What's not to love about Seattle?

This trip was my fourth to Seattle. 

First time: we visited Seattle as a family when I was 14 -- gorgeous and exciting. 

Second time: Brian and I went to see Randi shortly after we were married -- lovely and romantic. 

Third time: Samantha and I stayed with Randi for a few days when Sam was 6 months old -- relaxing. 

Fourth time: Just last week, with both kids on an 8-hour drive to get there -- still extremely enjoyable, relaxing, lovely, and gorgeous. 

I've heard some people don't like the rain in Seattle. Well, I'll have you know, every time I've been there, the weather has been splendid! No joke. Sunny, warm, and oh so green. Yes, we did see a wee bit of rain on this trip. But just a wee bit. Really, we had a wonderful time, and here are pictures to prove it...

First, the drive up was so beautiful! Oregon treated us to countless farms dotting rolling green meadows, and pine trees covering the hillsides. (Downside to Oregon was the 65 mph speed limit -- feels sooo slow compared to Idaho's 75 mph.) Washington offered vineyards and orchards, lots of agriculture, and snow-covered mountains. I don't really care for from-the-car pictures (they make me a little dizzy), so I only took this one, couldn't stop myself...

Here are the highlights of our day in downtown Seattle. First stop, Randi's work, but sadly I took no pictures (rats!). So from there, on to Pike's Market. We got our picture by the famous brass pig. It's a real piggy bank, and Samantha got to put in some coins for a cute lady who walked by after our picture was taken...
Then watched the guys throwing fish, they seem so excited about their work. I wonder how much they get paid?
We smelled all the gorgeous flowers. They had lilacs for sale, which seemed funny to me, when everyone had bushes in their yards in full bloom.

We walked aimlessly through the market (which is MUCH harder to do with two kids and a stroller, as it turns out)...Ate lunch at a fun little Mexican restaurant with good carnitas. Spence liked the beans...

Sam liked being photographed...
Walked along the boardwalk and watched the ferries and cruise ships. Spencer loved the walk, since it was one of the few moments he got to be out of the stroller...

After Pike's market, we headed to the monorail, to ride over to the Space Needle. We came across this fun little waterfall we got to walk underneath. Sam liked it at first, but was a little unnerved that she actually got a tiny bit WET!


Believe it or not, the Space Needle had big ol' lines and we didn't feel like standing in them and paying to go up.

So, we rode the carousel instead, for only $6 for the whole family -- much less than that Space Needle was going to cost anyway!

It was Spencer's first carousel ride. He was a little puzzled, but seemed to like it by the end...

Next stop, the International Fountain. Samantha had a great time running through the water...



Until a "surprise" burst of water gushed her in the face. It was all over after that!

We headed back to Randi's after that, with two exhausted children who got to stay with Randi's nice niece for the night. Then we topped off a lovely day with a grand finale at Safeco Field...
It really is a gorgeous ball park, no?
And the RedSox won, can't beat that, can ya?!
My favorite treat (aside from the cookies Randi brought from work, I mean) was the Shishkaberry -- chocolate dipped strawberries on a stick. Delicious (and slightly nutritious even, maybe?)
That's all for the Seattle one-day photo tour, folks. We stayed with Randi on Sunday, but I didn't have the camera at the ready. So I missed shots of Rex Johansen (Randi's dad) all spiffed up in a 3-piece suit for church, the festivities at a local park where someone was throwing a birthday party for a dog (ha ha! I'm serious... they had balloons, cake, and everything. For a dog!), and some great sunset pictures at the lake in the park. Next time, right? Next time. 

Stay tuned for Victoria, coming soon.