Happy Father's Day!

What a great weekend we had.  And to top it all off, yesterday was Father's Day!

Saturday, mommy and I had a playdate with my friend Rheeya and her mommy at the ZOO!  I was so excited to go and have been talking about it for weeks.  We had a little trouble parking, but ended up parking on the street and walking a bit to get there.  We saw some zebras first.  We counted them and got up to about 6, but there were really only 3.  Then we went to see the PANDA bear!  We actually got a really good view of him, but mom didn't get any pictures from a good angle.  I told mommy I wanted to pet the Panda, but she said we couldn't go in to get near him :( 

What great friends!



We ate our lunches after we saw the panda and kept walking to see the tiger and lions. The tiger wasn't out, at least not that we could see, so we went around to the lions.  The new lion cubs that were born last summer were out.  It was pretty cool and there were a lot more there this year than there were last year!



 We saw an orangutan climbing in the middle of the zoo!



Having fun watching Ellie the Elephant :)



The Elephant liked to kick the ball.



We stayed for a long time at the elephant and watched the zookeeper give him a bath.  The elephant took the water from the hose in his trunk and SPLASHED the water all over the place.  He put some in his mouth, then dumped the rest out on the ground.  It was pretty neat to watch and he was really only about 25 feet away from us.

Daddy said that while we were at the zoo, he wanted to sit in the hammock with a good book :)  So mom and I got him a pillow for the hammock - I think he enjoyed it!   

Sunday, of course was Father's Day.  I made daddy a card, but covered up the letters with stickers.  I think he still liked it, though.  All daddy wanted to do was go to the US Soccer game, so that's what we did.  We also got him a camping hammock (are you sensing a theme here?) and some straps to hang the travel hammock - hope we get to use it the next time we go camping! 

The soccer game was a double header - first the US vs. Jamaica and then El Salvador vs. Panama.  The stadium sold out and it was a BIG crowd.  Mom and dad even bought me bright pink earmuffs to protect my ears if it got too loud.  The parking lots opened at 11 and we got there about 5 minutes later - it was perfect timing.  We got to park in our usual spot and got our stuff set up for the tailgate (a big patch of grass, picnic blanket and chairs).

Waiting for our friends to get there.



Gabriel was kind enough to share his fruit with me - he even fed it to me!!!



Happy girl :)



Can you see how tired we both are at this point?  It's well past our naptimes, but there's little hope of sleep now.



I stayed awake through most of the first game.  I started to get a little cranky near the end, so mom took me out to get some dinner and see if I would take a little nap.  I had a burrito and ended up falling asleep in the Ergo on mom's back just as the game ended.  I slept for a good 45 minutes that way (with my hearing protection on and all!)  I woke up just at the beginning of the El Salvador game - mom and I watched a little, but ended up walking back to the car to get settled in - dad was going to leave by halftime, so we could get back in the car and ready to go.  Worked out well - I even met a really nice lady in the parking lot (a fellow Screaming Eagles member) who gave me two star necklaces - a blue one and a red one - how cool is that???

I was a champ and stayed up the whole way home.  We called Grandpa Coble to say Happy Father's Day and then we also called Grampy Clements!  It was so special to talk to them both on Father's Day!!!

While daddy finished talking to Grammy and Grampy, mom took me upstairs for a quick bath then bed.  I was a sweaty mess, but I had a WONDERFUL day!



So to my daddy, my grandpa and grampy, my great grandpa and all of the other wonderful daddies out there, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

My first camping trip!

