Escape to Seattle DAY 2

We started out the day by heading to to some outlet malls east of Seattle. I had done some research and thought that they would include some of my favorite stores: Gap, Banana Republic and J Crew. I was highly disaponited to find that they only had a Gap with normal prices. It was more like an Outdoor Mall rather than an Outlet Mall.

When we drove up to the stores we were in awe of this mountain. Mt Si. So after talking to the owner of the Rocky Mt Chocolate Factory and eating one of his fab apples we thought we would try to drive up to it. Wow this picture really does not do it justice!

Some how we got a little sidetracked, but this is where we ended up.......

Snoqualmie Falls. These falls stand 268 ft tall. (100 ft taller than Niagra Falls). We got to view them from a lookout 300 ft above Snoqualmie River. It was majestic! So beautiful and powerful!






After lunch we decided to head out to the Boeing Factory north of Seattle in Everett.

We took a tour of the factory and it was amazing. That factory covers 98 acres. You could fit Disneyland in it with 10 acres to spare! We got to see how they assemble the 747, 777 and 787! It was really cool. Did you know that there are 6 Million parts to an airplane like that? Those blue bays are large enough for the planes to drive right out after assembly.

The plane pictured on the right was built to hold the fuselage and other parts of the 787. It was designed to transport the pieces of the plane to the factory for assembly. After all the parts arrive in Everett the 787 is assembled in just 3 days! People at Boeing work 24 hours a day, 5 days a week assembling airplanes.

After the tour I spotted a brochure for another Outlet Mall a little further N of Everett. Guess what it had the store I wanted. So after getting some dinner we headed up to the Outlet Mall.

We had fun! Mark was such a sport putting up with my shopping! We got him some nice new clothes and me some too! We even found some $2 shirts at Quicksilver! Can't beat that!

Escape to Seattle DAY 1

My husband and I have not been on a vacation alone (other than to visit family) since our honeymoon! A few months ago my friend Ellen told me about some $29 flights on Southwest Air. So we decided to be spontaneous and book a flight.

I called my mom and asked if she would stay with our kids and she sweetly agreed!

So off we went on our own little adventure. It is weird leaving the boys. I am really excited to relax, but I miss them and think about how they would have liked this or that! I must have seen 6 little families with kids our boys age struggling with their kids to get the to behave. I could not help but think I am glad that is not me! But I also caught myself thinking they need to lighten up! I need to lighten up sometimes too! It was fun to watch from a new perspective.

So our flight to Seattle went fine, we rented a car and we decided to first go to Pike's Market.

The Market was fun. We tasted fresh fruits, looked at flowers, hand crafted goods, fresh fish, and much more. We spent a few hours wandering through the vendors and shops. We bought fruit, flowers and honey sticks. I was tempted to buy some blown glass but passed it up.

Look at how pretty the flowers were. That is a rose cabbage in the middle, I thought they were interesting. I have never seen those before. I loved the fall colors of this bouquet. Oh the Asian flower ladies had signs that said small BO-K for $5. Funny huh?

When at the market we wandered off into a strange alley and found this wall of gum. Gross!


People had written their names with it, made picture and left messages.

For lunch we walked down the the waterfront to eat at Ivars! When I was a kid my parents brought us to Seattle a couple of times and we would eat at Ivars. Ivars is a fabulous fish and chips shop that has been in Seattle since 1938.
One of the best memories of Ivars is the seagulls. Look at them all lined up ready to feast! If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see that the one closest to us is squealing for more food!

You throw it they catch it! We each got fish and chips and a big bowl of chowder. We were too full to eat all of our fries so we joined in on the bird feeding fun!



After dinner we went to the Space Needle! A must see in Seattle!
There we are on top over looking the Puget Sound. Aren't we cute!?

This picture is funny because that guy there in the Seattle Seahawks hat became like our unofficial tour guide. He was showing this business man around also pictured and he was telling stories and educating him on the Seattle sites. We were interested so we just followed him around the needle listening to the unofficial tour!

We decided to go up to the needle just before sunset so we could get views of the city in the day and at night! Here you can see Mt. Rainer, Safeco Feild and Qwest Feild. Home of the Seattle Seahawks and Marriners!

Mom I Want to Show You Something

My 4 year old took me by the hand yesterday and led me to the back yard to show me something. He handed me a little red car and said, "I am going to use the Super Fast car I got from Aunt Angela."

So you tell me..........

Trailer for hauling motorcycles, snowmobiles and 4-wheelers?



or a 16 Lane Racer Car Track?

