Valentine's Day weekend

This past weekend was really perfect in a lot of different ways. J had a three-day weekend due to Presidents' Day, so we were able to go on a little family vacation. Before we left, though, Sam gave the family a really sweet valentine (see above). I love that the sweet sentiment that he expressed there.

I wanted to have the family go on at least one snowshoeing trip this year, especially since I'm not sure if we will be able to go snowshoeing next year (since Lucy might be too big for the backpack but to small to walk on her own by then). So far, every single time we've been able to go it has been rainy. J did some research and found a small strip of land in central Washington that wasn't expecting rain or snow, so we quickly packed up and headed out that direction. It was quite snowy in a few places along the way, but we made it without difficulty. We ended up staying at a small, cheap motel in Pateros, Washington and we pulled into the motel when it was dark. The rooms weren't anything special, but in the morning we were surprised to see that the motel was right on the bank of the Columbia River, with an absolutely gorgeous view!

My three favorite valentines

Just down the street from the motel was a local bakery, and we had a nice Valentine-themed breakfast there. The cinnamon rolls were huge!

We went snowshoeing along "The Shoe" trail at Echo Ridge (see map of trails HERE), which is in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest outside of Lake Chelan. This trail was a loop and it offered really lovely, expansive views of Lake Chelan and the Cascades. The trail took us a little longer to hike than we anticipated, just because of the snow.

Just before we got on our snowshoes!

When driving up to the trailhead, we passed the Echo Valley ski area, which also has a tubing hill. Sam and J went on a few runs, while Lucy and I cheered them on. This was the first time that Sam had ever been tubing and he liked it!

We finished off that fun day by throwing rocks in Lake Chelan, dining at Rivers Restaurant in Pateros, and watching Paddington together as a family in the motel room. It was such a fun, memorable day.