It's been such a fun couple of weeks!  Last Saturday morning, mom and I drove down to the Virginia Wine Country to watch Molly run a half marathon!  Mom ended up taking a wrong turn, so we came in from a different direction and didn't get there until right before the roads were closed.  The police were very nice and directed us to turn around and park at the school.  By the time we got there, though, the road to the school was closed and the only place to go was in a cemetary - the fire rescue squad there said it was ok to park there, so we did and the lead male runner came by in just a few minutes.  We were waiting at mile 11.5 figuring we could run part way with Molly if she was hurting.  Mom had her running clothes on and I was ready to go in my BOB stroller.  When we saw Molly, she said her knee was hurting, boo :(  We ran for a little while, but ended up walking about the last mile.  When we got to the finish, Molly crossed the finish line and we ducked out to the side to meet her for the finishers festival.  They had wine tastings and yummy food.  Mom got me a "fruit kabob" and I was happy as can be :)  Molly was going to drive mom and I back to our car, but we realized we didn't have a carseat for me, so mom and I ended up running back to the car.  The first mile was fine - the road was still closed, so there was no traffic, but when we got to the main intersection, the road was opened again.  There was a Loudon county police officer and he told mom to wait - he was going to turn his car around and follow us back to the car so traffic would stop for us!  So mom and I got to have a half mile police escorted run back to our car :)  That was so nice of him - it really would have been scary otherwise.

Molly let me hold her finishers medal while she was tasting wine.



Sunday morning, we went to a wine festival in Virginia.  We picked up Joe and Ruthie on the way and ended up getting there before it even opened.  It was a perfect day - it was supposed to shower off and on, but turned out to be a really sunny day.  Luckily mom put a lot of sunscreen on me, but she got pretty sunburned.   It was a really fun day - I got a strawberry smoothie that made me very happy and I got to bounce in the bounce house (once I got over my shyness).  The balloon lady made me a ladybug bracelet that matched my outfit!



Dad gave me a piece of gator!  Yum - tastes like chicken (just kidding, but it was really good).



Wednesday night, mom, dad and I got most of our camping stuff packed up.  They were going to be out on Thursday night, so had to get it done on Wednesday.  I helped - see, I even tried on my new carrier.  It's as big as I am!  Good thing mommy or daddy wear me IN it!



Thursday night, mom and dad went to a concert (Mumford & Sons) and Ms. Sharon came and stayed with me.  We had pepperoni pizza for dinner and I got to play Candy Land with her and show her my new big bed!  We had a blast, despite the bad storm that rolled in right after mom and dad left.  The lights even went out for a few minutes.  Mom and dad got stuck in the rain the entire way to the concert, but it had ended by the time they finally got in (what a miserable experience - don't ever go to Merriweather Post Pavilion, mom and dad tell me).  

My school was closed on Friday for a Professional Development Day, so mom and dad took the day off (well, they worked in the morning) and we went camping!!!  We went to Mathews Arm Campground in the Shenandoah National Park.  It was SO much fun!  We left around 1 on Friday, which was perfect timing for my nap.  I slept nearly the whole way there and only woke up when we stopped at Walmart just outside of the park to get pillows, chairs and a potty for me (can you believe mom and dad left those things at home???)  When we got to the campground, we drove around a few times and scouted out a site - it was pretty empty when we got there, so we really had our choice of spots.  Dad found one that was pretty isolated from any "neighbors," not directly near the restrooms and in a generator free zone.  Mom and I hopped out of the car and stayed there while dad went back to the rangers station to check us in.

Dad came back and we started unloading the car so dad could put the tent up.  Would you believe that our car was completely PACKED???  I'm glad mom has an enormous car!  It didn't take too long and we were good to go.  We got my cot, mom and dad's sleeping pads and all of our sleeping bags set up and mom got the table set up.  I was really excited to sleep in my sleeping bag - I picked out a pretty turquoise bag at REI - it has flowers on it and I really love it.

I was "helping" set up the tent...



Dad got part of the tent up, but I got tired, so I watched.



Yummy snack!



Reading my Curious George Book.  How fitting that there was a "George Goes Camping" Story...



Tent's all set up, sleeping bags and all.



