Seattle!

For my birthday (my 39th - again and again!) my husband took me to Seattle. Of course we also took along our two delightful 3 year olds. We left Thursday afternoon and drove to our hotel. After arriving we went and got a bite to eat and then got the kids ready for bed. Two three year olds that are used to having their own rooms do not go to sleep easily when put in the same bed. It was quite late before they finally settled down and slept.
Friday morning I got a Willow Tree Mother and Son figurine and some fun cards from my hubby and kids! I also got a gift card for JoAnne's Fabric for scrapbooking supplies :-). Annalynn was so excited that it was my birthday and helped me open my presents.
We left the hotel and went downtown Seattle to the Pike's Place Market. This is a really cool place - but not with 2 tired three year olds and their double stroller!!! To say it was a disaster would be an understatement! After a total and complete meltdown by one of them we left and decided to just call it a day. I was terribly disappointed but realized that it is part of having little ones. We barely got out of the parking garage before they were both asleep so we drove around for a little while and then decided to try again with the waterfront. It did not look as crowded and looked a little more kid friendly. After they woke up we ate lunch at Ivar's and then found a carousel. Annalynn LOVES carousels! After the carousel ride we decided to do a Harbor Cruise. We got on the boat and found seats on the top deck in the front. We did fine most of the tour (it was about an hour long) About 40 minutes into the tour (with the tour guide talking and us just two rows from the front) Annalynn decided it was time to take her pants off!! She thought it was hilariously funny! We quickly gathered them up and went down to the enclosed area where there were far less people and got them some popcorn! What a girl!
After the boat ride we drove back to the hotel and after a little swim in the jacuzzi they went to bed. They still took a little while to fall asleep but it was better than the night before.
This morning we had made plans to meet another adoptive family at the Seattle Zoo. We got there about 10 am and saw a good portion of the zoo. We headed to the food pavilion for some lunch. Both kids had just about had it and after a battle with one of them we decided it was just best to say our goodbyes and head home. They both fell asleep before we hit the freeway. They slept an hour or so and we stopped and got them some lunch and continued on with a stop at some outlet stores on our way home.
We learned a couple of valuable lessons this weekend. We learned that our children cannot go without their sleep!! We just cannot plan things that keep them from getting their naps and proper amount of sleep at night.
We learned that staying home is just the best thing for us for awhile. I am glad we went - I got it out of my system and now I know :-)
We also learned that we are very happy to live where we do and not in the Seattle area. It is fun city to visit but not one I would want to live in.
Overall it was fun to get away and learn some things about myself and my children. One thing that was reinforced to me this weekend which I already knew is that I have a wonderful husband who is also a great daddy!!

Here are some pictures. I am waiting for permission to post pictures of the other families children - if I get that I will post a couple pictures from the zoo.

You know you are in Seattle when there is a coffee shop on every corner on your GPS (see all the coffee cups - this was not the most we saw at once - just the best picture I got)
On the boat for the Harbor Cruise
The Space Needle in the background