A little trip to Seattle

Back in March, my mom and I took a little trip to Seattle to visit this cute little nephew of mine. He's getting so big! He's come a long way from a little 4 pound preemie, right?

 My cute dad was nice enough to buy my plane ticket. He was too busy with work, and he didn't want my mom to travel alone. With flights so expensive these days, I otherwise would not have been able to afford to fly up there. I had not yet been out to visit Cody and Laci since they moved over a year ago, and I hadn't been on a plane since 2008, so I was thrilled to take a little vacation!  I wish I could have taken Anna, but by the time we thought that it would be feasible to take her, the plane ticket for her would have been $500 round trip. So she spent 4 nights with Grandma Joyce.

My mom and I didn't really have anything on our Seattle agenda but this...playing with cute Hunter and Vega and hanging out with Laci (and Cody when we wasn't working). 

Seattle was doing its best to prove the stereotype right...it rained (hard!) for 3 days straight while we were there. That's okay, though...we didn't mind. We got a whole lot of time to snuggle with Hunter and Vega. 

Luckily, on Saturday, the weather decided to cooperate a little. It was still chilly, but the sun actually came out. Cody was off work, so we had to go drive around and explore Seattle a little. We headed to Ray's Boathouse Cafe for lunch. SO DELICIOUS. I highly recommend this place for anyone in the Seattle area. The one thing I wanted while I was in Seattle was really good seafood, and Ray's didn't disappoint!

Cody and my cute mom at Ray's 

 My adorable sister-in-law Laci and I

 After lunch we headed to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks for a while. I have been to these Locks before (as a sophomore in high school we took a fabulous orchestra trip to the Seattle area), but they are still fascinating. Lake Washington is quite a bit higher than Puget Sound, so the Locks are where the boats are raised to Lake Washington or lowered to the Sound. I found it interesting that Lake Washington is a fresh water lake and the Sound is salt water, so the Locks also keep the water from mixing. That is the bridge in the background that raises for taller boats. 

 We were so excited to see a large boat be raised up in the Locks...

 Then it was even more exciting as they packed in about 11 boats (cruisers, fishing boats, etc) to lower them to the Sound. 

Laci demonstrating how big some of the trees are in Seattle!

We drove around seeing a few random sites. This is the Fremont Troll, a public art sculpture underneath an overpass in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. In the troll's left hand is an actual Volkswagen Beetle, as if he swiped it from the bridge above. The statue was creepy and kind of awesome at the same time. 

Cody and Laci had recently moved into a larger rental house in suburban Redmond (a little ways from Seattle across Lake Washington), so while in Seattle we had to stop at their old place to drop off keys. While there we played with Hunter for a little while, trying desperately to catch a smile on camera. 

Thinking about smiling for Daddy... 

 There it is! 

 I would have liked to go to Pike's Place, but we had all been there before, and we were short on time. Next time I visit, though, I will go back there! We proceeded to drive around Seattle, stumbling upon a cool beach. It was still pretty chilly, so we just stopped to snap a quick picture. 

 We ended up driving through an awesome neighborhood just above Seattle. The homes were GORGEOUS! If I was to live in Seattle (and if I were a millionaire!), this is where I would live. In the middle of this neighborhood was an amazing lookout over downtown Seattle. 

Laci and I overlooking the city

Thanks to Cody and Laci for the hospitality, thanks to my mom for being a great travel companion, and thanks to my dad for providing the opportunity to go visit Seattle. I had a great time! The hardest part in leaving was knowing how much my little nephew would change before I see him again. Thank goodness for facebook, text messaging, blogging, etc...keep the pictures coming, Laci! Love you guys.