Daddy changed into jeans and boots and hiked back in the woods to find some firewood to get the fire started.  We ended up running to the camp store and buying a bundle of firewood, but daddy did get a bunch of huge logs that lasted much of the night.  After he came back, he started the fire and we got dinner started - dad made chili - yum!  Of course, we also forgot to pack knives, so dad had to cut the onion with his big Army knife.  Not ideal, but it worked.  Because we were running around trying to get our site set up, dinner was a little later than normal, but I didn't mind.  I was busy collecting sticks for daddy to use in the fire and picking up piles of rocks and moving them.  Who needs toys when you have nature???  I was so happy (and FILTHY).  The new camping stove from Grandpa and Grandma Coble really came in handy!  Dinner was yummy (but HOT) - that stove really keeps things warm!

Dad got the fire started!



Terrible picture, but you can see how incredibly filthy I was!



While mom cleaned up and washed the dishes, dad taught me how to roast marhsmallows.  Delicious!  He showed me how to roast them just until they got golden and bubbly.  I got to eat TWO marshmallows, even though I told mom and dad I wanted five.  After I got cleaned up (i.e. wiped down with a baby wipe), we got jammies on, read a few books, and climbed in to my sleeping bag.  I did reasonably well and it didn't take me too long to fall asleep.  It was really late and we had had a long day, so I'm not surprised.  I woke up a few times crying (which is pretty normal for me), but we worked it out and I went back to sleep.

A storm came through late Friday night - dad saw it coming, but mom and I were already asleep.  The ground cover and tent were awesome - there were a few tiny "puddles" in the morning, but none of us or our things got wet.  It was very peaceful to sleep outdoors in the rain (and mom didn't mind because it was kind of like her white noise CD at home...).  Mom woke up super early on Saturday morning - partially because it gets light so early, but mostly because daddy snored ALL.NIGHT.LONG.  Didn't bother me, but apparently mom couldn't sleep through it.  So she got up and had a while to read by herself which she said was nice.  None of our neighbors were up either, so she got to sit in the quiet for a few hours (yes, that's how early she got up).  When dad and I got up, we made breakfast - eggs, bacon, coffee (for mom and dad) and milk for me.  It was so good and I even had two servings of eggs - lots of protein to fuel us for the day ahead.  We cleaned up from breakfast and got ready to go on a hike.  Dad went to the rangers station to get a map - when he came back, he said that it was a pretty hard hike - 2 miles downhill to the waterfall, which in turn meant 2 miles back UP from the waterfall.  Mom and dad both said "We can do it," so they packed me up in my new backpack carrier, filled a few water bottles and started out.  Dad's knee has been bothering him, so mom carried me there.  It was tough and there were a few sections that were pretty steep downhill (there were log stairs, but it was hard even on mom's knees with me on her back).  It was so beautiful and well worth the hike, though.  I got to get out when we got there, but couldn't really walk around because there was a steep drop off and I didn't want to fall and get a boo boo.  Mom brought me a juice pouch to drink, so that made me very happy!

So happy :)





Beautiful waterfall - this is why mom and dad hiked the entire way :)



Ready to head back...



After a few minute rest, we got all packed up and were ready to head back.  What a daunting task.  Mom didn't even make it a half mile back before we stopped and moved me to daddy's back.  Mom had finished nearly her whole bottle of Gatorade and there's no way she was going to make it the rest of the way carrying me.  Talk about physical exhaustion!  And they still had at least a mile and a half to go.  Daddy is much better at hills and has longer legs than mom, so he was able to push through it a little faster.  It was certainly not easy for him either, but he did an awesome job and got us home in about the same time that it took for us to hike out - about an hour each way.

Along the way, I got to see a few new animals!  We saw a centipede - dad picked it up on a leaf and let me look at it - it was crawling along and had a lot of legs.  It fell off of the leaf, got scared and rolled up into a ball like Roly Poly Pangolin, one of my favorite books.  Not much farther along, we saw a millipede!  It had even more legs and looked like a worm (mom actually thought it was a worm at first).  We saw lots and lots of butterflies too.

