The Whole State of Washington...in Five Days!

On Sunday, August 1st, we left the steamy, hot, sweaty, sticky land of Minnesota and landed in beautiful, fresh, moutainous Seattle, Washington. We left on a day that was in the 90s, with high humidity...it felt good to get to some cooler weather. We had booked our tickets for our trip back in February, when my cousin, Melissa, pointed out to us that we should really fly out to Seattle before Thomas turned two (under two is free to fly). So, we thought about it and decided that was a great idea. Charlie had never been out to that part of the United States and it is one of my favorite places to go, so...we were off! We got into Seattle around 8pm (10pm MN time) and Thomas was ready to play. He had so much fun getting to know his second cousins, Hailey and Ashlan. They had so many soccer balls, cars and toys..he was in heaven. After a good night's sleep, we went exploring the next day. We took a small ferry boat over to Bremerton, WA and walked around the neat fountain areas. Thomas and the girls had fun playing on the rock sculptures.

That afternoon, we went to a beach in Bremerton. It wasn't warm enough to swim, but everyone had fun building sandcastles, catching crab (ok..it was dead, but they still caught it) and trying to figure out if that blob on the sand was a jellyfish or something else. The following picture was taken at the beach. Mt. Rainier is actually behind us, but it didn't show up very well in the picture.

The next day, we set off for Spokane, WA (a 6 1/2 hour journey), to see our Grandma Kay. It was a long journey to Spokane, but we broke it up with a stop on Snoqualmie Pass and a picnic lunch along the Columbia River. It was so lovely! And, the drive went quickly for the kids because they entertained each other the whole way. I think that Ashlan took about 100 pictures of Thomas on the car ride. They all had so much fun together. Seeing Grandma was wonderful. We arrived on Tuesday in time to have supper with her and play on the playground. That nigh we stayed in a hotel, where the kids and Charlie enjoyed some pool time. Thomas liked wearing Hailey's goggles and using her tube. He loves the water. The next day we went back for some time with grandma in the morning and then we were off again.




On our way back to Seattle, we took a detour and went through Mt. Rainier National Park. As the locals would say, the mountain was definitely "out" that day. We drove up the mountain side and saw some mountain sheep and deer along the way. We kept climbing and climbing and then we went around the corner and BOOM..there was the mountain. I grew up seeing this many times on our journeys to WA, but...you never get tired of seeing it. Charlie definitely enjoyed seeing this part of the country as well. We have many, many pictures of our adventure at Mt. Rainier.



The next day, we headed over to Seattle, by way of the big ferry. Thomas enjoyed watching out the window for other boats and sea lions.

We spent part of the morning at the Seattle Aquarium, where my good friend, Kristin, joined us for our adventures that day. We saw lots of marine life, ate a great seafood lunch on the water and then headed to Pike Place Market, to watch some flying fish. We finished our day with a trip to the Space Needle, to see the sights from up above. It was a great day in Seattle.


After the Space Needle, my cousin dropped us off at Kristin's house and we spent the night there, before leaving in the morning for the airport. Thomas was a great traveler and did very well on the plane.

When we landed in Minneapolis that evening, we drove off to Hutchinson, MN to make Charlie's cousin's wedding reception. We missed the wedding, but after changing our clothes on a gravel road, we were able to make the reception. It was a beautiful event. I tried to post a picture of us there, but...apparently my Internet does not want to upload anything anymore.

Our week was wonderful...good time with family, friends, mountains and Seattle. It is a trip that we will have to do again sometime.

New adventures for Thomas:

• He likes the word "dingy," after seeing dingies in Puget Sound in Seattle.
• Hanging out with Hailey (5) and Ashlan (11) is super fun. He had so much fun playing with his second cousins! Hailey had a big kitchen in her bedroom, so it was "yummy time" all the time for Thomas.
• Sleeping on dad, while dad is walking, is very easy to do. Thomas fell asleep on Charlie in Pike Place Market and in the airport. He took over an hour nap both times.
• He likes to grab our chins and say, "Listen!" I'm not sure where he picked that up, but likes to do it. It's become a bit of a joke at our house.
• Thomas has been putting himself in time out occasionally. He first did it at the Space Needle and then at home. I guess that shows that he knows that he is in the wrong and he's taking responsibility for it?? We'll go with that.

Thomas turned two this past weekend too.....another blog to come! I would do it tonight, but my computer isn't cooperating. Watch for a second entry tomorrow!