 ate some sausages at Munchen Haus

 



 and ended our day with some yummy friends to eat

 



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Autumn Ramble - Day 5 - Portland to Seattle

Back on the road again... this time hoping to make it to Seattle to see the Washington Baers! We lucked out that they were around and able to meet up for the afternoon.

 It was raining when we arrived in downtown Seattle, but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying some time in the city. We found a place to get some sushi, where Akemi practiced her ninja skills.

 

 Keira enjoyed checking out the scene at Pike Place Market.

 


 The girls both put pennies in the piggy bank.

 

 Back in Everett we enjoyed an evening of yummy home cooked food and great company.

 

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Autumn Ramble - Day 4 - Hanging Out in Portland

Today we decided to just enjoy being in Portland. We woke up and decided that it would be a good day to go pick out a pumpkin! We found a small family farm on Sauvie Island and spend much of our morning just hanging out.

 Akemi had a lot of fun just sitting in a pile of pumpkins

 Keira was pretty excited about their big yellow wagons

 Akemi looks happy in this picture too

 Once we found "Rambling Jack"
 

 we made our way back up to the farm to give all our pumpkins a bath

 Of course we couldn't leave without climbing up on the haystacks!

 The rest of our day included grabbing some food and drinks at Cascade Brewing Company, hanging out at a local park (that was on top of a volcano) and then dinner at the Mallens!

 Naveen and Mike go way, way back... roommates at the University of Illinois!
 

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Autumn Ramble - Day 3 - Crater Lake to Portland

The morning started out with a beautiful sunrise and hot chocolate.

 



After breakfast we took the girls on a hike along the rim trail.
 It was a crisp fall morning, perfect for being outside.

 Keira impressed us by hiking all by herself!

 

 Akemi, on the other hand, snuggled up and took a nap.

 

 We were able to snap a family photo before heading back to the car.

 

 Once in the car we were hoping to make good time to Portland... the girls had other ideas. Keira and Akemi's bathroom breaks did not coordinate. There are not many places to stop between Crate Lake and Portland and once the rain started... let's just say it was a long ride.

 We thought things might improve when we found a drive through coffee place but as you can see from the picture Naveen does not look impressed with the latte/straw combo :)

 

 It wasn't all bad... lots of laughter between Akemi's tears.
 And, Keira can be quite the comedian. She did her best to entertain the car.

 

 We finally conceded and stopped for a late lunch/stretch break in Eugene.

      

 After a burger and some fries, we made it to Portland. Yay!
 

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