Even though it was uphill on the way back, it was a little bit easier, because mom and dad recognized certain points and kind of knew how much farther they had to go and what to expect.  When we finally got to the marker that said camp wasn't far, we kicked it into high gear and pounded through the last few hills.  We stopped at the water fountain on our way back to the camp site and mom filled up all of our water bottles.  We all needed that!  Daddy carried me the rest of the way back to our camp site and then I got to get out and mom and dad were able to relax a little.

We had hot dogs for lunch, but since there wasn't a fire going, we boiled water on the camp stove and boiled the hot dogs.  I had a pear while waiting for them to cook - yummy!  They weren't quite done when it suddenly got VERY dark.  Dad scrambled and kind of packed everything up in case it started to rain.  Of course, we hadn't started to eat yet and some rain drops came down - we rushed to get in to the tent and mom and dad brought our lunch with us.  We ate, read a few books, then it was time to lay down for a nap.  Mom and dad started reading their books, but after a few minutes, mom decided if she was going to be stuck in the tent because of the rain that she would just nap too.  Dad must have decided that looked like a good idea because we ALL woke up 2 hours later :)  It was bright and sunny when we got up, so it was perfect.

I played a little while daddy got the fire going.  Mom and I even found a worm - following him occupied me for a good half hour.  Daddy was dead set on having corned beef hash while we were camping and he wanted to share it with me - mom said she'd pass, so she had some beef stew.  I had a few bites of the corned beef hash, but wasn't a huge fan, so ended up eating most of mom's.  We cleaned up the dishes when we were done and sat in front of the fire for a little while.  I had seen a huge chocolate bar in the cooler that I kept asking for.  Mom and dad said they had a special treat for me - SMORES!!!  I got to roast another marshmallow with daddy, then he helped me put it on a piece of graham cracker with a chocolate piece.  We smooshed it all together and I ate the whole thing (and even asked for more...).

Dad telling me how to roast the marshmallow - I really just wanted to eat it!





The marshmallow's getting golden and bubbly.





That's what I was waiting for!  YUMMY!!!





We got cleaned up after dinner and it was already time for bed - the afternoon snuck by us because we had such a late lunch and nap.  It took me a while to fall asleep Saturday night - I had to go potty, but just talked to myself and sang songs to myself instead of telling mom and dad I had to go.  So about an hour and a half after they put me to bed, I finally got up to use the bathroom and went to sleep.  Mom had trouble sleeping again Saturday night (gee, I wonder where I get my awful sleep habits from).  She ended up getting up at 5:30 on Sunday and had several hours to herself (again, not such a bad thing).  Dad and I got up around 8, we had breakfast and started packing up to head out.  We left by 10, stopped along the way for lunch and were home by naptime.  It worked out perfectly and I had SUCH a good time!  I can't wait to go again :) 

Our Awesome Seattle Trip!!!

This is a long overdue post - Mom and I went to Seattle in the beginning of May and we're just now posting this!  We had such a great time and really miss Kim, Mike, and Daniel so much!

May was a little crazy!  Mom and dad have been so busy with work, travel, stuff at home, etc.  It just seems to be non stop!  Daddy had to go to Germany for a week for work and I really missed him.  He got back a few days before mom and I left for Seattle, so we didn't have much time to overlap.  He brought me lots of goodies from Germany:  a new car (well, a toy car, it will have to do for now) and a brand new bright red fleece vest!  Just in time for our trip to Seattle!  He brought mommy some German gummy bears (her favorite) which she was kind enough to share with me! And some wine which she says I'm not allowed to have.  Boo. 

