Amy and Joe hosted an casual birthday party for both Dad and Joe at their house back in September. We had dinner out and then went back to Amy and Joe’s for cake and presents. Justin was very helpful with opening the cards and presents and when he was done with that, he dragged his school bus tent into the living room and somehow convinced Dad to crawl into it with him. Needless to say, it was very entertaining for the rest of us. Click on the photo above to see the album from the party.

Our week of relaxation on Orcas Island continued. We spent a lot of time at the house, reading, playing games, napping and hanging out. Mid week we decided to check out Orcas Island’s namesake and went on a whale watch. It was a cool and damp day, but we saw seals, sea lions and plenty of orcas. Nothing got super close to the boat, but it was still nice to be out on the water and see some wildlife.

While on the island we did a fair amount of cooking at the house, but did hit up a couple of local restaurants: The Kitchen, Rose’s Bakery & Cafe, Lu Lu’s Pasta Rustica and Aaron’s favorite, Cafe Olga. Cafe Olga served a Dungeness crab, baked egg dish for breakfast that Aaron was particularly fond of. On Friday, we left the quiet of the island and moved into Seattle for the weekend. Patrick and Aaron attended PAX, a gaming conference and met up with friends, while Bonney and I shopped and wandered the city. It was a great vacation. Click on the image above to see the second half of the photos.