The little boys defiantly think it is best as a race car track. They had a blast! I love it when they use their imaginations to come up with fun things to do.
I also love when they play together. They love to play together it is so awesome!

Family Vacation

We have not had a real vacation in such a long time! I have been envious all summer of my friends and patients who tell me about their week long getaways! Well we finally got one! Yea!

Friday: We started with a flight to SLC, connecting us to OC. Somewhere between here and there this is what happened to our luggage. Do you know that they charge you $20 per bag checked now? Ridiculous! This is what happens to our luggage. They could have at least given us our $20 back!
It looks like it got ran over and then drug across the tarmac!
On the upside we got a new suitcase that is much nicer than this one which was at least 10 years old.
Mark lost his cell phone on the first flight and the kids were a little crazy to travel with. This luggage topped it all off. But we made it safe.


Saturday: We went to the beach with MaryJo, Arnell, Tyson, Ashley, Jordan, Lacey, Tanner, Grandma, Chauntel, Rob, Mitchell, Micah, Madeline and McKay. But first a few of us went to Old Navy to score some $3 t-shirts.
After the beach my family had to hurry home to get ready for a family photo shoot. We went to a studio and had a portrait done that will be touched up by a painter to look like a painting. They had a wear black and classic attire so that the portrait would not look so 2009 in 20 years from now. We had an awesome dinner complete with Ribs, the Oot loves Ribs. He asks me to make them all of the time. He was so cute when I told him we were having them. He licked his lips and made a slurping sound and said, "I love ribs". After dinner, we played volleyball until after dark, then went to the hot tub. Sorry no photos, if anyone has some send them to me!

Sunday: The main event! My brother Jordan spoke in church. He gave a wonderful talk. He is going on a mission to the Philippines. He leaves for the MTC this Wednesday. I was so proud of Jordan. He is going to be a wonderful missionary.
We had another fab meal and then played sand volleyball with Jeremy, Angela, Ceasar, Tyson, Ashley, Jordan, Tanner and Mark. It was fun. My siblings were surprisingly better at volleyball than I thought. We played volleyball until after dark, then went to the hot tub.

Monday: I went with Angela (my sis), my mom, Lacey (Jordan's girlfriend), and her mom and sister, Debbie and Ashlyn and Angela's friend Chantal to the Fashion District in LA. It was really fun. They had tons of stuff, fo SUPER CHEAP. I got some sunglasses, jewelry, make-up and a jacket. They had jewelry sets (necklace and earrings) for only $1. It was a ton and fun and really entertaining. Here are a few things that made me laugh.
1. Many of the vendors had little boom boxes and they played rap, or Mexican music.
2. There were like 6 city blocks filled with vendors selling fabrics.
3. The mannequins all had butt cheek implants.
4. Some of the mannequins had the new LA DOUBLE D breast implants.
5. It was practically impossible to find a pair of sunglasses that did not have a designer name on them. Here is me in my sweet sunglasses!
After the fab time at in the Fashion District I met up with my high school friend Meagan. We went to BJ's pizza for dinner, ate pizza and enjoyed the famous Pizzookie, we tried the new triple chocolate, it was divine. It was a lot of fun catching up with Meagan!
Meagan came over to see my boys after dinner. While we were visiting the Oot stated playing with Anglea's friend Chantal's iphone. She has an app of a lighter that he could light and he was fascinated by it. He took the phone with him to the bathroom and dropped it in the toilet. So lucky us we got to buy a new iphone. FYI do not let your kids play with other people expensive gadgets! I took it from him once, but once wasn't enough. I guess we all learned a lesson.


Tuesday: We drove to Lake Havasu Arizona. It was almost a 5 hour drive. We got IN-N-OUT burger on the way and my dad got a speeding ticket. It was kind of funny. We stopped at a rest stop for the Oot to go potty and my dad pulled over into 2 parking spots, while the child decided if he really had to go. Finally I just made him, but my dad did not move his car. When we came back a highway patrol women was asking him to move his vehicle and park correctly. After all had gone potty we got back on the road trying to catch up on with my mom. A few miles down the road my dad was speeding along at 91 and the same lady patrol came and pulled him over. She gave him a break and sited him at 81 so he would not have to go to traffic school. Bummer though.
We tried to use the GPS to find a Chinese restaurant for dinner, but they were all closed because it was so late. So we ended up having dinner at the Black Bear Diner. It was pretty good. They brought out pancakes that size of a large plate. Yummy. After dinner it was still over 100 so we went swimming.

Wednesday: Lake Day. We rented two jet skis and played on the beach and in the water. Here are my parents on one of them together. After the lake we had more fab food and spent the evening swimming, playing darts, Foosball and table tennis.

