Seattle!

This week Darrin had vacation so we decided to take part of that vacation and head up to Seattle. On the way up to our hotel on Monday we made our first stop at Northwest Trek in Eatonville, WA. It was in a heavily wooded area and we drove down the slightly winding driveway to find a place to park. We grabbed the few things we needed and headed in! We decided since it was lunch to eat first then make our way to check out all the park had to offer. After lunch we starting making our way down to the tram ride that takes you through the "free roaming" part of the park. On the way we stopped at one of the trail side encounters, and had an encounter with a skunk! It was a non-stinky encounter thankfully, but we got to learn about some interesting facts about skunks! We made it down and waited in line for our tram to show up. This was such a blast driving around being that close to all the animals, at one point Darrin and Dylan were mere feet from a Bison. Along with Bison we saw Bighorn Sheep, Moose, Caribou, Elk, Mountain Goats, Swans, and so much more! After the adventure of the tram ride Ally was a little grouchy so I took her out to the van for a rest and Daddy and Dylan explored the walking trail tour. After resting for about an hour Ally and I joined back up with the boys and went down some of the walking trails with them. We got to see Owls, Wolves, Big Cats, a Porcupine and so much more. The kids were losing steam and starting to drag a little so we finished up our loop and stopped by the penny squishing machine to make souvenir pennies to take home. It was time to head out so we loaded up and started making our way to the hotel hoping to find something to eat along the way. After a quick stop at KFC we finally made our way to the hotel. Darrin got us checked in while I loaded up one of the carts to roll our massive amount of stuff up to the room. We dropped out stuff and relaxed for a bit. Then the kids remembered....there was a pool! So it was then off to the pool for the first of many swimming sessions. We finally wrapped up the day and got the kids to sleep, the next day held a trip to the aquarium! The hotel where we stayed had the most amazing made to order breakfast down in the atrium. We had pancakes, eggs, cereal, bacon etc. both mornings! After breakfast we made the kids relax for a bit then a trip down to the pool before heading off to the aquarium. We made our way to the Seattle Aquarium and started to explore. The first thing you see is a floor to ceiling fish tank, it was huge, 20 feet tall! Next we continued down the hallway past tanks that had waves crashing in them, down to look at the touch tanks, the octopus (he was VERY shy), and around to all the various tanks of sea life. One thing the kids loved was to stick their heads through all the cut-outs they had around. Ally became a 10 legged Octopus and Dylan was a darling Jellyfish! we continued exploring and came upon a table where they had high schoolers volunteering to paint faces. We hopped in line and waited, mostly patiently. Dylan got an Orca and Ally got an Octopus. Ally's Octopii lasted all of 30 minutes or so before she started to rub it off. Oh well. We started around a loop and got somewhat of a surprise as we looked into one of the tanks and saw scuba divers. They were adding coral to the tank, they grow their own there, and cleaning. The kids thought that was pretty interesting and it held their attention for a bit before Dylan announced, "I'm done, let's move on." Okay then, moving on....lots of fish tanks then back around to the other side of the tank that had the scuba divers. The kids again paused to watch and even waved at a couple of the divers. Next was a room with some really crazy exotic fish. You could not use your flash, so I was only able to get a couple good shots, still learning all that my camera can do! After that we headed over to the next building which started off with birds, then moved onto more fish. Next came the Underwater Dome. Let me tell you something, this picture makes it look A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. It's not. We went on a Tuesday, you could not move through there without stepping on someone, much less get close enough to see many fish. It was lunch time by now so we back tracked and headed to get some lunch. Surprisingly, the cafe upstairs was pretty empty. We decided we could just stay there for lunch and settled in with some pretty yummy food! After lunch we headed back towards the dome and it was even MORE packed than before! So we just scooted our way through and into the Orca/Sea Lion exhibit. There was an Orca fin coming out of the ground that the kids had a blast posing on and climbing all over. Also there was a giant Orca shape laid into the carpet, so they both laid down in it to get a picture. After hanging out here a little longer we decided to keep going. We made our way up to see the seals and sea otters. We got to hear part of the keeper talks for the sea otters and see them get fed. Ally discovered a bend with a sea otter head to sit on. She was being such a silly girl...then 5 minutes later....meltdown. So we just sat for a little bit talking and resting until she was ready to move on. All that was left to see was some waterfall exhibits with fish swimming around and a little bit of browsing in the gift shop. After we left the aquarium we headed over across the street and up about a million stairs to check out the Pike Place Market. I got to see a fish thrown right after we got up there!!! The kids didn't see it though because it was so crowded and unexpected. We wandered along down the street being assaulted with millions of different scents, it was a sensory overload. While most of these things would have smelled great on there own, when mixed with all the other scents it was utterly overwhelming! Finally after wandering we headed back to the car to make our way to the hotel. Darrin, being the wonderful Daddy he is, dropped us off and then headed out again to find something for dinner. After dinner we went down to relax in the atrium for awhile and settle our tummy's before heading to the pool for a "wear out the kids swim!" Finally after all the excitement of the day we all were tuckered out for the night. The next morning we headed down first thing for breakfast and then back up to the hotel so we could get ready to have one last swim before we left. After our swim we headed up to the hotel and while I got things packed a ready to go we tried to have the kids lay down and relax for a little bit. Finally it was time to leave the hotel. We got all of our stuff leaded up and pointed the car towards Seattle for our last adventure before heading home. It was a day for baseball! After discovering that the area we had always parked in for free was now blocked off for construction, we drove around trying to find the cheapest lot to park in around Safeco....ugh, twenty bucks later our van had a place to rest while we went to the game. We arrived about an hour early so we were able to walk around a little, but spent most of our time before the game started hanging out in the "Kid's Zone." Finally it was almost game time so we headed up to sit with Daddy for the beginning of the game. For me the rest of the game was a blur. We were going up and down and up and down to the kids zone and back for a snack the whole game. Finally we had no more passes for the kid's zone and spent the last hour of the game actually watching the game. It was looking really good for a Mariners win until they started playing like little leaguers in the 8th inning....thanks for the loss Mariners. At least the kids had fun. Game over Mariners 3 Orioles 5. We got all our stuff together and rode the mad tide of fans out of the stadium, got to the car and settled in to get out of town. After a quick dinner at Denny's we got the kids comfy and snuggled in their car seats for the long drive home. What a fun few days, now to recover!

