Our Trip to Seattle

We had an incredible holiday in Seattle and took tons of pictures. The kids were great and we all seemed to enjoy ourselves. Here's a little peek into our adventure. We left Tuesday morning and headed down to the Flight Museum. It was incredible looking at all the planes throughout history and it was very interesting. The kids got to ride a mini Blue Angel and we got to try to land a space shuttle and an old prop plane. It was a great way to start our holiday. This is what you see when you get into the building. It's almost overwhelming.Here are the kids in front of one of the earliest planes.

Here the kids are trying to figure out how to land the space shuttle.
We got to walk across the street and go inside the Concorde and an old Air Force One Plane. It was really neat. Here is a picture of Ben standing by a 747. Either he is small or that is one big airplane.
After that we headed to our hotel and we went for a swim. What a wonderful thing to be able to do at the end of our hot days. We finished off the day going to the Rain Forest Cafe for supper. What an amazing place. The food was so-so but the ambiance, unbelievable.
Wednesday morning we got up and headed into Seattle and went on a harbour cruise. I loved that. It was a beautiful day and we headed out on the water for an hour.
After that we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Red Robin and then headed to the Aquarium. Here is a picture of Hannah enjoying the tide pool.
Here is my husband being attacked by a giant octopus.
After the aquarium, we walked up to Pike Place Market and the kids each picked something out. The flowers, fruits and veggies were just incredible. I wish I lived closer so that I could buy a bouquet of flowers every week. For something that would cost over $60 here was only $10. After the market we headed back the hotel for a swim.
Thursday morning we headed back into Seattle and went up the Space Needle. Seattle is a beautiful city and we really enjoyed seeing the incredible view.

Here are the kids at the Science Center. We watched an Imax Movie and looked at all the exhibits. It was a busy, hot day.
Finally, Ben got to enjoy some of the rides that are at the Seattle Center. He saw them as soon as we arrived in the morning and couldn't wait to be able to go on them.
After the Seattle Center we headed down towards the water to the Olympic Sculpture Park so that Marc could take pictures. It was a really hot afternoon and we were all very tired. We then headed back to the hotel for more swimming and finished off the night at the Cheesecake Factory. YUMMY!
Friday, we went to the Zoo. We realized how tired the kids were so we rented a wagon to pull them around. We did the zoo in fast forward as we knew we wanted to catch an early Ferry to go to my sister's place in Bremerton. The zoo was beatiful...just the right size with lots of shade and we got to see some amazing animals.

Hannah got to feed a bird which she thought was pretty cool. As she was holding the stick with one bird on it, another bird swooped down and scared her so badly that she ended up throwing the stick.
After the zoo we got on the Ferry to go to Bremerton and the kids were so excited to be able to relax and visit with their cousins. We enjoyed Coldstone Creamery, a day at the lake and then a wonderful dinner on the ocean.

We made it home yesterday after a long day of waiting for a ferry, traffic and then our car acting up on us. We feel very blessed to be able to get away and really enjoy family time together. We're already planning next year's adventure.

At the Lake with Grandma and Grandpa

Yesterday Marc and the kids met me at work and we met up with Grandma and Grandpa at Cultus Lake. It was such a beautiful evening. There was a gentle breeze and it didn't feel too hot at all. The kids were like fish, swimming in the lake for such a long time. They really loved it. We had a yummy (and even healthy) dinner and just a great time together. To top the evening off, we stopped for ice-cream on the way home. Thanks Mom for a great evening.

Time Together Yet Separate

On Tuesday we decided we wanted to do something special with the kids. Knowing how different Hannah & Ben are we thought we would split up so that we could do something that really interested them and suited their personality. Ben loves to run around and keep active so what better place than DinoTown. We had a good time and he certainly did run around. He even got to be the "Rock Star" in the live show. Besides a minor bang to the head the trip was a success. I loved spending the day with Ben. Here are a few pictures.

Hannah loves to draw and read so Marc thought they would head into Vancouver and spend the day together there. They started at the Art Gallery and Hannah brought her little drawing pad along so she could draw some things that she saw. Afterwords they headed to Vanier Park for lunch and then they went to Kid's Books and the Candy Aisle. They also had a wonderful time and I know really enjoyed spending the day together. Take a look.

My husband is crafty.

Last year when I went to Newfoundland my husband got all crafty with the kids and they made their own t-shirts. Well Marc figured it was time again and so he spent hours creating stencils of the kids favourite things and set to work making t-shirts again. I wondered why he spent so long working on something that we could easily buy. But then I saw the results and he reminded me of the fact that no one else in the world will have shirts like this. The kids also love it. Thanks Marc, you're a good daddy.