We did so many fun things as a family, and had a lot of quality time as Greenleafs. There was only one thing missing...uncle Dev. :( And today is his birthday, so...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEVIN!!! We miss you! Sorry you're so old!
Here's a run down of our activities:
DAY ONE
We brought a picnic dinner and drinks to St. Andrews Park in Kenmore where they are having free summer concerts every Thursday evening. Koen loved chasing the soccer ball around with everybody. And Finn was handing out smiles for anyone who looked at him! On the menu, Ezell's famous fried chicken (Oprah's favorite)...and on the stage, Canadian fiddle champion April Verch.
In an attempt to help Koen overcome his fear of bugs, Nana brought some giant plastic insects for him to play with. Somehow, they even ended up in his cereal bowl one morning. Koen looked at the bowl for a quiet minute, and then smiled up at us and said, "That's funny, Nana!" Clay's right, I think somewhere deep down inside Koen, there is a very big sense of humor.
DAY TWO
I took the boys to our PEPS group while Nana & Papa hung out on the east side with Collin & Shandy. Later, the family hooked up at our house for a little grillin' and hangin' out. It was low key and relaxing.
DAY THREE
On this morning, we were ambitious and walked all the way around Greenlake. It took us much longer than usual, however, because the annual Milk Carton Derby was happening. This meant that half way around the lake we came to a near stand still due to the crowds and booths handing out freebies that we couldn't pass up. Everything from shampoo to energy bars. The one booth we should have passed up but didn't was handing out free life jackets for kids. Nana and I stood in line for about 10 minutes and filled out the form only to learn that Koen had no intentions of letting a strange woman try a funny looking jacket on him. Long story short, he completely fell apart with tears, snot, kicking and the works...then because he hadn't actually tried the jacket on, they wouldn't give it to us!!! To add to the chaos, they had one for Finn (who was fast asleep in the stroller), but he also had to try it on. So I woke him up. :( Hey, after all the fuss, I was going to walk away with at least one life jacket, right?
Ahh, joy! But it was a fun walk anyway. We did manage to get a little bit of exercise at least, and Oscar got to jump in the lake which totally made his day! Later that night, Nana fixed us a fine little Thai beef salad. And after eating such a healthy, light dinner, we decided we deserved to gorge ourselves with Molly Moons ice cream. Mmmmmm, Molly Moons! So yummy!
Two baldies...
DAY FOUR
We headed out early and had breakfast at Hi-Life in Ballard, followed by a walk through the Ballard Sunday Market (our favorite of the local farmer's markets). We bought beets...lots of beets. Nana and Papa were determined to turn Clay into a beet lover with their special 'grilled beets'. We even had orange beets! Well, we were just having so much fun, that we never got around to grilling those beets. So after they went home, I managed to make a beet-lentil-walnut salad. I had Koen help me, hoping that he would be so proud of his beet salad accomplishment that he would actually eat it. Nope! Alas, I am the only one eating the beet salad. Clay claims it is too 'beety' for him. So I am eating beet salad for breakfast lunch and dinner until it's gone. I wonder, is it possible to eat too many beets? Does it make your pee glow in the dark or anything? Curious.
Moving along....after the market, we headed over to the Ballard Locks to watch the boats pass through the channel, and to see the salmon jumping up the fish ladder. Unfortunately, the few salmon that were there were not in the performing mood, but we did spot a sea lion out in the open, cruising for his lunch!
Koen learned how to walk the tracks with Nana and Clay.
That night, we reconvened at Collin & Shandy's house for some delicious chicken curry (courtesy of Nana, again). It ended up being a pretty rainy afternoon, great for our plants and lawns. We even heard some Utah style thunder which was way cool (one thing I REALLY miss about living in Utah...the awesome thunder storms). Koen ran outside and danced in the rain for a minute, all by himself. We captured a bit of footage.
The Rain Dance....
DAY FIVE
Ahhh, day five. I got a wild hair and decided that we needed to do something extremely touristy in our own city. What did we come up with? Ride-The-Ducks!!! This is the crazy, amphibious vehicle that drives all around town and then takes a spin in the water of Lake Union. A boisterous tour guide, wearing a number of disguises, shouts city facts and blasts loud dance music. Oh and the tourists on board have silly duck quack whistles that they blow at you as they drive by. Most Seattle residents snicker as these trucks pass on the street...such a nuisance. But, hey, we need to try everything at least once, right? So....we rode the ducks.
The vessel...
Koen got a 'quacker' that Clay and I promptly hid upon returning home. :)
Finn is wondering what the heck we are doing?
Gas Works Park in the distance. We'd never seen it from this angle.
Let me just tell you, we chose the coldest day of their visit to attempt this. We sat in the open air, freezing our butts off. Then, right in the middle of the tour, and the middle of an intersection, the truck's rear differential busted. So we waited for a rescue 'duck' to come get us and finish the tour. Keep in mind, there were no restrooms on board and our tour was now 30 minutes behind schedule. :) As we neared the end of our extra long ride, the driver kept updating us on our ETA..."five more minutes," he'd say. Then "three more minutes," then "we're right around the corner!". With each update, our nerves and bladders came closer to the breaking point. And just when we thought we were going to make it (parking lot in sight), our driver stopped the truck for one last dance hoorah. He cranked up the speakers playing 'YMCA' and made us all clap and disco to the beat. Comical, really. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. It was almost like he was playing a big joke on us. I don't think that song will ever be the same for me.
When we finally climbed off the truck, all we could think about was a bathroom and a bowl of hot soup (not necessarily at the same time). But we were still glad we went. Clay and I even learned a few new facts about Seattle!
Papa had a hard time warming up after we got home. Clay and I had to show him our little secret...Oski, the living oven. A few minutes of snuggling with him under the blankie, and you're toasty!!
That night, everyone went out for happy hour at the German pub Clay loves so much. I stayed behind with the chillins (they won't be 21 for quite a few years). Afterward, the crowd came to our house to hang out for a bit and say goodbyes.
DAY SIX
Nana and Papa had to leave us. :( Papa was a good sport and squeezed in between the two car seats for the 30 minute drive to the airport. Not a comfortable ride, I'm sure. Even still, we're going to fight off the mini-van era for as long as we can. I'm afraid it might be inevitable, though. Arghh!
So, that's all! Thanks again for coming to play, Nana and Papa! We love you! We can't wait 'til next time!!
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