Washington Trip

The state of Washington is such a beautiful place and it was so nice to get away and to visit Jonathan's brother, Amman. He was the perfect host and we really enjoyed seeing where he lives and discovering all the fun things around his home there.

{Just a disclaimer...we lost our camera the second day on vacation, so these pictures are an assortment from our phone cameras, camcorder, and Amman's pictures! The ones of Seattle are mostly google images...except for the second picture down-our camcorder takes random still photos and took a beautiful one of the Seattle skyline.}

Our flight to Seattle left around 8 on Tuesday morning. The kids were so excited to be woken up to get on the airplane! I remember as a kid that was the best part...the anticipation of the whole trip. Once we finally got all the kids, all the our carry-ons on the plane and all the carseats, strollers and bags checked, the kids did very well on the plane.
Right as we were about to take off Evan got so excited and yelled,
"BLASTOFF"
as loud as he could. He got a little restless toward the end and wanted to stay out of his seat belt, but somehow I persuaded him to put it on or he might fall forward and bonk his head. I guess the fear worked on him because he sat right down and didn't budge the rest of the trip. For the next couple hours he talked about how he didn't want to bonk his head. Poor kid.

When we arrived in Seattle, we were greeted with beautiful blue skies and 60-degree weather. It was breathtaking. We were even able to see Mt. Ranier, which is an amazing sight.

{The picture above was taken during our cruise around the city.}

First we went to Pike Place and watched "the fish throw". They had tons and tons of fresh fish and the kids thought it was so cool that they were throwing them at each other.

We took a picture by the famous pig and they each put a few coins inside too.

Then we entered the market with rows and rows of produce, pasta, fish, homemade items and beautiful fresh flowers. I wish I could pick fresh flowers everyday from there!!



We heard good things about Lowell's and decided to stop there for lunch. We ordered salmon and cod and had a great view of the harbor as we ate. We stopped by the bakery and couldn't pass up buying some yummy pastries. Evan had a huge chocolate doughnut and walked right behind us chomping down on that thing!

He got many stares and giggles from people passing by.

We headed toward the aquarium and stopped to take pictures on the dock by the harbor. Jonathan set Evan's doughtnut down on a ledge and just as I start taking pictures this seagull flies down out of nowhere and gobbles up Evan's doughnut. He swallowed it in two bites! These are the pictures I miss most from our trip because I got Evan's reaction frame by frame while this seagull is devouring his precious doughnut. He was in utter shock that the seagull ate his doughnut! He asked me afterward with a bewildered look on his face,
"The seagull really hungry??
Yeah, the seagull really hungry."

The aquarium had to be the kids' favorite place the whole trip! As we entered there was a big aquarium tank full of fish. The kids were so excited and tried to find Nemo and Dory, of course. We went inside the fish dome and watched as "diver Dan" fed all of the fish.

Madelyn absolutely loved touching the fish. There were starfish, anemones and the fish that move fast whenever you touch them. Those were her favorite...the fast, pink fish. Evan loved it too and loved watching as they fed the starfish their lunch of fresh mussles.

We saw the sea otters too. They were so funny as they floated on their backs. Maddy said they were just relaxing and started making voices for these little guys saying in her best Elvis voice, "Hey baby. Hey dudes." Oh wow.

She had us and a few others beside us laughing out loud.



We let them pick out a souvenir and we now have "Alyssa" the seal and "Diaper-pants" the whale.

After the aquarium, we rode the Harbor cruise and heard a lot about Seattle's history from our tour guide. It was such a gorgeous day and we loved seeing the whole city from the water. Whenever Evan saw an airplane in the sky he got very excited and said,

"I go again someday! I go again someday!!"

We then met up with Uncle Amman and had dinner at the market. He took us up to a park at Queen Anne Hill. Evan fell asleep on Amman while Maddy ran around and played. They had playground toys just like the ones in Daybreak, but a very big slide that she loved. The view up there was awesome! We took some pictures like the one above and below from the top of the park by the railing.

By this point we were wiped out and we drove back to Olympia where Amman lives. He is house-sitting for a couple in his ward who are on their mission in Switzerland. The house was perfect for us and well-stocked with everything we needed for the kids since they have their own grandchildren.

The views inside and outside of the house were amazing too since their house is right along the beach.



Madelyn and Evan fell fast asleep on the way to the house, but poor Luke cried the worst yet. He was sooo happy, as you can see, to get out of that carseat! But he had a bit of a rough night, maybe because he didn't recognize where he was sleeping. When we got there Evan was asleep so he woke up too in the middle of the night scared because he didn't know where he was. I normally do not let my kids sleep with me, but on this night I brought him up to bed with me and had him sleep with Daddy and me.

It was very special for me to be with him and hold him like I did

when he was my baby,

and maybe even more so because it is such a rare thing.

The next day Jonathan, Amman and Maddy went to a Seattle Mariners game while the boys and I stayed home. From the looks of Amman's pictures, I think they had a SWELL time!