Dad and I gave mom a very Happy Mother's Day too!  Mom got to sleep in (dad took the crackly monitor and slept in the guest room so mom could sleep as long as she wanted) and of course that is the *one* day that I chose to sleep later than mom did.  Go figure.  She woke up and dad and I were both still sleeping.  So she grabbed the monitor and got a cup of coffee and had a few minutes to relax before I got up.  We spent the rest of the day running some errands to get things done around the house - we went to a local nursery and picked out some new flowers for the yard.  I got to help mom dig in the dirt and plant the flowers :)  I even got to see a few worms and told mom that worms make tunnels and dig holes.  I learned that in a book at school!  We also got a Confederate Jasmine to plant along the front of the house - I can't wait until it blooms because it smells so good!  Dad put up new lattice around the deck while mom and I planted flowers, so we got a lot done that day.  Dad and I also got mom a new sewing machine which she is starting to learn how to use.  She got to spend part of my nap reading the manual in the hammock in the yard.  Nice and relaxing for sure.  Then we had sushi for dinner at a new restaurant that Uncle Joe and Aunt Ruthie recommended.  It was delicious - I had an avocado roll and a sweet potato roll and ate EVERY LAST BITE on my plate!!!   

Now for the fun update!  My first solo flight with mom was *mostly* a success.  We left bright and early on a Wednesday morning - mom was so excited about the trip that she woke up at 3am!  Her alarm was set for 4, but she got up and finished packing anyway.  We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare and there was NO ONE there at 5 in the morning :)  We got all of our stuff on the x-ray belt and mom went to walk through the metal detector with me on her back in the Ergo.  The TSA agent stopped her and said she'd have to get me out.  Boo.  Last time we flew, she was able to just take my shoes off and walk through with me.  Not this time.  So she had to go back and find a chair to get me out of the carrier, get back in line, put the carrier through the x-ray machine and we both had to walk through the metal detector.  No big deal, but mom wished that someone had told her to take me out BEFORE she had put the rest of our bags (and her computer and camera) through.

Mom really tried to pack lightly, but I don't think it worked so well.  We still had a lot of stuff to carry, so I was glad to have the Ergo to make things a little easier.  We stopped for breakfast once we got to the gate and mom let me get a pink frosted donut!!!  That was my first donut and a yummy start to the trip :)  Mom just got coffee and we sat at a table and waited until we could get on the plane.  While we waited to get on the plane, I got to watch some other planes out the window.  The plane next to ours was painted with the Steelers logo :)  How cool is that???



Mom got me the CARES harness instead of taking my carseat with us.  Kim was kind enough to let me use one of Daniel's seats, so that was one less thing to carry :)  The CARES harness was great and provided more protection than just the seatbelt (very important to mom), but wasn't a 5 point harness which she would have liked.  It did the job and we were safe, though it was TERRIBLY uncomfortable when I fell asleep for the last 10 minutes of the first 5 hour flight.  Mom had purposely decided not to buy me a DVD player for the trip, but the NEXT flight from Phoenix to Seattle changed her mind on that point.  I was so tired and cranky because I woke up so early and didn't really nap.  Mom booked us in window and middle seats the entire trip - NOT a smart idea with a semi potty trained toddler who can't get soy milk in the airport and therefore drinks juice and CHUGS the entire thing...  The entire trip, I YELLED that I HAVE TO GO POTTY!  Even after mom had taken me at least 5 times in a 20 minute period...we had to constantly apologize to the lady sitting next to mom.  Thankfully she was really nice and didn't seem too upset by getting up and down a lot.  Then the seatbelt sign was turned on and we weren't allowed to get up, so I just yelled and mom tried to calm me down to no avail.  She finally got me out of the harness and sat in my seat trying to rock me until I fell asleep.  We slept for about 45 minutes that way and then mom had to put me back in the harness for landing and she had a really hard time waking me up.  But when we got off, I was chipper as can be.  We found a bathroom in the airport, mom loaded me in the Ergo, we got our bag and met Kim!  I instantly warmed up to her and gave her a big hug :)

When we got back to Kim's house, Daniel was still napping, so I had free reign of all of his toys :)  I fell in love with his shopping cart and became somewhat possessive of it the entire time we were there.  When he woke up, we were instant friends. Daniel, Bella (Daniel's nanny also watches her) and I all played for a while.  I managed to stay awake and did reasonably well, but we did go to an early dinner.  I got to eat tortellini (my favorite) and also checked out the potty several times.  Let's just say I didn't do well with the potty while we were there.  I went to bed pretty well Wednesday night - I got to sleep on Daniel's new bed and it was so comfy!



