Seattle Day 2: More Easter Fun

Our first morning was an early morning!  The kids woke up around 4:30 am (which is 6:30 am our time) and we were able to keep them in bed/quiet for about an hour and then they were getting stir crazy.  We went up to the bonus room where we were away from most of the bedrooms and the kids could play.  

Maxwell loved playing Pac Man!

After everyone finally woke up (what a long morning that seemed!!) and had breakfast, Maxwell and I went with Ashlee and her family to their neighborhood egg hunt.  Peter stayed at home so that Emmalyn could take a nap.

Playing on the playground while we waited for the hunt to begin.  Even though the sun was shining, it was still chilly!  

The ground was sopping wet...like full on swampy.  My shoes/socks/pants were all wet by the time we were done.  Ashlee was far more prepared in rain boots - - - I should have looked to the locals' example! :)

I think his favorite part of the cupcake was the egg ring on the top.

It's almost time to hunt!

He had a great hustle and run around like a pro.

What beautiful scenery for an egg hunt, right?

Rocking his egg ring

The mud!!

We had fun watching the girls hunt for eggs, too.

After the hunt, we all went to Cafe Rio for lunch.  It was delicious!!!

It wasn't sunny anymore but it wasn't too cold so we headed to a park to burn some energy.

Maxwell connected with the girls quickly, especially Sam.  He loved playing with her and she was so great with him.

He played tag for a long time!

Emmalyn tried to make friends with this little boy and kept following him around and trying to tell him what to do.  She can certainly be bossy!

Time to dye Easter eggs!

We dyed with Ashlee's kids and Steph's kids too

The night Clay and Leanne came over for dinner and Ashlee's cousin Darcy and her family came too, they were in town from Utah.  We hung out, watched sports, played games, and the kids had fun playing together.  I tried to get Emmalyn to bed pretty early because I didn't want her to get used to the timezone since we were only there for a few days.  She's really loving going up and down the stairs (makes me so nervous) and someone brought something over on a motorcycle and she can't stop talking about it.  She thinks the motorcycle is so cool.

Maxwell loved watching the big kids play games with Uncle Clay

Seattle Trip Day 1 - Chihuly and Space Needle

We headed to Seattle for Easter!  It was our last flight before Emmalyn turns 2 and we have to pay for her to have her own seat. 

Both kids on the plane, sharing a seat, ready to go with their iPads

We didn't get to the airport with a ton of extra time so when there was a delay after we boarded, Emmalyn and I hopped off the plane and grabbed some breakfast for everyone (plus it gave her a couple more minutes to run around and get some energy out).

Headed back to the plan and, of course, needed to carry the bag herself.

Sharing her banana with daddy

Amazingly, she fell asleep.  Whew!  Even though it's uncomfortable and my arm falls asleep from being stuck in the same position for so long, it's really nice to have a long cuddle with my sweet girl.

Sweaty sleeping while the boy do their tech thing.  Luckily the plane had the individual screens for each seat which was a big hit with Maxwell. 

The flight, the longest either kid has been on, went really well.  Emmalyn was tired/groggy when we got off the plane.

We got a rental car and then grabbed some lunch.  We decided to head downtown and do some tourist stuff like go to the Space Needle.  It's been over 20 years since I've been there and I've never been to the top.

It was more than an hour wait to go up to the top, so we went to look at the Chihuly glass exhibit next door.  I've loved Chihuly's stuff since it was at the Dallas Arboretum and it was super neat to see the exhibit.

Emmalyn thought it was super cool.

Family pic

Once we got outside she lost interest and just wanted to run around (or in this case crawl around like a puppy).

Silly kid (how great is his blazer/jacket?!)

Trying to contain her but letting her ride on his shoulders.

It didn't last long and then she was running around again...

...and asking to be picked up again.

Stopping to check out the flowers

I was exhausted after chasing her around.  She just doesn't stop for more than 2 seconds!

Family pic

To burn more time we went and played on the grass at the Seattle Center, which was gorgeous and soft.  I love non-Texas grass!  Emmalyn was tired from all her running around and would have fallen asleep if we weren't out.

Pouting for some reason

We made it to the top!  What a beautiful, sunny day - - gorgeous views!!!

No fear on this one - she loved being up high

The view coming back down (the elevator was glass so you could watch the view)

The kids were tired and hungry at this time so we headed to Ashlee's house where we were staying and got them fed and put to bed and then the adults went out to dinner for Thai.  We finished out the night by playing games.  Her girls are so grown up, I still have a hard time believing it!

Preschool Presentations and Easter Fun

Maxwell was chosen to present at his school's Kindergarten Roundup.  It's an event to showcase what the preschoolers have learned and talk about why they should continue their Kindergarten schooling at the Montessori school.

I wasn't going to be able to go to the roundup due to work travel, so Maxwell's teacher let me go to the practice during the day at the school.

Maxwell had to introduce himself, what class he was from, and what he would be doing before he got to work.  It wasn't a very fast process while he worked through the 4 digit subtraction but it's how you do this "game" so it just takes time.

With daddy at the presentation

Sitting at the front of the room

Patiently waiting his turn (not all the other presenters did such a great job and it was tough because he was nearly at the end of it).  Peter said he did a great job (he's so timid ... it was great to see him be in front of a group like this).

While Maxwell had his presentation, I was in Nashville for work and got to go to dinner and then stuff hundreds of Easter Eggs with my step-sister Marabeth.  It was fun to get to spend time together!!

Maxwell had an Easter Egg Hunt (gather) with his class.  I totally forgot to bring his Easter basket so instead he had to use this reusable grocery bag that I had in my car - sorry buddy.

Ready to go get those eggs!

There was a visit from the Easter Bunny!

All the eggs are gathered (but you can't tell in that huge bag).

Group pic with his class - The Groundhogs and Ms. Cynthia