The next day, Amman was gracious in watching the kids for us while Jonathan and I, and Lukey went out for lunch in downtown Olympia. We went to a seafood restaurant called Anthony's and it was delicious! We love Market St. Grill out here in Utah, but this was much better, probably because their fish was so fresh. I ordered the salmon cakes and Jonathan had rainbow trout.

It was great to be together and just the two (or three) of us and just talk.

The dessert, as you can see, was divine too.

Then we tried out the little theater room that night and from that point on we were hooked! We watched The Bee Movie the first night and Madagascar 2 the second. And then Jonathan, Amman and I watched the final Lord of the Rings after the kids were in bed. Actually it took me about 3 or maybe 4 nights to make it through this one movie. I was exhausted at night!


On Thursday we went to the Children's museum in Olympia. It was a big hit with the kids as they dressed up and pretended to be everything from a florist to a doctor to a construction worker to a bus driver.

I hope this is not a sign of things to come! Can't you just see me in 14 years trying to teach this wild little man to drive?! Maybe that will be Daddy's job. But on this particular day, we had a blast driving around dinosaurs and crashing into the mountains.

Evan the doctor

Maddy the doctor




Amman, the ever-patient patient. At one point an exasperated Maddy exclaims, "I just don't know. You'll have to wait! I just have too many students right now! Aaah!"

















On Friday morning the tide was low enough that we all ventured out to the beach by the house. Glad we brought those rainboots!

So FUN to match! :)



Luke getting a meal in before the trip down.





Luke and Mommy hiding from the rain.





Looking at the little crabs



And finding seashells

He saw a seagull and said,

"HEY Seagull, WHERE'S MY DOUGHNUT??!!"

Hanging out together while we made dinner at home

At the market we bought some yummy garlic and basil pasta that we cooked up with olive oil and chicken. We also bought some chocolate and raspberry gemelli that we mixed up with a sweet pudding and raspberries and mandarin oranges. It looks disgusting, but it was so good!

On Saturday we travelled to Portland and visited the famous "Voodoo Doughnut" shop. It looked like a dump from the outside, but it smelled delicious inside. And it was busy.





Amman chose the Memphis Mafia with with "banana chunks and cinnamon sugar covered in a glaze with chocolate frosting, peanut butter, peanuts and chocolate chips on top!"

Jonathan got what Evan didn't want.. Triple Chocolate Penetration with coco-puffs

Madelyn had The Loop, a glazed doughnut with fruit loops on top

I chose one with chocolate frosting, oreo's and peanut butter! SO GOOD!!

And Evan, well he finally got that doughnut he had wanted all week. He had The VooDoo Doll itself with a pretzel stick sticking out.



Devouring the goodness

This was the view I got ALL DAY LONG as Evan was determined to finish his ENTIRE doughnut. No seagulls necessary this time.

After we stuffed ourselves we went to Finnegan's toy shop and oohed and aaahed over the many children's toys. Uncle Amman was so sweet and let Maddy and Evan pick out their birthday gifts early this year.
Maddy picked out a Nina Ballerina doll set and Evan chose an "EVIL" sword with a helmet fit for a true warrior. Oh how he loves his EVIL sword and fighting off EVIL dragons.




And oh how his mama loves this true little warrior, and his sweet sister of course.

We also went to the Farmer's Market in Portland. It was so fun!! The food was farm-fresh and YUM. (I never realized what a "foodie" I am until after this trip.)



We bought fresh pears and apple cider and had a DELICIOUS pizza for lunch. We tried some of the kids' grilled cheese sandwich and the bread was so good.















We also bought some yummy cookies. The best homemade oreo's EVER.

Luke was so good in the car. He was such an angel baby during this trip. It made things so much smoother than I was anticipating.



We drove to multnomah falls. It was raining so hard so Jonathan and I just got out to see them. There were tons of little water falls. What a sight!


Then we went back to the house and it was sunny and gorgeous again! Jonathan decided to do some kayaking and Amman brought back some oysters right off the beach.

I was a little worried (okay a lot worried) about Jonathan out in the water all by himself.

But he did just fine.




Amman even prepared the oysters for us before going to a concert he played in that evening.



Luke opted for a simpler dinner...pureed carrots.

On Sunday we were able to go to Amman's ward for church before leaving for home that afternoon. The kids I think had run out of fuel by then and were horrible during Sacrament Meeting. They decided to scream and fight with one another and unfortunately we had to leave a little early. They were good on the plane ride home though...whew. Sometimes I have to remind myself they are only kids. Good kids, but certainly not perfect. And that's okay.

Before the rush that day we had a mini photo-session all together...
THANK YOU UNCLE AMMAN for such a great week!!!!!



We LOVED visiting Uncle Amman and being together as a family.

These are the memories I cherish...

...and the images that will always bring a smile to my face.