Thursday, March 31, 2011

Seattle - rain or shine...or rain...or rain...

The first part of our trip was quite memorable. It started off with a rather uneventful flight and transit to the condo we were renting (thankfully!) and although Micah slept a mere 50 minutes on the flight, he went out for 3 hours once we arrived at our destination. This made for a well-rested boy who was ready to do some exploring. Christian and I decided to try vacation rentals rather than hotels this trip due to the inconvenience of sleeping with a 10 month old in a hotel. Our Seattle location had received great reviews and seemed to be a great location, so we decided take a risk and go for it, and we were sure glad we did! Aside from the fact that it wasn't a closed off 1 bedroom and rather a studio, we couldn't have been happier. Micah ended up sleeping in the bathroom, which posed a bit of a problem, but we made it work and overall had a wonderful time. He has been a wonderful little boy and is traveling beautifully, all things considered, as mom and dad take him cross country.

The weather, on the other hand, has been quite a handful! We knew in booking our trip that we would have rain to contend with, but we were told by even the locals that the weather has been more rainy than usual. The weather , as well as dealing with a baby's nap schedules (or ignoring them and paying the price later) has certainly made this a trip to remember:) That being said, we have absolutely enjoyed Seattle and really like what we've seen of the city. Our favorite part has probably been the market, which is amazing!, as well as the beautiful landscape of the city with the hilliness and the background with the mountains.

One slightly frightening moment came early Monday morning, which Christian realized we had not brought our passports with us and we would therefore be unable to complete the second part of our trip to Vancouver, BC. Oops!!!!! Thankfully we have amazing friends that we can call on in a very needed time of trouble to help us out! We tried Christian's parents, but they wouldn't have been able to get to our place 'til late that night and for peace of mind (as well as travel time on their part) I called upon my friend Carrington to help out. Thankfully she embraced our problem with kindness and sincerity and went traipsing around town for a couple hours on our behalf, her triplets in tow. She was able to overnight our passports to a friend's house here in Seattle (who was coming over on Tuesday to babysit Micah so that Christian and I could enjoy a date night out!) and we were stress free from about 10:30am Tuesday morning. In that scary, stressful moment, I was thankful for friends who show God's love in our lives, helping out those in times of need.

With that said, below are some - okay, many :) - pictures from our time in Seattle...part 1 of our spring break trip. Believe it or not (and I'm sure you do!) we had many more pictures to choose from:) Enjoy!


Christian having some fun with Micah's hair:)



Micah and me enjoying the pool at 5:30am, since Micah's wake-up time has been 4:45am...ughh!!

The Original Starbucks





Pike Place Market - FISH!




Space Needle - or part of the Jetson's home...

A very cheesy picture taken on our way up the Needle.



Beautiful city!

Kisses from Micah


The wind was a bit much...this boy has never handled the wind very well:)





Experience Music Museum - designed by an architect Christian studied in school.

A tired little boy who refuses to sleep in his stroller.

Micah's sleeping quarters (and consequently playing quarters at 4:45am, to try and let mom and dad get just a few more minutes of precious sleep!)



The below sequence of pictures are my fave! Micah was in pure laughter mode while I let a bowl fall from my head. I wish we had captured it on video instead, but oh well.






Hanging out at the Seattle Aquarium - not quite the Shedd, but fun nonetheless.

Notice the octopus in the picture above! Crazy!!




The picture above is the Seattle Aquarium, right on the water...so pretty!

One night picture - taken while we were able to go on a date night. My friend Rachael from college lives just outside Seattle and offered to babysit Micah so that we could enjoy a kid-free night and we were so, so grateful!

Another rainy day in Seattle...c'est la vie.


Chillin' on the floor, playing with his toys. Check out that belly:) Next up? Vancouver. Micah's going international!

4 comments:

  1. It is wonderful that he is being stimulated in such positive ways. Grandma and I especially remember those joyous times in the pool with Christian. I'm glad Micah enjoyed them. Though Micah won't remember the details he will develop into a curious and joyful boy and man because of these things you are doing now. God is good.

    Grandpa Lauffer

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  2. Was that red orange structure made by the same man who made the similar one in Chicago?

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  3. What fun! And how wonderful to have such incredible friends to retrieve passports and mail them, etc.! For such a world traveler, I can only assume Christian/Daddy was so happy to have his beloved wife and child along that the thought of passports just went out the window. Grateful it all worked out for you.

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  4. SO glad that your little man has been a better traveler! And I can not believe you of all people forgot passports! Glad it worked out. Can't wait to catch up soon...

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