{SEATTLE: PART 2}

What a fun week in Seattle! We stayed in a house right on the Puget Sound and went downtown almost every day. Once the race was over we could all relax and just enjoy being there. The weather was perfect, the kids were well behaved, and Baby Webb stayed put so Chel didn't have to give birth on vacation. We definitely missed Joe--it was weird to not have him around. Elise's fiance Mike got his first taste of a family vacation and we didn't scare him away. Our days were pretty jam packed to get everything we wanted to do in, and we almost always were together as a family. We split up one day when the girls went for pedicures and then the boys went golfing, but other than that we were able to find things that kept everyone interested.

GOOD FOOD: Hard Rock Cafe and Crab Pot were both super fun. Jackson definitely surprised us all by how much he LOVED the mussels, clams, oysters and shrimp. Lola loved the "chicken fingers" that were actually calamari. These little kids have exotic taste!

We had perfect weather to watch the Braves play the Mariners. We all enjoyed the cotton candy, pulled pork sandwiches, ice cream and fresh lemonade, but lets be honest, were a bit disappointed at the lack of Diet Cokes to be had. Lola was on the lookout to find boyfriends for both of us, but we were unsuccessful in that endeavor.

The aquarium and the science center were tons of fun. We also enjoyed the Music Project but I didn't get any pictures from there. Elise decided she wants a jelly fish tank in their apartment and Nate tried (and almost succeeded) to steal a butterfly that was taking up life on his sunglasses.

Pikes Place Market was so much fun with all the fresh produce, fish, and flowers. Such fun local color too--Miles was super intrigued and wanted to know all about marijuana and tattoos. Oh, the aspects of life that just isn't found in peaceful Cache Valley.

The Sunday afternoon ferry ride was fun and relaxing and we learned all about Seattle. We missed mom and dad but came home to give a full report on all the facts we had learned.

We were sad for the vacation to wrap up but worn out from our adventures. We headed home and spent one last night in a hotel outside of Boise, where we enjoyed the swimming pool at 10:00 p.m. and then oatmeal from McDonalds as a midnight snack. I'm so thankful for my fun family!