Priest Lake in April.

I haven't made an off-season trip home to Washington in a very long time, so Q & I were extra happy to get to go to Priest Lake for a spur-of-the-moment trip last week. The best part was surprising my mom & family - only my dad knew that we were coming, & having Quinn sitting at a restaurant table when my mom walked in was just so fun to watch (she was very much momentarily confused about where this baby she recognized from somewhere had come from).

We had some really nice, mellow days at the cabin. Quinn was on eastern time most of the trip which meant a mostly-early bedtime for me as well + some early mornings out on the dock & going for walks around the cabin for the both of us. But the lake at 5am! Oh my gosh, it's just spectacular. So, so  very beautiful. Quinn loved being introduced to nature & fresh air, didn't seem to mind the rain, & loved (loved!) getting to spend so much good time with Grandma & Grandpa + uncles, aunts & cousins. I appreciated the break from feeding him solids (my mom took over every day, because for some reason, spoon-feeding is just exhausting to me), & my mom & I discovered that bathing him in the kitchen sink worked out just perfectly. Our weather was consistently chilly, but this is to be expected in April in the Northwest - & really, it was just fine (hot cocoa makes a lot of things better). Anyway. I'm fairly certain that Priest Lake is now Q's favorite place (besides being on his home turf in New York, of course), & it was just a lovely little introduction to all of the trips to come. My dad of course is still working on the beach (the eternal project) & I already have Q's swimsuit picked out so that he can sit & play on it this summer. Hooray! 

We also got to see a few close friends in town that I count amongst my favorites. I consider myself lucky to have just a few friends that I've literally grown up with, that I've known for over 14 years (!). I love them just as much as ever. I took Q to my home ward on Sunday & got to show him off to a few of the people that I've remained close to there. Everyone agreed that he looks just like a Hudson baby with his big eyes (but his mouth is straight from his dad, I think).

Lots of photos! No explanations needed, really. Oh - except the (poorly exposed, oops) video at the end? Amazing. Q laughed for like 5 minutes straight. I was flipping my hair, & apparently it was the funniest thing he's ever seen. Really, there's just nothing better than a baby laughing hysterically.

(Also - Mike makes fun of me for taking a photo of the Welcome Bear EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. But I love the Welcome Bear! He's a nice constant.)