Left Coast

I mentioned before that we have spring trips to all four continental US timezones! First up: SEATTLE. And...

via this cute Etsy shop

We visited our friends and brand new Seattleites the Clems (returning the favor of their visit) and my sister and brother-in-law in Gig Harbor. Luke's sister Amy joined us because, like Luke, she had never been to the Pacific Northwest. Between the airport and Seattle for the first time he declared he 'already loved it.'

 With four nap-requiring kids under three, we couldn't see much but it didn't matter - we were just there to spend time together, not sightsee. We drank coffee twice a day and ate pizza and the girls played and it was just perfect.

My request: Top Pot doughnuts!

From Top Pot to the park:

Flowering tree were everywhere and so, so beautiful.

The girls fell in with the three year old gang from the nearby New Discoveries school.

Josie on the swing for the first time.

I wanted a jacket; Luke was wearing swim trunks.

Pike Place Market.

Adrienne and Mary Jane.

Amy and the sitter watched the girls so we could catch dinner at Stateside: the remains of the feast. Thanks Amy!

In the morning we drove to Gig Harbor (in a minivan, wow we can't wait to buy a minivan). We had lunch at the airport diner adjacent to the hangar where Uncle Will works. Private tour!

Air pine! C loved pointing out the 'air pines' -- she pointed them out constantly over Seattle. And dogs. DOG! she shouts. She also furtively slipped upstairs at the Clems to say HI CATS! HI CATS!

Josie says: I do not know you!!!

Side-eye.

Why are my best photos blurry?! Amy and Robin at the beach during our tour of Gig Harbor. What a charming town.

Luke entered C's supposed nap area to her muttering 'poo poo my hands... poo poo my hands... yucky' and shaking her head. She's very cute but a terrible houseguest. Robin and Will's first baby is due in July so they can consider that room christened.

Robin and Josie.

They have the same button nose. Very small nostrils.

Luckily Aunt Robin has the same One Pot cookbook, perfect for looking for C's and S's.

We had Indian food from Robin and Will's favorite place -- so delicious, must find go-to Indian restaurant in SA -- and relaxed that evening.

Pancake breakfast. C didn't sleep well that night and slept with us a little bit in the morning, which never happens. I was dozing next to her, listening to her breathe in and out and holding her little body - she's not one for cuddling, there's too much to see/do/disrupt - and basking in how wonderful it was. She stirred and her eyelids fluttered and she said:

I want Daddy.

It was hilarious and I hope I always, always remember it.

Amy and Will and Josie, whose eczema reappeared with a vengeance (her left temple is her most affected area).

The flight from Seattle to Dallas was three hours and seventeen minutes of whimpering, crying, and/or screaming. Josie took catnaps and Clem didn't sleep at all... welcome to aisle 17, we're Those People With Kids.

They're both thinking, When is this going to be over?

Like she does with peanut butter crackers, C opened the Ritz, scraped off the 'cheese', and discarded the cracker. The flight was crummy and crumby.

Play area in Dallas. Layover, lay down, lay upon.

Dallas to San Antonio: both kids slept.

Despite the fantastic views and having more than one adult per child with us, I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked - my hands were full! The trip was a little too short considering the length of travel but sleep and a sleep debt began to dictate the trip (the girls didn't nap/woke up at night screaming/Josie was teething) and by Saturday it was time to return home. Next time we are Airbnbing a house and setting up camp!

Sunday was laundry and cooking (best new dish: the warm quinoa and chicken salad with asparagus and peas from One Pot - after those disgusting Ritz I wanted some real, whole food) and planting some seeds in the long-neglected pots in the driveway. C loves to 'water the pants' at school with a spray bottle and I thought this would be a fun activity for us - to plant and take care of plants daily. As I brushed the soil over the seed pods she shouted BYE-BYE PANTS! and sprayed them as best she could, though the trajectory of the water was parallel to the soil. No matter -- it rained torrentially that night and our seeds probably drowned. Might have to replant after our next trip - lucky us! East Coast here we come!

Thanks for hosting us, friends and family! We love you.