Seattle and Spokane Trip

Note: This blog is quite lengthy, so I broke it up by days for easier reading.  I also don't know why some sentences are highlighted.

Day One 

Last Tuesday, June 21st, our family got up at 4:00am and headed off to Seattle, Washington.  We had planned a six day driving trip including Seattle and Spokane.  I made a map for each of the kids to follow along  where we were going.  They could color in the road as we went.  However, Lily was the only one who really did it, and I should've marked more cities because every few minutes she would ask if we had reached the next town yet (and most were over 100 miles away from each other).

We pulled the kids out of bed, took them to the bathroom and loaded them in the car.  When I woke Cedric up and told him it was time to go, he had a big smile on his face and sleepily said "I'm so excited!"  immediately the "Magic Journey" song was playing in my head (you have to be family to understand why).  We were driving away by 4:30am, but unlike I hoped, only Sophie fell back asleep.  Even I had a hard time wanting to sleep.

We had assigned an IPod/phone to each child who had pre-selected movies to put on them and they each had their own set of earphones.

Lily sat next to Sophie so she could help with Sophie and the boys were both in the back.  We piled pillows between them to help make the car naps more comfortable.  The boys did eventually sleep at some point of the drive, but Lily stayed awake the whole day.

We made it all the way to Jerome Idaho before we stopped for breakfast.  We just swung into McDonald's so the kids could play a bit and we never eat at McDonald's at home, so it was a special treat.

Here's Cedric Jerome in front of the Jerome, Idaho fire station.

Sophie was a really good baby the whole trip.  There was only one point on the way up she got really fussy. For about an hour she cried.  And when despirate times call for despirate measures I switched places with Lily and sat next to Sophie trying to keep her calm.  Yes, I let my eight year old sit in the front seat, and yes I fed my six month old Red Vines, but it kept us sane until the next stop.

Little did we know that the reason Sophie was so fussy is because she had a poopy diaper.  Once we changed her, she was happy the rest of the time.
And where did we stop for lunch?  Yep, McDonald's.  Well, the kids did anyway.  We liked that they could run around the playground while I fed Sophie, then we'd get their food to go and eat it in the car.  Tom and I swung into Wendy's for ourselves.

By the time we got to Seattle we had Lily who would not stop smiling (she was dramatically smiling saying she couldn't stop because she was so excited), Jeff who was tired, and Cedric who was just done.  He had the hardest time in the car.  I got really emotional driving through the canyons before you enter Seattle.  That's because my mom grew up just north of Seattle, and so I was thinking a lot about her.  I had been to Seattle so many times I can't count, but this was the first time without my mom.  The canyons were also where my mom's dad died in a car wreck on her sixth birthday.  I let myself just cry as I looked out the window at the beautiful scenery.

We arrived about 7pm at the hotel (or the hole-in-the-wall motel which would be more accurate).  Sophie was happy to be there.

We were all super tired, and right in the heart of downtown Seattle, so we decided to walk to find dinner.  The first place we found?  Yep, McDonald's.  So for the third meal of the day we had good ol' Micky-D's.  I felt like I was poisoning my children.  They felt like they'd died and gone to heaven.  We just took it back and ate it in the room.

The only good thing about our motel was the location.  This was the view out our window.

The kids took no time at all to fall asleep.  It had been a very long day (with the time change, literally). The three oldest all shared a double bed.

Day Two

The next morning Tom and his sister, Teresa and brother, Kurtis went to get their things for the Seattle Rock n' Roll Marathon they would be running in on Saturday.  That was the main reason we were in Seattle.  I stayed back in the room with the kids and their cousin, Troy.  We played games and watched TV until the other adults returned.

Did I mention Sophie was such a happy baby on this trip?

We knew it was supposed to rain that day, but it hadn't quite started to yet, so we took advantage and ran out to get our family picture in front of the space needle before Tom and the others had left.

By the time they got back, it was raining good.  We used a poncho to keep Sophie and the stroller dry.

Because we didn't know of any other close restaurants and we wanted to just hurry and eat, guess where we ended up for lunch?  Yep, McDonald's.  I was protesting by this point.  Did I mention we never eat at McDonald's at home because I don't like it?  Well, after some 'discussion' I told Tom I'd only eat there if I could take his picture out front.

Here were the others in our group besides our family of six... Tom's sister, Teresa, her husband, Dell and son, Troy.  We also had Tom's brother, Kurtis and his cousin, Annette who were both doing the half marathon (Tom and Teresa were doing the full).

You know you're in Seattle when the sidewalks have a roof to keep the rain off.

Our destination for the day was the Pacific Science Center. This is a VERY fun museum that my family had gone to many times as kids and it was a must for us.  I was not a bit disappointed either.

The first room was the dinosaur room.  It had a lot of cool animated dinosaur displays.

Did I mention how happy Sophie was on the trip?  Here she is in a dino footprint.

