San Diego

Part Two of our westward swing was San Diego. 

Enough said, right? Blog post: over.

Hah. We were all staying together in the playroom at my grandmother's. It didn't take Natalie long to find the dolls and set up a picnic.

We were definitely still struggling with the early mornings.

But we still had lots of fun playing with toys, new and old:

Natalie also made a gingerbread house (the kit was a gift from Grandma Pat). Natalie decided that the two sugar people in front were her and Jacob. Also, you know this is a house Natalie made because there's a cat on the roof!

Time with Oma:

Uncle Eric also got some quality time with Natalie and Jacob:

Natalie and Cousin Emilia at the beach. They went crazy, building a sand castle AND going in the water!

We also had an engagement party for my brother and Aunt Melanie. I managed not to take any pictures of the happy couple, but here are a few others from the party.

We also made the rounds of all Natalie's favorite La Jolla playgrounds. This is Fire Truck Playground, where we went with SYL.

(Natalie took the last pic)

We also went to a fancy afternoon tea at the Hotel Del. It was super-lovely, but also super-crowded. Anyway, the hotel was all done up for the holidays. Here's the giant tree in the lobby.

Natalie drinking her hot chocolate. I'd say that was a hit.

Also, they brought out a plate of kid-friendly sandwiches instead of the traditional tea sandwiches. However, the plate still had the traditional clotted cream on it. No matter - Natalie made good use of it!

Tea time fun:

We also had a very lovely party with Aunt Harriet were we made candles! I don't actually have any pics of the party (I was busy visiting and having fun!), but here are the candles in use on Shabbat the following week!

We also finally made it to the zoo! Natalie loved it!

We're not sure when we'll be back in town next - spring / summer plans are a bit up in the air!

Seattle

Winter break was travel time for us. We went to both Seattle and San Diego. It was a bit of a challenge, but, overall, we're glad we did it, we had fun, and we were very glad to be back home.

First, we went to Seattle for four days. Because we were only there for four days, we really had to suck the marrow out of each and every day. Luckily, Natalie and Jacob helped us in that regard by getting up at 5am. To be fair, that's 7am Texas time, so they were actually sleeping late! 

But, um, the sun wasn't rising in Seattle until 8:30am - we were actually in Seattle for the shortest day of the year. So that was challenging. I just gave up on trying to keep the kids quiet in the hotel room in the morning. I'm sure karma will pay me back for this somehow, someday.

Here's Jacob napping on the plane to Seattle. So sweet, no?

Jacob was actually pretty challenging on this flight. But the real change has come with Natalie. She's now gotten to the point where she'll watch her two favorite movies (Totoro  and Big Bird Goes to Japan), color, eat some snacks, and be largely pretty easy to manage. Hooray!

Seattle was actually recovering from some overnight snow when we arrived. The roads were wet, but clear. And the snow was well on its way to melting. In fact, our local friends had made a snowman that morning and it had melted in an, um, totally hilarious way. Mother Nature does have a sense of humor, after all!

We were so happy to spend time with our good friends - we went to their favorite sushi place (Mike and I loved it; Natalie was unswayed, despite the example of their kids eating sushi. I guess I should be glad she's not a follower?), and then we came back for an afternoon of fun in their house.

Princess clothes: located.

The next morning, we were up and at 'em early (see above). We met SYL and Kris for a yummy brunch (Mike actually declared that this was his favorite meal in Seattle). Next up: the Market (totally touristy, but somehow important for me to show to Natalie).

Girl + tiny donut = true luv.

On the walk back from the market (because our hotel was supremely well-located - and friendly, too!), we passed a fancy outdoor goods store. They had tents on display in the window. Natalie wanted to go in. And I don't just mean into the store....

Then, Mike and the kids went back to take naps and SYL and I headed off on a serious adventure. We went to tour the Theo Chocolate factory! It was awesome! And, truth be told, a little bit of sensory overload. But mostly awesome.

Of course, no trip to Fremont is complete with a cruise by the troll:

We spent the misty twilight hour at the dog park with SYL and her new addition. Natalie was a little afraid at first, but then she really got into it. SYL then ran her beast home, and Mike and the kids and I hit up an old favorite. And then we all met for dinner at the yummy Chinese restaurant of yore. Natalie, while smitten with SYL, was being a bit tough to entertain. So she started coloring. And then she whipped out this and knocked our socks off!

Go, Big Girl!

The next morning, we had another brunch with good friends. We scheduled this one at one of our old faves, too. The big appeal of this place is the breakfast bar. I totally thought Natalie would go wild with all the potential toppings - but all she wanted was strawberries. Silly girl!

In the afternoon, it was time for something we'd been promising Natalie for months: a ferry ride! 

Let's just say Natalie was all in!

Jacob was less sure . . . .

We rode the ferry to meet up with some of my Summer Mothers friends. This may have been the highlight of my trip! It was so nice to finally meet in person some of my closest virtual friends! Here are all the kids (plus some younger siblings) together at the Bainbridge Kidimu:

 Here are a few more pictures of Natalie and Jacob at the museum:

And after the kids played, the moms got to play, too!

 We all went to dinner afterwards. Here's a shot of the moms:

Did the kids get along? Heck yes! This is a blurry picture, but here they are dancing together after dinner. So sweet.

Our last day in Seattle, we met some old grad school friends for breakfast. Then we met Jen Em at the fancy cafe at her work. We were impressed!

Although it had poured buckets during lunch, the afternoon was sunny and clear. It was time to go to a park! Of course, because we lived in Seattle pre-kids, I had no idea about the nearest park, potty, etc. It's funny how the way in which you know the geography of a city really changes. Anyway, quick pass by the hotel for warmer clothes and to call some friends, we Googled up a playground, and off we went!

Requisite shot of the Seattle skyline:

 Photobomb!

Lovely photo of us taken by a kind and talented stranger:

There's a lot that's technically wrong with the picture below. And yet I love it. I feel like it captures Seattle on cold, sunny winter day. You can almost feel the wind and smell the sea. It has a very Nordic vibe, I think - but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Winter trees. 

The same friends that welcomed us to Seattle bid us goodbye at dinner at our favorite Thai place. 

(picture is of play time at the park, not dinner itself - although dinner [and the cupcake dessert] was appropriately chaotic)

We had a wonderful time in Seattle. We'd love to go back really soon - ideally, making it a family trip we take every so often. It was a little bittersweet to be back - Seattle truly is a lovely city and we love so much of what the city has to offer. But the city has changed so much (Ballard?! Interbay?! What the heck is going on there? And no more ride-free area?). And we've changed, too. Grudgingly, there's a lot to like about where we are in our lives in Texas right now. But I think that there's a part of me that will always measure anywhere we live against Seattle. And, well, that's a tough standard!