"This was the best vacation ever!!" were the rave reviews of ten children in the Houston household. Mom and Dad agree wholeheartedly! Abby didn't know what a vacation was. She asked me, "mom, are you going on vacation too?" I then explained to her that vacation was family days over and over again, every day for two weeks!! She liked that idea!! The vacation actually ended up being a "stay"cation which meant mom got to sleep in her own bed each and every night.....a definite positive for a seven month pregnant mama!! So, what did we end up doing on this stay cation? Wellllll.... we started out resting. Yep, we were LAZY for the first couple of days. We slept in, watched videos, and just did nothing! Then, began the adventures. First, we went to the Mariners baseball game against the Rays. They won 8-2 with 4 home runs!! Very exciting! The next day was spent preparing for our outings...this means getting groceries so we could pack lunches and snacks, and getting laundry done so we could have clothes to wear. :-)
 |
| Go Mariners!! |
 |
| Peek a boo! |
We ended up getting Seattle city passes for our adventures. You may wonder what are city passes, and what do they include? Well, many cities have them, and they include a great deal for getting to experience several "attractions" for one low price. In Seattle, city pass includes: a one hour Argosy cruise around Elliot Bay, a trip to the aquarium, two trips up the Space needle (both trips to be done in a 24 hr. time period), the Pacific Science Center with IMAX included, the EMP (science fiction and music) museum, and your choice of a trip to Woodland Park Zoo or Boeing Museum of Flight. The price? $59 for ages 13 & up, and $39 for ages 4 -12. Three and under are free. This makes it 1/2 the price of going to each individual place!!!! We figured that people fly here from all over the world to visit and experience Seattle but we rarely ever do! We very much enjoyed going to these different places, I was excited to see the little ones' reactions at the zoo as they had never been to a zoo before!!! My husband had a most wonderful plan to keep us from wearing out too fast. This was to go out one day and rest the next, this helped me to have energy for the next adventure and kept the little ones from burn out so we didn't have the grumpies coming out!
 |
| Beautiful Seattle |
 |
| 21 children out on the Puget Sound! |
 |
| Go, Michael, go!! |
 |
| Very much in love! |
 |
| Climbing at the zoo, pretending to be monkeys? |
 |
| Zeke loves fish!!! |
 |
| The carousel, a reward for good attitudes! |
 |
| Having fun learning about bugs! |
 |
| The Pacific Science Center |
 |
| Notice the butterfly on Nathanael's hat. |
 |
| Up in the Space Needle |
 |
| So handsome! |
 |
| Just chillin' |
 |
| Great shot!! |
Other things that we did were kayaking and speed boating on the Puget Sound, BBQ ing, going to parks, and spending time with some friends. Final comments from the peanut gallery were, "I sure do wish vacation could last another week!" Well, something for them to look forward to again in the future! ;-)
So glad you all had a great time on your WELL DESERVED vacation. We missed you MUCH though ....glad you are home safe .... no deer or bear stories this year??!! LOL Much love, Grace
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea!! We try to go for day trips at least once a month - like yesterday! We drove out to Fort Clatsop and then visited your folks - so fun! :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like such a great time! We have never done the Seattle city pass, but this has sparked my interest. So glad you got to rest and sleep in your own bed. I sure miss visiting with you and would love to sometime soon. Great photos!! It would be fun to do something together sometime.
ReplyDeleteJenny Savage
I'm glad you guys got to have a vacation...you all seem so refreshed!
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures -- especially the "Peek-a-boo" one of Zeke! Do you mind if I copy the "Space Needle" picture to put on my screen-saver?
We did indeed have a splendid time. Benjy- you will have to ask the photographer! :-)
ReplyDeleteHahaha...ok! I'm assuming that is Anna? ;-) So, Anna, do you mind if I copy the picture for my screen-saver? (I promise I won't sell it! ;-) Though, it would make a nice postcard...)
ReplyDeleteI haven't done things in Seattle for years! I love it all though. Underground City? Is also fun but I'm not sure how stroller friendly it is. I love Pikes Market and the activities and sights near the aquarium. Have you been to Boeing Museum? Of course that is one of my husbands favorites.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you all enjoyed the well deserved family time.
Happy Anniversary. I know it's coming up.
How are the baby names coming along? Gabriel and Israel for boys?
Love you all. You're in my prayers.
Beth- we have been to the Boeing museum of flight on many occasions. We used to bring visiting preachers/missionaries there. Wow! You have a great memory for our anniversary!! Baby names, well, we will use the girl name we had for Zeke if it's a girl: Selah Joy, and Craig doesnt care much for Israel, but we are leaning toward Lemuel which means "devoted to God". It was a popular name in the early 1900s. I'm not too crazy about Gabriel at this time, but you never know! There is also Joel. Anyway, just 7 more weeks until EDD. Then add 2 1/2- 3 weeks and that should give us plenty of time to decide! ;-) love ya and miss ya!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete