A little road trip.

Justin and I had planned to go east of the mountains before learning of his grandpa's passing. Our trip was scheduled for the day after his grandpa passed. We decided to still go as there really wasn't much we could do at home and also as a result, his mom was able to come with us. Justin and I got up first thing that morning, went on a 5 mile run that decided it would like to murder both of our quads, thank you, then we hopped into the car for the 2.5 hour drive east (and yes, this logic of running hard and then sitting in the car made perfect sense at the time. Now as I'm writing this, or when we attempted, er, stumbled out of the car? Wow, we are idiots!) We had planned to go to Bailey's soccer game in Wenatchee (where the boys live with their mom) and made it there just in time.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW? Totally sunny and beautiful east of the mountains (as is typical). Was a great day for watching a soccer game and I even got some sun!

And another shot... Bailey is a little rockstar soccer player. It was so cool to see him in his element and play.

A (bad) picture of us but it's really the only one I got at the game. Note to self: perhaps investing in one pair of sunglasses wouldn't be a bad idea?? I literally have bought ZERO pairs of sunglasses since I moved to Seattle four years ago and I just lost my last pair from the four MILLION I had in Phoenix. So yes, investing in sunglasses: need to add to list. It is SOMETIMES sunny where I'm at.

After the game we headed to a local restaurant with the boys and Justin's mom. It was so cute and so good. Above- the soccer stud Bailey, and the other stud, Oliver.

Laughing at something- hey, they look like they like each other here!

Me, Justin, and his mom. WHOA sleeveless- crazy, right? Please don't be afraid of our white skin.

I ordered iced tea and thought that it was so cute... it came in a little carafe. I love stuff like that.

And beer bread. OHMYGOODNESS. Did I mention how good it was?

After lunch, we started to head back west, where we stopped in Leavenworth (HOLY SHIT, GORGEOUS TOWN). I've been here many times before but am always blown away by how beautiful it is at the base of the cascades. Justin and his mom lived here for many years (Justin graduated from Leavenworth high school and spent many of his adult years here too). I think as soon as we popped into town, my first question was "WHY? WHY OH WHY DO YOU LEAVE A PLACE SO QUAINT AND GORGEOUS?" Of course, all towns have it's pros and cons but I couldn't see the cons from being blinded by the mountains and the crisp mountain air. Such a different feeling in mountain towns.

Another shot of the mountains.

And how about one more? This time with snow. Justin DRAGGED me across the street to do what we had come to Leavenworth to do: taste chocolates. Ok, ok, it didn't take that much convincing to make me stop drooling over the natural beauty once I realized that we were headed towards CHOCOLATES. Justin's good friend owns a chocolate shop in Leavenworth (S'Chocolat- check it out) and they have absolutely to die for chocolates. I would not lie about this. No, no, no. I am way too serious about my chocolates...and wine, but that's a different post. Anyway, Justin's friend agreed to supply us with chocolates for the wedding so OF COURSE we needed to stop by not only to see him but to taste each and every chocolate available to make sure we had an idea of which chocolates we want to have at the wedding. We got our box of all chocolates, stopped at a couple of more stores in the cute little village, then headed home. That night, after Justin's mom left, we drank some wine and decided which chocolates we liked best (and that paired well with wine, though, really? That didn't matter... it was mostly based on which chocolates we liked best. Um, ALL, please!) All in all, it was a nice day trip (and wedding-productive!) and I think it helped us to get out of Seattle for a little while, enjoy some sun, visit with the boys, see the mountains, and of COURSE, eat chocolate.