Thursday was a fun day :)  We got to take the morning slowly and mom and I hung out because Kim had to work and Daniel had gym class.  It was a nice adjustment to the time change (I woke up at 5am Seattle time even though I had stayed up until 8pm Seattle time the night before - 8:00 is my normal bedtime at home, so that was really 3 hours late...) and we were able to sit and relax for a while.  I ate lunch early and mom got me down for an early nap in preparation for the visit from Mike, Sapna and Milan!  They drove all the way up from Portland to meet me and hang out with us for the day.  How great is that???  They got to Kim's a little before I woke up, so they got to hang out with mom for a little and mom got to meet and play with Milan. What an awesome kid!  I wish I lived closer to both Daniel and Milan!  The three of us could really get into some trouble.  When I woke up, Sapna, Mom, Milan and I walked to the zoo from Kim's house - it's only a few blocks away, but mom said they really got their exercise by carrying us up the hills!

The zoo was so much fun and the weather was PERFECT.  Mom and Sapna got to catch up and Milan and I got to see some cool animals.  I loved the flamingos and I saw a red duck (mom didn't like walking through that part with birds out in the open...).  Then we got to pet a few goats.  Two of them started playfully butting heads and I got a real kick out of that.  Then when I went to pet one of the goats, mom pulled me back because he almost pooped on me - yuck!





Snacktime at the zoo :)



We walked around a little more and tried to see the hippos, but they must have been hiding.  We saw the mommy lion and some funny looking wild dogs.  Then we saw the peacock - he was so colorful!  I think my favorite was the giraffes, though - there were several of them and we got to see them eating leaves!



On our way out to meet Kim and Daniel, we stopped to see the penguins.  I loved them :)



I think we had the most fun sitting in the mulch outside of the zoo.



I got brave enough to walk along the wall.  Like my new red vest from daddy???



We walked from the zoo to a pizza place and had a yummy, yummy white pizza with garlic, spinach, feta, and onions :)  Milan slept in his stroller and Daniel and I were so good.  They had ice cream for dessert there, but instead of eating there, we stopped at the store on our way back to Kim's house to get some.  Mom got me Cherry Garcia - her favorite :)  I devoured mine and practically licked the bowl clean.  I think Daniel liked his Chunky Monkey too!  What do you think?



Mike, Sapna and Milan left around 7 to drive back to Portland.  Hopefully they missed the traffic on the way home and Milan wasn't too upset to spend more time in the car.  We had SUCH a great time and am so glad they made the effort to come visit!

On Friday, I woke up a little before 6 - adjusting a little more every day :)  Kim had off on Friday, so we piled in to the car and went to see the boats at the Ballard Locks.  It was kind of an overcast and chilly, windy day, but at least it was dry!  I wanted to see sail boats and we got to see plenty.  They pulled up right in front of us and tied the boats to the locks and waited for the rest of the boats to park.  When it was full, they closed the gates behind the boats - the gates closing made a loud noise that I didn't like, so I covered my ears.





Boats at our level...



Boats being lowered so they can sail out to the ocean!



Once the boats sailed away, we made a pit stop and then headed down the road to the Golden Gardens.  What an awesome view.  You could see snowy mountains out in the distance :)  We parked and walked up to see more boats and I had a blast!





It was a little chilly (and windy), so we didn't stay long (Daniel and I were also pretty hungry).  We walked back to the car and drove back to grab some lunch.  I kept saying I wanted pasta, so we were planning on going to an Italian place, but Kim remembered an awesome sushi restaurant in the same plaza, so we went there instead.  It was FABULOUS!  They had freshly prepared sushi on a conveyor belt.  We sat down and mom could just grab what she wanted.  We had some edamame (yum!) and mom got me an avocado roll (by far my favorite).  We also had a fried tofu dish that was yummy.  Mom had a yummy California roll and Spicy Tuna (her favorite!)  Daniel and I also split a potato dish that was quite delicious.  Good choice, Kim :)

On the conveyor belt, there were these tiny cupcakes that kept coming around, so I asked mom if I could have one.  Kim said that the actual bakery was just around the corner, so we decided to walk there instead of getting the ones from the sushi restaurant.  Of course, when we got to the cupcake place, they didn't have any mini cupcakes - only full sized ones!  So Daniel and I got to split a chocolate / vanilla cupcake!  It was the absolute best.  Mom and Kim had one too, so we all got our afternoon treat.

