Spring Break in Seattle- the Bay

On the way down and back from Seattle we spent a night at the family cabin. The kids love it, there are lots of kid friendly activities and it is also free!

We were at Costco a week before our trip and A spotted this great kite. It was cheap enough that we deemed it safe for use by our children;)

The only spot big enough and windy enough to fly it seemed to be the field by the playground. Some of us played and some of us flew the kite, it was perfect.

The other thing that the Bay is perfect for is bike riding. It's flat, there are very few cars and the speed limit is 5 miles per hr. That's pretty slow.

This little monkey rode a bit.

This one finally let us take the training wheels off.

Guess what, he can do it!

And my little princess got to ride in the bike trailer. Somehow it doesn't come out very much anymore, but she LOVED it!

On the way home we stopped at the beach for a little look around and had a great time.

A little confrontation with the sidewalk. This hand lost the battle.

An old boat

And then these cuties slept the time away in the border lineup. All in all a great trip.

Spring Break in Seattle- Starbucks

We are slightly obsessed with Starbucks as a family. R could say Starbucks when he was 18months old. Daddy used to work as a barista when we were first married. We also lived by a drive thru Starbucks when the kids were very little and there was a lot of driving through going on. All that to say it was a nice vacation treat to hang out for a bit and relax after our swim but before bed.

I can't say enough about these 'ThinkFun' Games. We have Rush Hour Jr, Pirate Hide and Seek and Clever Castle. They are all single player logic games appropriate for young kids. My littlest can do the easiest level of the Clever Castle but my almost 7 yr old can also play, doing the hardest levels and having fun. They are portable, educational and fun. And they make for a nice quiet activity at Starbucks when you're on vacation.

R with Rush Hour Jr, L with Pirate Hide and Seek, K with Clever Castle

Spring Break in Seattle- Star Wars

Luke's landspeeder

When we planned to go to Seattle, we also planned to go to the Science Center. The boys both proclaim they want to be Scientists, some of the time, so we thought it was a natural choice. After the plans were in place we realized the Star Wars exhibit was there at the same time. Too perfect, especially considering even my 2 yr old's vocabulary includes 'Millennium Falcon' and 'Qui-Gon Jinn'.

Ya. Perfect.

It was so fun. Glad we did it.

Yikes, the Vader costume seemed really tall.

Annakin seemed about the same size as R

Masters Yoda and Windu

Some Wookies. K's haircut has him blending right in.

Stormtrooper

Padme

Leia, R2 and C3PO

We also checked out other stuff besides the Star Wars exhibit. The kiddie section was a favorite. I didn't get any pictures of the music room because we were too busy having fun.

We also saw the butterflies. They were everywhere. Cool but kinda creepy too. With all the warnings not to let them land on you and the 'decontamination' procedures to leave, L was a bit freaked out by the end:)

Then, after we were done, a trip to the LEGO store was in order. What to buy you ask?

Of course. And then play with our Star Wars guys later in the week too. It NEVER gets old.

Spring Break in Seattle- Zoo

We hadn't been to the Woodland Park Zoo since Kobes was about one. Yep, that means L had never been so we were long overdue for a visit. The weather cooperated and the sun was shining almost the whole time. Gotta love sunshine, especially on vacation.

First stop was the penguins as R has been studying them in school this year. He announced which ones were Chinstrap penguins very authoritatively as they swam past.

watching the penguins together

K and a big bear

this guy was napping in a tree...

... his two friends were napping under these sacks, it was pretty funny.

I'd like to say the boys are learning about the animals here, but really they are spinning that thing like crazy and presumably, trying to break it. Sigh, boys.

catching a quick cat nap

R watching otters play

Zebra

Hippo

Giraffe sitting down

lion whose roar was amazing

elephant

rare moment of love between the littles

Tried hard for a good sibling shot but it's hard when there are three of them.

Ahh, kids in a cage, sounds good at the end of the day.

After the kids got too crazy for the Zoo we left and went to the park just next door.

The ran around and played together so nicely while we sat for a bit.

And that was the day! More to come check back later.