Thursday: Boat day. We rented a boat and two more jet skis. Then spent the day, cliff diving, jet skiing, wake boarding, tubing, swimming and trying to stay cool. Did I mention how hot it is in AZ? This day was 110. You had to jump in the water every time the boat stopped just to stay cool. I loved it though. I hate being cold! I love to play in the water, but not if it makes me cold. So this was perfect for me!

In the evening we played pool games and foose ball and watched 17 Again.

Friday: Our last day in Havasu and time to go home. We spent a little more time in the pool and them packed up to go. We dined at the Diner again. Then drove to home on the way home we watched movies and I played with photoshop. In the evening we got that Chinese food I had been craving and hung out around the house.




Saturday: Time to go home. We had an evening flight so we spent the day playing tennis which I am terrible at, with Mark, Jordan and Tanner, swimming, and shopping for a birthday present for the Oot with Grandma. Oot wanted to look at all kinds of toys before making his choice. He chose a dinosaur playset with a action figure and a boat. He could not wait to take a bath and try it out.
The flight was long, but our luggage made it okay this time. Those little faces say it all!
Thanks everyone for a wonderful week!

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

This weekend we went camping. It was pretty good. Pretty good you ask? Well do you know how I feel about camping? Check out my previous post.

The bear is still not walking so it was a challenge to keep him from getting filthy. Jamie brought that great netted tent with the tarp that he played in and he had fun sitting on the bikes. He likes my little bike because it is not loud like daddy's bike.

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Oot had an absolute ball riding the little kido ATV's. It was his first time on one that size and he was a natural. It was difficult to get him off of it. The owner had to fake a dead battery.


We kept the meals simple. I just pulled a couple of my freezer meals out of the freezer. We put these Kabob's together right before the RAIN STORM!

Look how fun camping is now! We sat in the truck for an hour waiting for the rain to clear. It never did. It rained all night!


I tried to entertain the little ones and keep the snacks coming as the rain kept coming.



Oot tried to throw spider man webs at me. Oh good Spider Man story. I rented a movie called Spectacular Spider Man for Oot. He was telling one of our friends all about it. Saying, "I watched Pedicular Spider Man." I said, "Can you say Spectacular?" He replied, "No but I can say Pedicular."




I was trying to get these crazy kids to sit by each other and smile for me. This is what they gave me. Look and those dirty hands!



We ended up packing it all up and staying the night with our friends at their parents house. I was happy. I got to sleep in a comfy bed, play games with our friends and take a shower in the morning.

One more good story. When we were in our tent settling in the first night we were telling Oot that there was a creek near by and he was not to go over by it with out mom and dad. We told him that it ran fast and it could grab him and take him away.

The next morning he poked his head out of the tent and said hello to one of the neighboring campers. Then he told the guy that there was a "freak" in the woods that was going to come and take him away.

Giant Sand Box or Volleyball Court?

This winter Mark came home and said I got something from work and I have a surprise for you, but you are going to have to wait until it gets a little warmer. I kind of forgot about it and then one day I walked into our little storage shed and spotted some volleyball standards(polls. To tell you the truth I must have been pre-occupied with the boys because I did not think much of it.
With signs of spring Mark let me know about his plan, he had decided that he would not be able to move 5 dump trucks of dirt and keep it a surprise. He was going to put in a full size sand volleyball court. Here is how you install your own sand court.

1. Have a big back yard with so you can make a 30x60 foot court.

2. Remove the grass and dig out all of the dirt at least 8 inches deep.
On the first day of digging the sprinkler lines got cut so he had to re-route them and fix the leaks.

3. Lay down 1800 feet of weed barrier, secure it with old garden decor so it doesn't blow away.
The boys were fun and helpful. Bear loved crawling all on the barrier, eating dirt, getting dirty.

Oot loved trying to nail stakes into the ground, throwing dirt clods, and copying daddy.

4. Bring in 5 dump trucks full of sand.

Oot had a lot of fun playing in the sand mounds. He was really good about staying away from the heavy equipment. I was so glad.

5. Spread out the sand across the court.


6. Dig a big hole and each side of the court, place pipes in it and fill with cement. When it is dry slide poles into pipes, hand net and play ball!

It has rained almost everyday since we put it in. So today was the first day we really got to play on it. It was so fun. We picked out the perfect sand. Not too hard on the feet, no rocks and it packs better then most so you can move! It is like living at the beach, I felt like we were on vacation playing in the sand this morning.
Now I can smell summer BBQ all summer long. Who is in?