Snowy in Seattle

we kept telling our cousin katy we'd come visit in seattle. then we never did. we even found awesome prices on plane tickets before christmas, but it was while ben was on one of his trips, so we didn't go. when ben's sister suggested i send bentley up in the truck and she'd pick him up in ellensburg, wa, i hatched an idea. it was a crazy one and ended up being full of snow and ice, but a lot of fun, especially for the kids. friday morning we left at 3 a.m. from the shop and headed out in a freight liner with ben at the wheel. all was going well until i could feel some sliding going on from the sleeper. major ice. we pulled over and attempted to sleep until the sun came up in weatherby, or. then ended up chaining up. the trip took forever and there were some ROUGH spots with the kids, but we made it by 3 (only 6 hrs past the normal driving time). jenny picked us up and we headed to their new place that was relatively close. ben, however, made it up by spokane for a load of straw, slept, and then got stuck all the next day in the snow and ice again. he made it home at 3:30 sunday morning. i felt so bad! this trip has been made atleast twice a week since december with no problemos...just our luck! :) but everyone was safe, so that's such a blessing.

bentely and bridon had a blast with their cousins' katy and ryan. we attempted the beach. we got out, took one look with the wind beating us down, and got back in the car. you can see there were para-sailors in the background. must've had some thick, wet suits! we decided to try the zoo instead. it was super cold and a lot of the animals weren't out, but my boys really enjoyed the gorillas and the alligators that were! that nite chris met us and was SO nice to take ALL the kids home for bed, while me and jen stayed out to shop a bit. it felt so weird, but nice! sunday was church and a beautiful day outside...this day, bentley and bridon were introduced to playing dressup with katy:)! their dad is appalled, but i thought it was cute. bentley's favorite dress was snow white, even though he has no idea who she is :) bridon wore snow white on the front and 'despicable me' on the back. monday we headed to northwest trek past pullyup. we took a picnic, walked around and saw lots of native animals and rode a tram to see buffalo, mountain goats, etc. my kids loved the tram. even emerson. she stood up and screamed every time she saw a new animal. tuesday we ventured to seattle to the aquarium. this was probably the favorite. so much fun for the kids with seals, octopus, a 'nemo' fish, face painting, sea horses, and a spot where they could actually touch sea cucumbers, anemone, starfish, etc. we splurged down there and took them to lunch at the crab pot. they all loved it! they each got their own little mallet to crack the crab and it was boiled with corn on the cob. what kid wouldn't love this meal!??? it was a lot of fun, and even katy ate lots (she doesn't like food...def. didn't come from our family :)

we flew home yesterday on an airplane, right before a snow storm...again! it was snowing in maple valley where chris and jen live, but luckily the airport wasn't getting it too bad. bridon is still talking about the 'airport' and bentley loved it. it was a highlight of the trip! i was worried that bentley would not behave very well since i have had a few bad days with him in the last little while. i made up a set of 10, 'fun monies' and he could earn 2 prizes for the airplane if he only lost a certain amount for bad behavior. he ended up only losing one...i was pleasantly surprised and super, proud of him! him and bridon loved the take-off and eating their sour patch kids and nerds. their other prize was a sticker book. the flight went by really quick, and emry girl only got wild a crazy the last 15 minutes or so. thanks SO much to the mcclain's for putting us up!! i hope we can come again in a few years. i love showing my kids a new place, learning from good people myself, and giving my kids the opportunity to be close to their cousins.