Seattle Top Ten

I can't believe that July is over! Where have we been, you're wondering? Well, the first week was spent recovering from our trip to Ohio and Michigan and the second week the girls and I were supposed to be home alone while Chris was at conference in North Carolina. But on Monday, July 14 as Chris was flying up there his grandfather LeRoy Wernli passed away. With the time difference and Chris being on an airplane I didn't find out until Monday night and the thought of me getting myself and my two girls to Seattle, WA for a funeral that weekend wasn't really a probable one. I figured Chris would just leave after his conference and head out there alone.

The next morning, Tuesday, I'm eating breakfast with the girls and I get a phone call from my father-in-law in Seattle begging me to fly out there with the girls to the funeral. I said I'd look at ticket prices and he said he'd pay for Jada (her grandpa loves her!!). So around 9ish I'm on-line and I put in flexible dates on Expedia. Everything was well over $500! But then I found one little flight leaving that afternoon at 4. By the time I called my father-in-law and a friend to drive us to the airport I tried to purchase the ticket and it was gone! Ha! Now it is after 10 - but a cheaper flight magically appears available, leaving at 1:00 from Miami airport a good hour from my house! Was I thinking logically at this point? Absolutely not! My brain literally left my body for the next two hours and re-entered again when I found myself in the Miami airport boarding an airplane with my two tired, bewildered kids, no DVD player, hardly any toys, no spare clothes, no food or snacks and NO ADVIL!! That is when I finally got a hold of Chris and said "Hi Honey, we are in the airport in Miami boarding a plane for Minneapolis with a ridiculously short lay-over and we'll be in Seattle tonight. How's your day going?"

Since I had 50 minutes to get the three of us packed and ready I literally dumped my clean laundry basket and a drawer full of baby clothes into a suitcase and zipped it up. The fun part was shopping once I arrived in Seattle. My girls had completely mismatched outfits and shoes it was almost hysterical.

I took over 600 hundred pictures (yikes!) so I thought I'd post only a couple.

Here is my Top Ten Favorite Adventures we had in Seattle, Washington...

#10

OH BOY! OBERTO'S:

Christopher's favorite beef jerky has a mega store, only in Seattle, full of the best discounted jerky and pepperoni you have ever tasted!

#9

PIKE PLACE MARKET & DOWNTOWN SEATTLE:

I loved shopping on Pike Place. Fresh fish, flowers, produce and tons of arts and crafts. Maybe I am turning into my mother after all...

#8

UNCLE HOYT'S BICYCLE ACCIDENT :

3 Broken Ribs, Broken Collar Bone, Rock Stuck in his Head, Punctured Lung Full of Blood, Broken Nose, Tons of Stitches, and Horrible Road Rash Everywhere!

#7
SEATTLE'S SPACE NEEDLE:
Was it worth the $18 ticket to the top? Of course! We are tourists after all!

#6

THE ROPE SWING:

Grampa Lee installed this 50 ft. rope swing in his back yard. We spent literally hours on this thing trying to out-do each other in crazy stunts.

#5
DOWNTOWN ISSAQUAH CONCERT NIGHT:

We rocked out with over a hundred tree huggers to Neil Diamond impersonators. Need I say more.

#4

SNOQUALMIE FALLS:
My sister-in-law and I hiked down to the base of the falls in our flip-flops!

#3

FAMILY BONFIRE AT THE BEACH:
What could be better? Family, the Beach, and S'mores?!

#2

BOATING IN LAKE WASHINGTON & THE PACIFIC OCEAN:
We spent a day touring the gorgeous lake seeing phenomenal bridges, UW's beautiful lakeside stadium and Bill Gates' multi-million dollar estate. Then we went through the "Locks" to get out to the Ocean to feel the frigid ocean water, see some seals, and some amazing views of the city of Seattle from the Sea.

#1

THE FUNERAL & FAMILY TIME:

Such a wonderful funeral and spending time with the Wacky Wernli family was the best! Does this family look like they were mourning at a funeral - or having a fun family reunion party? Really. It was awesome.

Chris, his brother Brandon, and their "little" cousins! They are so adorable and grown-up!

Grampa Lee has a vast "hat" collection. Our little "flower in the tree" Aunt Lisa, Jada and Me on the hammock

Though the trip began with two four hour plane flights with my newly potty-trained two-year-old and separation anxiety-filled 9 month old had me literally crying multiple times in frustration and overwhelment (a whole separate airplane horror saga in itself), our trip was absolutely fabulous - funeral included; which was such a funny, enjoyable celebration of Lee Wernli's life that I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

P.S. Our baby Kalle Roy Wernli was named after her great-grandfather LeRoy Wernli whom she never did meet on this earth. But we were glad she was present at the funeral and we know that some day she will feel privileged to have been named after such a compassionate, selfless, hilarious, remarkable man.