Weekend to Seattle and Leavenworth

After surviving girl's camp, Kent, Laura and the kids came to Ensign Ranch to pick me up on the way to Seattle for the weekend.  It was great to see the kids again- even if they were still in pajamas with bed head.  Who was I to judge?  I had been sleeping with mice and slugs for the last four days. (I'm so thankful Laura is even more of a photo junkie than me.  I didn't bring my camera and so she took all of these pictures on her camera.  It was nice to live outside of the camera for a few days and still have someone capture these memories).

 They were glad when we got to the hotel so they could go swimming.  I was glad when we got to the hotel because I got to take a hot shower.

 Kent's old mission companion, Steiger, was in Seattle on business so we were able to meet up with him.  We went on the Ducks Tours and had a riot!

I ran back to the car to put the parking permit in the window and when I got back (2 minutes later) Kent had purchased duck whistles for the kids.  Fun at first.. .but only at first.

 It was really fun to drive down along the pier and then through downtown and then end up ON the water!

 This is the home they used to film "Sleepless in Seattle"- darling show.

 After the tour, we dropped off the boys to watch the Mariners play at Safeco field.

The next day we went over to the Space Needle.  This year is the 50th Anniversary of the Space Needle so lots of people were there.  We decided not to wait in the line to go up to the top, but just played around on the grounds and walked through the shops and enjoyed the live music.

 We had to take a picture in front of the Magnolia trees because it reminded us of Florida.

 Kent then surprised the kids by taking them to Rainforest Cafe for lunch.  We even got to sit right next to the huge aquarium which kept the kids entertained the whole time.

Volcanoooooooo!

 The weather was cold and rainy so Laura took Cannon back to rest at the hotel while Kent and I went with Ethan and Ella to the Family Fun Center for laser tag, mini golf, go-kart racing and arcades.

Of course swimming was a must after such a busy day on the town.
 The next morning we went to Pike's Market and had a great time!

 We stopped in at this Bakery for a little treat.  Look at that cookie scoop! This is my kind of cookie!

 We decided we needed some fresh fruit smoothies to wash down the pastries.

 Ella found a horse to take a little ride on. Shocker.

 Since the weather was still rainy, Kent opted to stay in the car with Cannon while we went through the market.  We made sure to reward him with a nice treat.

 On the way home from Seattle, we made a little venture through Leavenworth.  Laura had heard about this town and we knew she would absolutely love it.  The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed the live music and beautiful views.

 We stopped in at the Chocolate shop for a few tasters (and a few purchases as well).

 In the gift shop we found these hilarious Squirrel Underpants!  Why do the kids look like they are not having the best vacation? Well, that can be explained with this- in the store previous to this one it was full of glass ornaments and figurines.  Ethan and Ella were being silly and happened to knock over a box of ornaments that shattered on the ground.  They were sent out of the store (by their parents) and were told they will be doing jobs to earn money to pay for the damages.  We were lucky that they only broke two ornaments at $10 a piece. $10 a piece might sound like a lot but some of those figurines were nearly $1,000 so I considered us blessed.

 To liven up the mood we went into the hat shop and tried on different hats.

 Grandma picked out this hat- this is about the ONLY time you will see Laura "crabby". She is always so bubbly and ready for a good time.

 We stepped into a fun little restaurant for lunch and I ordered the fondue.  Fun to look at eat, fun to eat!

 Dessert at cold stone wraps up the perfect day in Leavenworth.

 On our way home, we had to go back to Ensign Ranch to pick up my car from where it was parked for Girl's Camp.  I made them drive back into our campsite to see the conditions where we camped.  These are the A frames that the girls slept in.  No doors or windows so they attached tarps to keep the wind and weather out.

 Can you imagine just sleeping on a shelf!

 I was "lucky" enough to be in a tent- set up right behind the big tree.

 The kids did one final stretch by playing some football before we got back into the car to head home.