Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Spjute's in Seattle!

So, we went to Seattle ... And it was AMAZING!! It was our celebratory Hurrah to Greg taking his last CPA exam. Ever. We all deserved a vacation after enduring his mood swings the last year :). Just kidding ... (but seriously). Greg's sister just moved back to Seattle, so what better place and time to go than now?
Sofi's first flight and she proved, yet again, that she is quite the little traveler. She did amazing! And hammed it up for the cute old ladies sitting behind us.
Seattle was a balmy 60ish degrees when we were there, which actually wasn't as cold as I thought. We flew in Tuesday, just in time for Mel to come pick us up (she thought we were coming Wednesday. Whoops!). She lives in a beautiful area, surrounded by trails and lakes, and of course trees.
 They had this cool little bendy firetruck thing. Sofi and I couldn't resist.
Neither could Greg.
Or Bean.
Greg had to prove he still has some hops ...

Sofi felt right at home and settled in very nicely.

Mel has the coolest yard! 
This pic doesn't quite do the rope swing justice
Parker and Sof are buddies!
We visited the Gum Wall, and Pike's Place and Mel treated us to the freshest of fresh seafood at a local joint. We saw it all.
It felt like I needed to shower just after walking through this place
Absolutely disgusting
Yes it is tied to a rope for a worker to pull. Yes he pulled it. Yes I screamed. 
I have never seen flowers as vibrant as the ones sold at Pikes Place. Everything in Seattle is bigger and better ...
Notice the eyeballs on the shrimp, complete with shell and legs. Greg popped the whole thing in his mouth. I gagged for him.
Sofi is covered by Greg's bib.
We found the coolest park I have ever seen by the Space Needle. We had absolutely no idea it was there until we obviously found it. It's big enough for even adults to play on, so we did.


We just kept walking around finding the coolest things. They had these boards set up to perfectly blend in with the surroundings behind it. We of course figured this out after taking pictures, but here is Sofi anyway. She's too cute to resist.

This is literally the biggest fountain I've ever seen! Makes me wish we had one close.

We toured Snoqualmie Falls (I think that's what it's called), a local waterfall used for hydro power. There is a place to look at it from above and a trail that takes you down to the river below. It was soooo pretty! 
The original pipes used. Soooo big! I could walk through them and still have plenty of room.
Happiest little tourist!
Sofi needed an afternoon nap, and we needed lunch, so Mel babysat while we took Greg to destroy his digestive system.
We used Greg's head as a comparison to show just how large this burger and root beer really were.
And of course he ate the whole thing.
This place was crazy! There was stuff everywhere!
Greg was in a food coma, so I laughed hysterically while I drove the whole way back to Mel's. (One of two times I've had to drive home for Greg).
Friday was our vedge day, which felt oh sooooo good! Sofi decided to boycot her morning nap. I think she secretly knew we were getting in the hot tub without her, so she got in that morning too. 

I think this is proof enough that she loved it.
Aaaannddd, she found a torpedo to chew on.
Cousin Marcus was so cute with baby Sof. I found him holding her one day after school, just chilling at the computer.
I got a glimpse into Greg's childhood ...
And pics from one of our fun afternoon hikes around Mel's neighborhood.
Soooo fuzzy! 
This little guy just happens to live at the bottom of her driveway
We made it to the airport just in time to fly back to Utah on Saturday. I always know that Greg enjoyed himself if he naps in random places, because he never naps. 
So serene.
 Like father, like daughter - Sofi slept some of the plane ride too. 
Back in Utah!
We had such a fun trip! It's hard to find time to spend together, but when we do it is always worth it. Washington is a beautiful place, and I totally understand why the Ball fam live there. Luckily we always have a place to visit! Thanks so much for all the fun Mel!