The next room was the space room.  It had a lot of cool things that reminded me of the Clark Planetarium back home.  Here are the kids in a spaceship.

The next room was where we spent the most time.  Cedric loved the water shooter and water table.

Lily loved the sea creatures.  She got to pet a star fish and hold hermit crabs.

Jeff loved the games.  There were all sorts of games everywhere.  This one was a shuffle board table.

Sophie was just happy.  Actually, the floor she is sitting on was really cool.  The floor would light up when stepped on and the circles would follow you around.  I can't describe it, but lets just say I wish I had one of these in my house.

There were many other cool things like a shadow room, where your shadow would stick to the wall, and tons of science games.  Jeff loved all the games.

There was also a toddler area that Cedric loved.  

The next room was the bug room.  They also had snakes, spiders and naked mole rats too.  The kids thought it was so cool to hold a real cockroach.

They also had an awesome butterfly room.  The kids loved being so close to real butterflies.

Even Sophie was fascinated by them.

Can you spot the butterfly above Lily's head?

What about the ones behind me?  I really enjoyed this room.

The next room had all the classic science games I remembered the most from my trips there as a kid.  Here's Cedric watching a ball float on a blower.

Jeff is standing on a spinning stand that rotates depending on how the wheel is turning.

Tom and I as fat munchkins in the fun mirror.

This one is my favorite.  We all took turns doing silly symmetrical posses.

It pretty much rained the entire day.  We found a food court right by the Space Needle and Science Center. We met the rest of our group there and had pizza for dinner.  Tom's parents, his sister, Maren and her husband Tim met up with us.  We were going to meet them at Pikes Place Market on the wharf, but they said it was closing so we planned on trying to go there the next day instead.

Tom and I shared some yummy Seattle fudge.

The kids found a giant chess and checker board and ran off to play.

That night the kids settled down by watching movies on the IPods/phone.

Sophie slept in her stroller again like she did when we went camping.  The stroller was also her high chair and came in very handy this trip.

Day Three

The next morning was the marathon.  The day started out dry and sunny, but by lunch time it was pouring rain, worse than the day before.  We (those of us not running) ate lunch in the food court again, and then judging by the text Teresa sent at mile 24 figured her and Tom would be reaching the finish line soon.  We went outside, kids and all, into the down pour to watch.  We had to walk a few blocks, but luckily only waited a minute or two before Tom and Teresa came running past.

We quickly headed out of the rain and waited under a covered area.  We weren't sure where we were supposed to meet the runners and the kids were getting wrestless, so we just headed back to the food court.

On the way back, Jeff and Cedric were crying, it was so wet and windy that we were soaked to the bone.  We hung our wet jackets over the railing to dry.  It was packed at the food court with runners and others trying to escape the wet outdoors.

But the big chess and checker boards were empty so the kids had fun playing there again until Tom met up with us.

I am so proud of  my marathon man!  I couldn't even tell you what number this makes in the list of marathons he's ran, but he impresses me every time.

As much as we didn't want to, we headed back out into the rain.  And picked up our van at the motel.  We decided it was too wet to go to Pikes Place again, and I was sad we wouldn't be able to go.

Sophie stayed pretty dry in her little poncho cover.

We did head into town though so Tom could get his picture and shot glass at the Hard Rock Cafe (he does this wherever there's a Hard Rock).

The rain was finally letting up.  Tom and the kids visited the troll under the Fremont Bridge.  I stayed in the van with the other two sleeping children and nodded off myself.

We then headed up to Mountlake Terrace, where my Grandparents live (my mom's parents).  We stayed in a much nicer motel closer to them Saturday to Sunday.

We went over that night to visit with them. It was so weird to be back at my grandma's house.  The smells, pictures, carpet, everything brought back so many memories for me.  I had a hard time when I first walked in trying to not cry.

The Rain had finally stopped and it was nice enough for the kids to sit in the swing with Grandpa on the porch.

Here's me with my Grandma.  I was so excited to visit her.  The last time I had seen her was at my mom's funeral.  The last time I had visited her was ten years ago.

Tom and the kids played in the front room.  Sophie was as always, happy and the other kids found a ball they rolled back and forth to each other while waiting for dinner.

Grandma is a wonderful cook and made a nice chicken dinner for us.  It was such a nice break from McDonald's and the other fast food we'd been living on.

Here's my Aunt Lynn, Grandpa, Grandma, Tom and Jeff.

Lily, Cedric, Sophie and I at the other end.

After dinner we went to Edmond's Beach.  It was so pretty, but cold.

The kids had fun still and we even saw a ferry! (We also ran into my mom's old boyfriend's sister.  Small World!)

The kids also liked Grandma's cats.  My Grandma has always been a cat person.

Day Four

Sunday we met up at Grandpa and Grandma's house again.  We did several pictures.

