Seattle--Day 3

We had a great time in Seattle visiting Dan's mom. I love that city so much, and it was so nice for Gail to be able to see her granddaughter. She was surprised at how much Kate had changed since Thanksgiving!

On our first full day there (Saturday, May 28), we just kind of lounged around at home, since we had gotten in so late the night before. That night, Gail watched Kate while Dan & I had a belated anniversary dinner at Anthony's, a seafood place. The view was beautiful; from our table we were able to see the marina, the mountains, and the beautiful green trees. The food was pretty good, too; their coconut shrimp was amazing, and of course the clam chowder was good. I was a little disappointed by the main course; I had tempura cod, and I felt like the batter was a bit too heavy to be considered tempura. Oh well, what can you do? I'm just glad we were able to get a night out!

On Sunday, we went to the Pacific Science Center with Gail, and we had a blast. I will have to post pictures later, however, since I foolishly forgot my camera that day, so I had to buy a disposable, which means I still need to get the pictures developed, uploaded, yada yada. Which is why I'm starting my chronicles on Day 3....

On Monday, we all drove to Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. It was so much fun; by far the best zoo I have ever been to (even better than the San Diego Zoo, and a lot less expensive!) The enclosures the animals were kept in didn't even look like enclosures; it looked so much like their natural habitat, very spacious with lots of room for them to roam. Some of our favorite things we saw were the elephants, the lion and lioness, the tropical rainforest, the grizzly bears and the sea otters. For the grizzly bears, you could actually go in this little "cave" with a window that looked out onto the bear's enclosure, and I actually was nose-to-nose with one (except for the reinforced glass, of course!) It was so cool! Kate really enjoyed the sea otters. With those, it was the same as with the bears; we were in a large room that was kind of set down a bit, so all the windows (and the whole room was windows) looked into the water. Kate was just squealing with laughter as she saw the otters diving in and out of the water, over and over. She probably could have stayed in there forever!


Outside the elephant area


The twins


Such a happy girl!






Outside the recreation of the wolf den. Some of the older kids actually went in there, but I thought Kate was too little for that, so I sat outside with her




Inside the "cave" where you could look out on the bears


Glad there is some glass between us; that thing is huge!






I thought these poison dart frogs looked cool






In the recreation of the African Village; she loved playing the drum. She actually kept the beat quite well; people were commenting on what a good musician she is.

New Year's Resolution #3 Complete!

So excited; with Dan's paycheck today, we completed New Year's resolution #3, which was to pay off his smallest student loan. Feels so good to have that done! Now on to my last student loan, which I hope should be paid off by the end of July.

Utah--Part Two

On Friday, May 6, my dad took the day off work and took Kate & me to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. It was phenomenal; I hadn't been there in years, and it definitely was a lot smaller when I went! Kate loved it; I thought she might be scared by the moving dinosaurs, because the room was dark and they moved/growled, but she loved it. In fact, we had to see them twice because she was so enthralled by them!

She liked the outdoor part, too, especially the slides in the play area! Afterward, we went to lunch at Rooster's and then went to my mom's last music class of the day. It was a kindergarten class, so my mom thought Kate would like some of the songs they sang. She certainly did! Then my mom, Kate & me went to Tempenyaki for dinner. It was so good, and Kate was fascinated by the chef cooking right in front of us.

On Saturday, we went over to Good Earth with my dad. Kate loved that they had mini-shopping carts that were just her size! She had so much fun pushing those around! Then Kate, my mom & I went to Bistro 258 (one of my favorite places) and spent a few hours shopping at the mall. I got some great summer clothes at Dillards. Kate rode the carousel in the food court, and we also went on the train that goes around the interior of the mall. She loved that! That night, we had Nancy over for dinner and my dad made his amazing sauerbraten and spaetzle.


Here's a few shots from Spaghetti Factory on Wednesday night


Such a good eater!








This sign says "World's Most Dangerous Creature." LOL, not quite!












At Rooster's


Oh, you're getting the check? Thank you!





Here's a video of her walking around at Good Earth:





Loving her chocolate-covered strawberry at the Bistro!




On the train at the mall; she was so excited!


Cute girl!


She's obsessed with balloons now, ever since the Melting Pot gave her one; she carried this around my parents' house constantly!


Getting in Aunt Nancy's purse


I love my sweet girl!

Utah--Part One

We got in Wednesday night, May 4, and my dad picked us up and we then headed to the Spaghetti Factory (we passed Grand America on the way, and it brought back so many amazing memories!) Nancy met us at the Spaghetti Factory, and both she and my dad were amazed at how big Kate had gotten, and how adept she was at feeding herself and walking around.

On Thursday, Kate & I went over to Angie's house to meet her little girl, Brooklyn. She is adorable! She's 3.5 months, so it was nice to hold a "little" baby again. Kate was enthralled by her, which was cute. We went to the park for a little bit, but we had to cut our trip short because some creepy old guy came up to us and kept trying to initiate a conversation. At first I was chatting away with him, because the way he came up to us and started talking made it seem like he knew Angie, but nope! So we went back to Angie's house and sat outside for hours, just talking. It was a lot of fun.






So excited about the baby; I think Kate needs a sibling soon! (Ok, not too soon)

San Diego--Part Four

On Monday, I had to start attending the National Postal Forum (it's amazing how when your company flies you someplace for work, they expect you to actually work). So my mom watched Kate, and they had fun swimming, going to shops, and eating in some outdoor cafes. On Monday, I had a break for lunch, so they came and met me at the convention center, and then we walked to Seaport Village, which was just a couple blocks away, right on the ocean. We ate at this delicious little Mexican walk-up place, and then Kate & I rode the carousel together. It was her first time, and she loved it! She was just laughing and bouncing up and down on the horse. She had such a great time.

In fact, that night, we went back to Seaport Village for dinner (this time we ate at Bubba's and had some amazing coconut shrimp and macadamia nut-crusted chicken) and then we looked in some shops in the area. Kate got excited when she saw the carousel again, so we decided to ride it again.

On Tuesday, we headed to Old Town for dinner and had the best Mexican food EVER. Hands down. It was amazing. We tried a fish taco, since everyone was raving about those, and it was totally worth it. Sooooo good. Then we each had enchiladas (one beef, one chicken) and those were killer. And of course the margaritas were good, too.

Then on Wednesday I just had to go to my conference in the morning, and then I came back to the hotel, we packed up, headed to the Brewery for lunch, and then to Currant for dessert. We got to the airport in plenty of time and our flight to Salt Lake was smooth and relatively quick. Kate slept the whole time, which is always nice!


She had to have a bath Sunday night since she was so sandy from Coronado Beach




At lunch on Monday


Kate loves the carousel!


She looks kind of mad; probably because she has to wait to get sunscreen on before she can go in the sun/pool


With Nana at lunch on Tuesday; I had a press lunch, so I couldn't meet them


This was the cutest little outdoor cafe; we had dessert there on Wednesday before we caught our shuttle to the airport


The view from our room


At the pool




Our room at the Westin, although it's not the best picture; kind of dark


Kate getting serenaded at Cafe Coyote in Old Town






Some cool glass sculpture outside the Westin. Kate always seemed enthralled by this.