We were both pretty tired and Daniel fell asleep in the car on the way home.  After our naps, we went back towards the Golden Gardens - we were going to try to have dinner at a nice seafood restaurant on the water.  The wait was pretty long, so we decided to go somewhere else.  We ended up going to a Mexican restaurant close to Kim's house.  It was DELICIOUS!  I had a ton of chips and guacamole - Daniel doesn't like avocado, though - guess he doesn't realize what he's missing!  Mom had a cheese tarte and I had chicken enchiladas.  I ended up eating mostly mom's black bean soup, but she wasn't complaining. 

Saturday, we got up and went swimming!!!  There was an awesome indoor pool that had tunnels, splashy things, and even slides!  There was a lazy river as well, but unfortunately it was closed because they were having swim lessons when we were there.  I was a little hesitant at first, but Daniel went right in and I soon warmed up to the idea and went zipping around with no fear. It was shallow enough that I could get down and put my hands on the bottom to push myself along.  There were 2 slides that had spraying things at the top - again, I was hesitant to go down, but eventually warmed up to the idea and asked mom to take me up.  I got to watch Mike and Daniel go first, so I knew it would be fun!  I loved it and wanted to keep going up and down :)  I wish we had something like that (indoors) closer to us!  There's the splashpark which we will go to soon, but it's outside and doesn't really have a "pool" component to it.  We're not doing swim classes right now because our weekends have been just too busy. 

When we left the pool, I wanted to go see more boats!  We were going to try to ride on a ferry, but we didn't make it in time, so we walked out on the pier and waved to the boat instead. 

Bye Bye Ferry!





We went to the Original Pancake House for lunch and Daniel and I each got blueberry pancakes.  They were DELICIOUS!  We went back to Kim's so we could nap.  Daniel woke up asking for "Nidney," so I went up to see him...

It looks like I'm trying to eat his ear, but I was really giving him a kiss.



He gave me one too :)



Hugs to my new buddy!



That night, Daniel and I got to hang out with Rachel while mom, Kim and Daniel got to enjoy a really nice dinner without kids :)  Mom was very happy to have a meal where she didn't have to take me to the bathroom 10 times (at the most inopportune times, of course).  Mom says then went downtown and got to walk along the water.  They had dinner at a really nice seafood restaurant on the water.  Delicious!!!  

By Sunday, I think Daniel and I were so far off our normal schedules that we just weren't up for much and needed some down time.  It was pretty rainy, so we went to the market and walked around and looked at so much stuff.  I got to sample a lot of yummy fruit at the produce stands - the pears were AWESOME!  I even got to see the fish market where they were THROWING huge fish over a woman's head!  That really made me laugh.  Mom got me some dried fruit for the plane home (apples, blueberries and mango, my favorite!)  Then we got some berries and other yummy fruit for the next few days.  I think Daniel and I each ate several pints of berries the few days that we were there.  There are far worse things, I suppose.  We stopped and got Salmon and Mike cooked an awesome dinner that night.  On the way out, we stopped to get some Piroshki's and coffee, then we headed back to Kim's house to eat.  We played for a bit, then took naps.  Or should I say, Daniel took a nap (almost a FOUR hour nap, mind you).  After almost 2 hours of me not sleeping (and clearly needing to), mom got fed up and put me in the stroller and walked around the block a few times.  I didn't stop talking our entire walk and kept asking mommy why we were going for a walk.  All she would tell me is SHHHHH.  Time to go to sleep.  I wonder why???  Anyway, I finally fell asleep when we got back to Kim's house.  Daniel and I woke up around the same time, ha ha. 