Then we went to church with Grandpa and Grandma.  The rest of Tom's family had already left.  We were originally planning on not staying for my grandparent's 1pm church, but I realized how meaningful it would be if we went.  I am so glad we did!  I got to see the library that my Grandma works so hard to decorate for each holiday.  She had it all festive for the 4th of July.  When we sat down in sacrament meeting a lady a few rows up turned around and mouthed to me "this is the first time I've seen her (Grandma) smile in a long time". I looked over to see Grandma smiling proudly.  She mentioned how she never gets to 'show off' her family at church.  I knew at that point we were supposed to be there and I am happy we made to choice to be.  We just changed in the bathroom after sacrament meeting because we wanted to get on the road.  Grandma did not want to let us go.  I admit, the visit was too short.  The weather was finally nice, and I wanted to do so much more with my grandparents and Seattle.  Grandma tearfully told me she loved me and we both hugged and just cried.  I told her we were missing someone.  That Mom was supposed to be here.  My Grandma has had a very hard time with the loss of her daughter.  I know that's one of the reasons our visit meant so much.  I am so glad we were able to spend some time with my grandparents.

We then headed off in the car for the five hour drive to Spokane.  Tim (our brother-in-law) has family there and they invited us to come visit.  The kids got to bed late that night.  And Cedric, who NEVER wets the bed, had wet his sleeping bag in the middle of the night.  I was just grateful he didn't do it in the hotels where all three kids were sharing a bed.

Day Five
Monday was a gorgeous day!  Here's happy Sophie in front of Tim's Grandma's house.  All his relatives live close together on several acres of beautiful mountainous property.

We ate breakfast (Wanda, Tim's grandma, cooked all the meals for us too.  It was awesome!).

The kids had fun playing on the tire swing.

Playing with the dogs.

Playing games.

Just playing in the open yard.  Here they are playing Frisbee.

We decided to drive into the city of Spokane and ate lunch at Perkin's.  I was craving a sit-down restaurant.

We then went and walked around the Spokane River.  It was really amazing.

Here are the kids with their grandparent's (Tom's Mom and Dad).

Our group that day.

The water was so fast!  We were nervous walking on the bridges with the kids.

We found a cool totem pole too.

On the way back 'home' we stopped in the grocery store.  Sophie loved driving the cart.

At one point Jeff was 'driving' the cart and Tom couldn't get the cart out of the checkout lane very well.  Jeff said "sorry Dad, I'm not a very good driver".  I had to laugh :)

We got back in time to meet some more of Tim's relatives.  The kids had fun playing with the giant bubble wand. 

We all got together for dinner.  It was Salmon Tim's parents had brought down from Alaska.

I do not eat any sort of fish or seafood, but the kids were excited to try it, since they never eat fish at home.  However, they weren't big fans of it either so we just had leftover pork sandwiches from the night before and  Tom happily ate all their fish.

Afterward we taught everyone how to play the Candy Bar game.

This is a tradition with my family, so it was fun to teach it to another family.  Cedric enjoyed playing too.

Here's Lily sitting next to Tim's Grandma, Wanda.  She was such a great host and we appreciated all her hospitality.

We tried to get to bed a little earlier, because we knew the next day would be an early start.

Day Six
We left Spokane at 6:30am to head home.  I was dreading another long day in the car, but the kids did good.  Sophie, Jeff and Lily never had a problem.  Cedric was pretty good.  It helped when three of the four kids fell asleep the last few hours of the drive.

Sophie would always put one hand by the side of her head and the other over her forehead every time I laid her down.  she hated being changed in the bathrooms because the toilets flushing and the hand driers scared her.  

I can't remember what city we stopped in for lunch, but there was only one restaurant in the town.  Can you guess what it was?  Yep, McDonald's.  The kids didn't mind one bit.

We made one final stop in Twin Falls, Idaho.  Yes, it was McDonald's again.  This made it the sixth McDonald's stop on the trip (it was kind of a joke by this point).  We just got ice cream this time.  The kids were able to get out some energy in the play land, and Tom and I were able to use the free wi-fi (it was pretty sad that the best wi-fi we had the whole trip was at the McDonalds, despite both motels saying they had it).

We made it home by about 9:30pm.  Our house was 87* because our air conditioner was broken (I kind of  forgot about it being in the wet, cool weather on our trip).  Because of the time change, being in the car all day and used to staying up late on the trip, the kids were quite hyper and took a while to settle down.  Because we kept moving so much on the trip Cedric kept asking "is this our new home?"  When we finally got to our real home he walked in the house, wandered around and said "this house looks familiar".  It was so cute!
And despite Sophie being the best baby on the trip, I took her to the doctor a few days later for her six month check-up to discover she has bum strep again!  I am so proud of how good she was the whole trip, even being sick.
I'm glad we were able to go on this fun trip together as a family.  I wish we could've stayed longer. Family vacations are the best investments for me.  Nothing beats spending time as a family and making great memories!