Seattle

I know, I know, bad blogger.  I have no excuses.  Please forgive me.  My goal is one blog a night to catch up.  It's going to take a while because there is a lot to report.  Thanks for your patience!

 

We did a lot of hanging out in Seattle.  I am not sure if I said before, but we went to Seattle to celebrate my sister's baby shower so that was our only big event.  The rest was just rest and play.  Mireille and her family had not met Alaina so everyone did some bonding.  And Alaina was used as a tester to see how Thatcher would do with a baby in preparation for his own little sister's arrival.  He did GREAT!  And he had lots of fun with the cousins.

 

They did some running.  Okay, LOTS of  running.  Their favorite was deck racing but they also used the tennis count in the back.  I love Thatcher's big time arm pumping going on here! 

 

Mireille is pushing Justin in a swing and holding Alaina.  Alaina did very well with her Auntie and my arm got a little break.  Aren't they cute!?

 

There is a nice little secret path through the little woods and we went on lots of missions exploring the area.  Very serious work!

Alaina showed off her new skill of stair climbing.  Scaled them right to the top.  Very proud of herself!

And what trip would be complete without a cousin picture? 

Or some famous Olympic Mountain ice cream?  Our evening ritual included Mr. Jim setting out the flavor array and being our server.  So good! 

Travis and Justin both agree, Olympic Mountain is pretty darm tasty.  Especially when Travis got his favorite flavor, Chocolate Oreo in a gallon and a half to take home with us!

And Justin liked getting not one, but two flavors!

We did take one little trip to the zoo where Travis tried to stalk a peacock and get a feather.  Fortunately for the peacock, he came home empty-handed.

The kids area was loads of fun.  Here's our three little chickadees.  Alaina rode strapped to my chest so no pictures of her.  It was pretty funny seeing all the other kids in their shorts and short sleeves and we were in our jackets.  Very thin blood down in Texas!

The playground was a lot of fun and this bucket spinning seat was a blast.  Just a little push and Travis spun long enough to beg to get off, stumble around, fall down, and ask to go again.  That's what Justin is doing, recovering for another go around!

And this is just one of those "Awww!" pictures:  Justin hugging Thatcher as they check out the tigers.

So the most notable part of the trip was the night.  We stayed with Mireille's in-laws and they have an amazing house.  Our room was huge so we all slept together.  This was the first trip with Justin's CPAP machine and I wasn't sure if I should take it or not.  I ended up taking it and I am glad I did.  My mom stayed with us and she has a Bipap machine so the low hum of them both made for some excellent white noise to aid in sleep.  And boy, did we need whatever help we could get!  Here were the sleeping arrangments:  My mom had the sofa bed, each boy had an air mattress, Alaina had a pack and play, and I alternated sleeping with the boys.  My sister, whose son is an early riser, foolishly bet me that Thatcher would wake up before my kids.  Silly girl!   Alaina had Thatcher beat by almost 2 hours!  And Justin and Travis came in not far behind.  So how early would that be?  Alaina: 3:45 am  Justin: 4 am  Travis: 4:20 am.  Oh yeah, was I exhausted!

So the second night I tried another option.  Alaina needed a little more separation for the rest of us so she moved into her own secret little room.  See where the jackets are hanging?

Voila!   Perfect solution.  Alaina slept SO much better and by the last night I got to sleep until almost 6 am.  Did I mention how much better we all slept?

We had so much fun relaxing and visiting with family.  It's terribly sad that they have to live so far away, but the little visits make it a little easier.  We are hoping for a more extended visit this Christmas with the rest of the family too.  And then there will be 2 more baby girls to enjoy!