Mom, Kim and I went shopping to get a DVD player and some movies for me to watch on the plane home.  Mom tried to order one from Amazon, but couldn't get it delivered before we were leaving.  Then we went to a clothing store that mom really wanted to go to - she ended up buying me a bunch of new clothes - dresses and jammies mostly. 

Monday was kind of overcast, so we went to see the Fremont Troll.  Daddy had seen the troll when he and mom were in Seattle for Kim's wedding and he really wanted me to be able to see it.  I was a little scared of it at first, but then I realized that he doesn't move.  Look - he's holding a CAR in his hand. 







That was awesome :)  I'm still talking about the troll weeks later!  We left there and went to the playground at the lake.  It was an awesome playground - they even had a canoe that kids could play in!









Look - Daniel doesn't need Kim to hold on to him!



That night, we went back to the restaurant that we tried to go to on Friday night.  We made reservations and had no problem getting a table right by the water.  I loved this place - they even had a fountain in the front and mom let me lighten up her wallet by throwing the pennies in the water!  We saw lots of boats before we went in - even a police boat.  I also taught Daniel how to do the jump up and down song and he seemed to really enjoy that.

It was chilly that night!



Daniel loved walking along the railing :)



I held his hand and helped him walk in to the restaurant.



Police Boat :)



Dinner was great, though I didn't eat a whole lot and got pretty restless.  Mom relented and got me some ice cream anyway - she said it wasn't so much a reward for me, but a way to keep me quiet long enough for her to enjoy HER dessert.  You have to do what you have to do!  That was a great way to end our trip!

Can't forget one last picture.  Felix the cat was awesome (a bit crazy, but awesome).  He even knows how to play fetch!



Tuesday morning, we took our time getting up, eating breakfast and getting things all packed back up.  We dropped Daniel off with his nanny, then Kim took us to the airport before heading in to work.  There was a family line in security, so that helped a lot.  We got through with no problems - mom didn't even try to put me in the carrier this time!  I walked right through and we were on our way.  We had plenty of time, so we stopped and ate breakfast (again) figuring we wouldn't really eat on the next flight.  We split French Toast and it was yummy.  We got to the gate just in time to board, so we got to get right on.  This flight from Seattle to Phoenix was full, so we weren't able to change our seats (mom wanted aisle and middle instead of window and middle).  I was an absolute angel the entire flight - I watched Alice In Wonderland (my first "real" movie) for all of 10 minutes, then mom and I talked, drew pictures and listened to music. 

We were lucky enough to get switched to the aisle and middle in the bulkhead row for the flight from Phoenix to DC and that was awesome.  There was no one else in our row and the woman across the aisle from me was so nice and talked to me and entertained me.  Mom got us a fruit and cheese plate when they brought the food cart by just in case we got hungry.  I got a little fussy and started crying about a half hour in, so mom let me sit on her lap and cuddled with me.  I fell asleep (as did she) and we both slept until we were about 45 minutes outside of DC.  It was perfect - I got to eat the fruit and by the time I was done, they were clearing the cabin getting ready for landing.  We got off, went to the bathroom, mom put me in the Ergo, we got our suitcase and were back in the car no problem. 

Or so mom thought...apparently the fact that mom bought a portable DVD player in Seattle was enough to trigger a fraud alert with the bank, so they turned off her debit card.  Nice, right?  So when she tried to pay for parking, the attendant kept telling her the card was declined.  Not possible - try again.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Not a big deal - we got out, but it was frustrating!  She had to call the bank the next day and verify all of her prior transactions before they'd turn it back on.  Lesson learned - if you're going to be traveling across the country and making an electronics purchase, let the bank know first...

On that note, I'm going to go to bed - it's been exhausting writing all of this out! 

We miss you, Kim, Mike and Daniel!  We can't wait to see you again!