Unfortunately, vacations come to an end. After a breakfast of awesome pancakes, that earned Jodi the title of "the best cook" (that is another blog in itself), we said goodbye to our friends Gabriel and Sebastian and their daddy. Jodi and I agreed that this would be easiest on our sensitive boys. As it was, Jacob starting crying as soon as we were on the plane. Here is a picture of Jacob with our Captain. I'm glad my car doesn't have that many gauges to read!

Traffic was backed up as we waited for take-off.

Raise your hand if you recognize this toy from the 80s! It's a cousin to the Rubik's Cube, called the Rubik's Twist. I remember calling it a snake, way back when. Anyway, I found this at the mall and bought it as Nate's souvenir. It doesn't say Seattle or anything, but I thought it would be something he would like. He was just happy to get something.

We spent three hours on the road, taking turns twisting and un-twisting it. First you had to straighten it all the way out. Then you had to twist it up the best you could and pass it to the next person. I am amazed at how long this held everyone's interest. This is my recommendation for any upcoming car trip!

"Here Mom, unwiggle this!"

On Friday night, I had the pleasure of teaching Jodi to crochet. I think she had done this before, because she picked it up pretty quickly. We went to the "has everything" store for groceries, potential souvenirs and yarn and crochet hooks. Love that store. Thus began the "Seattle Blanket." I was hoping that security would let me on the plane with my crochet hook. You just never know. This is what the Seattle Blanket looked like when I got home, after two hours on the plane and three hours on the road.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to match dye lots on yarn bought in another state, from a store that does not even exist in your area? In the store, this skein of yarn seemed to matched the yarn I already crocheted. Well, in this picture, you can tell that it DID NOT. But, adding equal amounts of the new yarn to each side gave this baby blanket a unique look. It was finished just in time too! Here is the Seattle Blanket, that now belongs to Baby Dakota.

Our lunch at the Space Needle was the highlight of the trip for Jacob. But dessert was the kicker. Here are the boys with their Lunar Orbiter ice cream sundaes. The presentation was pretty awesome too. Dry ice and water made the rolling "smoke" across the table.

Jacob and I with our strawberry sundae.
Jacob reading about the history of the Space Needle.




Mom and Jacob on the observation deck.

Oh, the thing you can see from up here.

Here are some of the rides that were built when the Space Needle was built for the World's Fair in April, 1962: A roller coaster and a log/water ride. There are several other rides still working from the World's Fair at the base of the Space Needle.

A nice view of the water from the observation deck. I'm not sure if this is Lake Washington or the Bay. I got a bit turned around up there (pun intended).

A view of Seattle from the observation deck.

After lunch, we decided to take a ride on the monorail. We rode it into downtown Seattle, to the mall and walked around a bit. Then we rode back to the Space Needle, where we were parked. In the photo above, you can see the monorail tracks.

Jacob in front of the monorail.

The boys on the rear seat of the mono rail.

Seeing where we've been.

Thursday was our tourist-y day in Seattle. We had reservations for lunch at the Space Needle. We arrived early and spent some time checking out the local art. The Seattle Center has a lot of great art to view: statues, sculptures, totems. We also had time to stop at Starbucks. It was cool enough for me to have a mocha; a big deal for me since it has been a while since it was cool enough for a hot drink back home :-)

The Space Needle from the parking lot.

Fast friends. I'm so happy the boys got along.

Jacob taking a photo of one of the sculptures in the Seattle Center. A cool wooden sculpture behind him.
Jacob and Gabriel by a mosaic panel in the Seattle Center.

I thought this panel was cool. It compares things. "Firecrackers and cruise missiles are alike because they both explode and cause damage." "The Space Needle and the Pagoda are alike because they both reach the sky!" Very interesting. I'd like to know the ages of the contributors.Jacob and Gabriel pose with a statue. There were several. This one was their favorite.

Killing time, waiting for our lunch reservation at the Space Needle. These balls were around the base of Space Needle, I assume to keep cars from driving into it?? The kids climbed over each one, from one end to the other, and back. It was entertaining...for a while.

Jacob goes over the ball...

Jodi and Sebastian

Climbing on one of the "feet" that supports the Space Needle. It kind of gives size perspective of the structure.

Around and around and around the "foot" of the Space Needle. I think they were getting a little bored by this point.

Wednesday morning we drove to San Jose to catch our flight to Seattle. Jacob was excited, as this was his first time to fly. We had some interesting discussions as we waited in the security line. Why couldn't we bring the sunscreen (which I usually carry in my purse)? Why do we have to take off our shoes? Why can't I just carry my DS through security? Why did we leave our suitcase (checked it)? What if it doesn't get on the plane?

Then our plane was delayed an hour. Oh and I forgot the charger for his DS, which died on the drive up to Santa Cruz the day before. I know Jodi's boys have a DS, so we can charge it there. But, what are we going to do for an extra hour in the airport and two hours on the plane? We hit the gift shop and found some puzzle books, which were a hit for the whole trip.

This is the plane that Jacob flew on for the first time.
Here is Jacob about the board the plane. He was so excited!

Here are Jacob an I awaiting take-off, on the plane. It's one of those "hold the camera at arm's length and take your own picture" pictures, so not the most flattering. Jacob looks terrified, but really thats just his "big cheese" smile.

This is Crater Lake, taken as we flew over Oregon. I am impressed by how well my camera takes pictures through the airplane window!

I think this is Mt. Ranier, again from the air. If so, it is the largest of the volcanic mountains in the Cascades. See, I learned a little about Washington geography while I was there :-)

This was our first glimpse of Seattle, from the air. Jacob was excited to see the Space Needle before we even landed.

After a fairly long day of travel, we spent a relaxing evening in, playing Legos. We also went to the neighborhood park, which was an awesome park. The boys got along great and Jodi and I had some time to chat. Here are the boys: Gabriel, Sebastian and Jacob.

We decided to drive over to Santa Cruz before catching our flight to Seattle. By staying over night at the beach (which was such a sacrifice), we didn't have to get up as early to drive to the airport the next morning. Here are some photos of our day at the beach.

Brr! Ocean water is a bit chilly.

Fun in the sun.

Can the water get all the way up here?

I love the ocean.

I love it when the kids play nice together. There is just something about the ocean that brings out the best in them. Maybe, we should move closer!

By the time we were finished playing on the beach, the boardwalk was about to close, so we only had time for one ride. We all decided to ride the Ferris wheel. Dad and Nate rode together and Mom and Jacob rode together. Mom had the camera...

When we stopped near the top to let more people on the ride, Jacob decided he wanted off. He was screaming and clinging to me. When we came around the bottom I told the operator that we wanted to get off. We had to ride around one more time before he could stop it; then he let us off. He gave us our tickets back and Jacob was happy to ride the whales while we waited for Dad and Nate to finish their ride.
I had a talk with Jacob about the fact that when we are in the airplane, you cannot change your mind and get off. He informed me that the Ferris wheel was ok until it stopped and as long as the airplane does not stop in mid-air he will be ok. You know, if the airplane stops in mid-air, Jacob will not be the only one freaking out!