Well, it all started a couple of weeks ago when Ellie said, "Can we pack our suitcase and go to a hotel?" That girl has a little wandering spirit just like I do. And I'd like to nurture it.
The last several months have been rough around here - lots of good, lots of bad, lots of busy. And then Steve took his belated paternity leave and was sick with strep throat a good portion of the time. It just seemed like maybe it would be good to get a weekend away, just our family, on a little adventure. So we cashed in some of Steve's Marriott Rewards points and booked one night in Seattle. We ditched our chores and left the lawn unmowed (sorry neighbors!), got our traditional Starbucks and hit the road.
The drive up was a little long because of traffic, but Olivia kept it light by singing her rendition of the little monkeys song, "Little monkeys jumping on the street. One fell off and bumped his feet. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said no more monkeys jumping on the street."
We made it to our hotel in the early afternoon and loaded up all the babies in a not-at-all-ridiculous-looking train of strollers and checked in. Ellie was really looking forward to the hotel room, but with the promise of adventure we were able to lure her away and into the beautiful Seattle spring day. We headed to Pike Place Market and just strolled around. It was a little crazy because everyone was waiting for the fish throwing, but we made it through and bought a little painting of the Seattle skyline for our collection. We actually ran into an old UP friend in the market (small world!) and she had just come from ice cream, which the girls had been asking for, so she pointed us in the right direction and we took a little break at
Cupcake Royale. Ellie requested pink ice cream, so she got strawberry, and Olivia wanted chocolate (girl after my own heart). Steve and I split a scoop of the Orange Hibiscus Sherbert and Washington Hazelnut Brittle with Salted Ganache. Deliciousness. I would highly recommend it if you're headed that way.
While sharing our ice cream we decided to pick up some pizza on the way back and eat it in the hotel while watching TV, as this would make the girls very happy. We looked up
Italian Family Pizza and spent far too much time discussing the geometry and economics of two smalls versus one large pizza. We eventually decided to go with the large and set off in the direction of prize. When I arrived to pick up our order, the chef, a real New Jersey pizza chef who runs the restaurant and makes all the pizzas with his wife, opened the oven to reveal a gigantic pizza. Yeah, we hadn't really taken that 2 foot diameter into consideration. When it was fully cooked, our pizza was placed in the largest pizza box I've ever seen and we had to trek the rest of the way to the hotel with it. Along the way we received multiple offers for assistance with our outrageous pizza. People called out from passing cars asking where we got the pizza, where the party was, etc. Basically, our pizza got cat calls. And it was worthy of them. It was delicious.
After dinner while watching TV (a very special treat), we got the kids ready for bed. Ellie got to sleep in a big girl bed, which was a tiny little bed that pulled out of a chair. She was too excited to sleep and we had to redirect her to her bed several times. The bed was so narrow that she actually fell off many times during the night and had to sleepily climb back in. Despite this, she still told us, "It is fun sleeping in my big girl bed that is a chair." Oh honey, I also have an affinity for beds that pull out of seating furniture.
On Sunday, we went to mass at St. James Cathedral, which was full of the nicest people. It's a beautiful church. After mass we went to see the Space Needle and then headed to the Boeing Museum of Flight. I had been there when I was in Jr. High and loved it. Since Steve and I share a love for airplanes, I've always wanted to take him there. It turned out to be just as cool as I remembered and the girls loved it, too. They rode in airplanes and checked out models of the International Space Station. We toured a retired Air Force One, one of the planes used by JFK, Johnson, and Carter. It's very cool. And we went on a Concord Jet. Let me tell you, those things were built for speed, not comfort.
We all enjoy museums so much. And explorations of any kind. Olivia has asked every day since then if we can go to the museum and see airplanes. And Ellie keeps asking if we can get her blankie and get in the car to go to an adventure. I do love those two.
It was a pretty perfect weekend getaway. The best combination of adventure and down time. The kids were all well behaved and funny and the food was delicious. Steve and I kept looking at each other and saying, "We have a great life." And we do.