I have a 5 year old!

This year we celebrated Dylan's 5th birthday by breaking the day up a little bit. We had a "friends" party from 2-4, which included 3 kiddie pools, a slip and slide, a water table, and a sandbox. It was a blast! With the help of one of my best friends, McKenzie, we made up about 4 dozen cake batter cookies and served them up along with Freezer Pops and juice boxes. The kids had a great time just running around and playing, breaking briefly to watch the present opening. We wrapped this party up around 4:30 and then got into high gear for the family dinner starting at 5. I really enjoyed his party this year, it was so much more relaxed and it gave Dylan time to spend with his friends and a separate time to spend with family. This may have to become my new tradition! Here are some pictures from the day, mostly taken by my father.

Swimming Lessons Week 2

The kids finished up swimming lessons today, thankfully. It was good for them, but man was it a L-O-N-G 2 weeks! Neither of them passed onto the next level but I really did not expect that. I am just so happy because now they have gained confidence in the water and really enjoy it. I am looking forward to swimming lessons next summer! Here is one more "movie mix" of them swimming!

Dylan's Generous Heart

Last night we went to a Corvallis Knights game with the Hotrum clan, since Uncle Brian is in town! On this particular night they were doing the $1000 Dash for Cash. It was for kids 12 and under so I got the waivers and got Dylan and Ally signed up. The time came and I took them down to the field, not having ANY idea of what to expect. We were standing around all all of a sudden there was a countdown and then money flying everywhere! The kids scrambled and tried not to get squashed by the millions of other people scrambling. Dylan ended up getting $2 dollars and Ally ended up with $1. We got off the field and started walking back to our seats, on the way Dylan holds up one of his dollars and says, "I don't want to keep this one." I think he was feeling a little bad that he had gotten more than his sister. So I told him if he wanted to he could give one of his dollars to his cousin Grace who had come to the game with us. He absolutely lit up at the idea and decided that is what he wanted to do. So when we got up to the seats he shyly but very happily went over to Grace to give her one of the dollars he had "dashed" for. My throat got tight and tears threatened at this generous and selfless act. This is what being a Mom is all about!

Swimming Lessons: Week 1

Here is a "movie mix" from this week of swim lessons! They have already made lots of progress! Plus they are having fun and that's what really matters! At the end of next week I will update with their progress one more time!