September 6-10, 2013
As I mentioned previously, 2013 was the year of
mini-vacations. I wanted to go visit
Uncle Brock and Aunt Marady in their new home they recently bought in Seattle,
but, well, airfare between Kansas City and Seattle simply does not come
cheap. I decided to just start watching
for the prices to dip down and alas, I was able to score a round trip ticket
for under $300! That meant Mommy for
sure could go and bring along a carry-on passenger: Cale. I so badly wanted Daddy and Charlotte to come
too, but that would have increased the total airfare to nearly $1000.
So, we determined to make it into a Mommy/Son and Daddy/Daughter
bonding weekend. As the trip grew more
near, I started to have doubts. I did
not want to leave my Charly girl behind.
I pretty much started to feel as though my heart would be torn
apart. But I also knew that it would be
good for all. And Daddy wanted to treat
Mommy to a weekend away as well.
The departure day arrived and I did my best to not be a big
baby as I said bye-bye to Charlotte and Daddy.
I did let a few tears drop before we were out of the car… but I quickly
regained my composure. Just a couple
days after all! And I’d have my Cale man
to keep me occupied! So, goodbyes were
said, hugs and kisses shared and off we went.
Cale, you were a stud.
I wasn’t sure what to expect in regards to you being cooped up in a
tight space with nowhere to roam and no sister to occupy you. But you did a pretty awesome job of sitting
still on the plane after all, even napped for a good portion of it. I think it helped that we were alone in a row
of six seats, with empty seats in front and behind us as well. And the flight attendants were nice- which
really makes a huge difference when flying with kids! (You might someday understand, buddy!)
We were promptly greeted by Uncle Brock upon our arrival and
saw Aunt Marady when we got to their house.
Uncle Brock was excited to show us around his biggest purchase ever- his
first HOUSE! I felt so happy to be
there, with you, Cale and with your Uncle Brock and Aunt Marady. Of course I wished Daddy and Char were there
too, but it really was such a special time for us.
You ended up sleeping in the big bed with me. I tried to get you to sleep in the pack n
play Uncle Brock and Aunt Marady bough specifically for your stay!! But you simply preferred to be as close to
Mama as possible. Don’t get me wrong- I
love snuggling you, but honestly buddy?
You aren’t the best snuggler! You
want to be UP and ON THE GO! So, every
morning around 4/5am, you would wake up and not have any interest in
sleep. So we would shower- yup, shower
party!! (I took a pretty riskay photo of
you sporting my undies on your head. You
were quite proud of yourself… though I daresay you probably won’t be near as
proud when you are able to READ this!!
Haha! And just for the record, I
did not “let” you play with my undies.
But I did take a photo since you were so adamant about doing what Mama
told you not to do!) Then we walked to
Starbucks every morning (which was basically in their backyard. UMMM, AWESOME!!). And then?
I played referee for you and all of Uncle Brock and Aunt Marady’s things
until they woke up to join us J Sleepy heads!
We enjoyed some pretty fun adventures. Explored the Pike’s Place Market… ate lots of
yummy food, rode a ferry, took an amazing hike and lounged on Alki Beach. Each adventure holds some special memories
for me.
I felt so tough on our hike- and I had this little feeling
of pride in my chest, like someday you might look back and say, “WOW! My Mom carried me on a 5 mile (it may have
actually been 8… I can’t remember now…) hike in the mountains! She’s a rockstar! ” Thanks to a fancy contraption called the “Ergo,”
I was indeed able to carry you on my back for the hike. And you weren’t as squirmy as I feared you
would be! I won’t hog all of the credit
though. Uncle Brock did carry you for a
chunk of the last half. And it was so
much fun watching you play in the lake, the destination (halfway point) of our
hike. You even got to enjoy the wild in
your (almost) birthday suit. I’d say you
were on cloud nine. I mean, I sure was
just watching you, buddy.
My heart also burst with happiness seeing you with your
Uncle Brock and Aunt Marady. Uncle Brock
carried you throughout Pike Place Market and you napped in their arms during
part of our ferry ride. My heart pretty
much melted.
You had a blast playing in the sand and with the rocks at Alki Beach. You may have enjoyed this the most. And if time had allowed, I am guessing you would have snuggled up and taken a nap with me right there on the sand.
Aunt Marady surprised us with her Cambodian cooking. And you surprised me further by sampling baby
octopus and liver. Maybe that’s the
issue here; my cooking isn’t exotic enough for you. Here I have been trying to feed you basic
veggies and fruits and proteins. You
must be thinking, “mama, you cray cray!!”
And in case you are wondering, Charlotte and Daddy had their
fair share of fun back home. They visited
the Zoo and Aquarium and enjoyed some quality time of their own, just the two
of them.
No matter which way I look at it, it was a great trip. I am so thankful we were given that time
together! You are quite the excellent
travel buddy. I say… let’s make that a
regular thing… forever. My treat J
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