and I'm proud to be an American...

July 4th was spent with Wise's and Kim and Aaron's, and of course it was super fun! Q and I had just gotten home to day before, but we were ready to party. We had yummy food, sparklers, croquet, fireworks, and family. perfect way to celebrate!

My posse's on Broadway...

A grand trip to Washington isn't complete without a visit to Seattle and our old stomping grounds. so we scheduled a few days of fun over there as well. We tried to fit in as much as we could of the big tourist attractions, and things we thought would be fun for the kids, and of course had to drive by our old houses, schools, and hang outs. I still love the SEattle area so much, it still feels like home, and wish I could figure out a way to live there again. It's one of my happy places.  And now Seattle in pictures...

Day 1: Pacific Science Center, Space Needle: I always loved the Pacific Science as a kid...heck even as an adult...and I knew that Q would love it too. There is just so many cool things to see, touch, play.

Laser Michael Jackson=awesome!

the butterfly exhibit is my favorite

Day 2: zoo, Pike place: this is the day that the weather really started warming up in Seattle, so it was pretty warm at the zoo, but still fun. I love zoo's. 

After the zoo we headed to Pike PLace market for some lunch and to walk around. Although after the few hours at the zoo and the heat, Q and I were kind of done for the day so we found the first thing I saw that I knew she would eat, found a place to sit and sat and waited until it was meet up time with the rest of the group.  They we all had some tasty ice cream, and parted ways. Everyone else stayed around the market and waterfront, while Q and I headed home for a nap and to get cool. I just knew that walking around PikePLace was not something Q was gonna want to do, and it wouldn't be fun for her...and thus me.  Of course before heading home she wanted to see the guys toss the fish (I had been telling her about it, but when we went by earlier they weren't tossing anything). So we walked to fish throwers quickly and luckily people were buying fish and Q got to see them throw the fish. Classic SEattle!

Seattle Day 3: Aquarium, Harbor tour, Waterfront, Kirkland tour: Kim and Aaron left to go home in the morning, and it was sad that they couldn't stay and finish up our Seattle days with us. The weather was really hot by now (a heat wave had hit) and although it was nice being inside during the aquarium part, hitting up the harbor cruise was not the best idea, as it was too hot to sit outside to see the pretty scenery, but sitting inside was no fun for anybody (boring!) Good thing we had an awesome lunch before the cruise to make it bearable. I had always heard about the crabpot from people, and knew I wanted to get in on that action. I love seafood. So with Jared and Mitch down for a bucket, I was in heaven.  After lunch, while Jared's group and I headed on the tour and to hit up the EMP, Mitch and Caitlin went to a museum, and do some shopping. 

I had never done the EMP before, and didn't know how much of it Q would enjoy but since it was part of the our SEattle city pass, I tried it out. And for the most of the displays and such, although I found them interesting and fun, Q couldn't care less and was ready to leave...and then I found the instrument play area, and the visit was saved. Q and i were in there for a while, playing all the instruments we could. They even have these soundproof rooms that you can go into and "jam". It was actually pretty cool. 

Q getting her first taste of Nirvana

After the EMP, we met back up with Mitch and Caitlin and headed to our hotel. After a quick nap and refresher, we met up with Kristy and Trevor at Spud's, an ol fish and chips place we used to go to all the time as kids, that was right across from Juanita Beach. It was just as delicious as I remembered!!  Afterwards we drove around the old neighborhood and saw our childhood homes, elementary schools, and junior high. All of my schools from my youth (including high school) have all been torn down now with new modern ones in it's place. It's kind of depressing. As I drove around the old neighborhood, and saw where friends lived and places I used to go, I was shocked to think how far we were allowed to roam..on our own...at such a young age. Times sure have changed...cause Q is never gonna do that. 

After the long day, we were all excited to hit up the hotel pool and hot tub and get some rest on our feet. 

The next day was the end of the family party and time to say goodbye to everybody. We drove Mitch and Caitlin to the airport, and were sad to say goodbye. 

I spent the next couple of days seeing some old friends (see previous posts), but my time with family was the best part of the trip and I loved it all!