I have to admit the trip almost did not happen. I was having a really rough day Tuesday feeling a bit (more like quite a bit) overwhelmed with all I have going on and thinking I don't have time for a trip and all the work that goes in to getting ready, packing, and unpacking and cleaning for this weekend trip. But we had already told the girls and they were practically chanting Seattle, Seattle, every time I turned around so I pushed on. Kids are really the reason why we do things like this right--I mean I would be fine staying home locking the door and having a stay-cation, but kids get so excited to go some where new. So we went and the girls loved it!!
First can I say traveling with my two girls is a totally different experience now. We have traveled a lot with my girls on planes (Ellie has been on some 30 plane trips and Lila is in the teens some where) so we are used to the huge carry-on, a stroller, diaper changes, activity-after-activity and they traveled wonderfully at such a young age, but this time, I made them each their own activity back-pack with snacks and they loved having their own bag to carry which meant Steve and I only had to carry one back-pack too. There was no stroller and Ellie even pulls one of our checked bags. Traveling was pretty simple and good.
We showed up Wednesday around 11ish and Izzy was so excited to see the girls and ran around giving them hugs. We had a quick lunch and then went to the Aquarium. It was so fun. We were able to watch a diver feed the fish, and the sea otters and seals get fed. Then we went back to the tide pools and touched sea anemones, star fish, sea cucumbers and then saw a huge octopus. The girls were excited they could get a smashed penny from the aquarium for their collection.
Then we walked around for a bit and went past Pike's Fish Market, the gum wall, and picked-up yummy sandwiches from PotBelly.
Thursday, we were going to the zoo because the baby snow leopards would be out. Before leaving for the zoo Marcee asked the girls what they wanted to see at the zoo. Ellie of course said, "A zebra." They are her favorite. Lila said, "A rainbow camel." Ummmm. . .what? "A rainbow camel." As we got to the zoo the penny machines were right at the front so we let them pick their pennies and Lila kept looking at all of the options for a "rainbow camel". We finally convinced her that a komodo dragon was pretty cool and trust me they are!
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| Ellie loves to be the guide with the map. |
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| Just like her Dad. |
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| Komodo Dragon--totally cool. |
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| My girls love getting their pictures in these things. :) |
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| Feeding the ducks. |
The zoo was amazing! It was very well designed so that the animals seemed to be in their natural habitat and that you were exploring with several good viewing spots for each habitat. We saw lots of animals we have never seen before and really enjoyed our day!
Mimi bought lunch and let the girls ride the carrousel. Izzy and Ellie loved it! Lila wanted to sit on a chair in the middle that wouldn't move, but I made her pick a horse that would go up-and-down like a carrousel should and she was screaming and holding on to me and not putting her legs across. As the ride got started she screamed louder and then started to relax--just a little she still had a death grip on me and was only slightly whimpering by the time the ride ended. I know she has a weaker stomach and I try not to push too much, but once in a while a push on an adventure isn't bad right? Silly kid.
We saw the flamingos as we were exiting and Ellie wanted to have a flamingo contest to see who could stand on one leg the longest, as soon as we got back to the hotel.
That evening we went to dinner at Duke's Chowder House. It was across the street from our hotel down on the bay and had a great view of the space needle. The food was great and the atmosphere was so fun. The girls love seeing the space needle (sometimes they get confused and call it the space shuttle) and were looking forward to going up in it which we did first thing Friday morning.
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| They took a free picture for us, but now I know why it was free they didn't really care if we had our eyes open or if they put a big stamp over Steve's face. Memories :) |
After our adventure up in the Space Needle we went next door to the Pacific Science Center. My girls loved exploring. They have a butterfly house we spent at least 30 minutes in watching the butterflies and Ellie sit as still as possible in hopes of having one land on her.
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| Guessing smells. |
Friday evening Jake took Marcee out on a hot date. They went to a fancy restaurant on the bay and then Jake rented the VIP booth on the new Ferris Wheel and proposed to Marcee. We are so excited for the two of them and couldn't be happier.
Other notes to remember: Lila held my hand on the plane, she doesn't like the taking off and landing and snuggled up--LOVE IT! She was having so much fun all the time that she was skipping and running in fun patterns so cute--LOVE IT! Ellie is growing up so fast now that she enjoys hearing more about everything like the animals or the space needle or how the plane works and I LOVE watching Steve take the time to explain it to her. So I guess the morale of the story is that even though vacations are not really relaxing (I almost titled the post "Sleepless in Seattle" because Lila has been getting up at 5:30 am so I was always out in the living area with her for over 2 hours before the others began to stir) they are worth the memories for me and my children. Remind me of that next time I get overwhelmed with life and all I have to do before the vacation even starts. Thanks Mimi & Grandpa and Seattle!