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(Yes, I know. I tried 16 bazillion subject lines. Oh well!)
This weekend, we went up to Seattle for our cousin JT's wedding to the lovely J. We drove up Friday, leaving at 11 am with the intent of arriving mid-to-late-afternoon since the rehearsal dinner was at 6. Instead, we arrived after 6 and joined the (informal, luckily) rehearsal dinner late.
I will note that for two adults doing a straight run at the speed limit, this is normally a 3.5-hour drive. We anticipated two stops (to get dress shoes for Drew, and for lunch), pushing it to a 4.5-hour drive. The first stop went flawlessly (Drew amused me greatly by insisting the brown dress shoes didn't fit, and the identical size and style in black did, but as it resulted in Drew having and wearing dress shoes, I was happy!). The second stop was supposed to occur near Kelso/Longview, that being about when it would be lunch time. It happened, instead, at the north border of Vancouver...AFTER ideal lunch time. Interstate bridge lifts are no one's friend.
That meant we hit bad traffic in several areas that, had we been 45 minutes further north, we could've skipped. It was not helped by the fact that the plan involved the boys taking a two hour nap after lunch (which they DID), which from Kelso/Longview would have had us in Seattle (if traffic was kind, which it should've been since we should've missed rush hour), though likely not at the hotel, when they woke. We could then have jollied them along the tiny bit of extra time required to reach the hotel, or made one stop and then continued on. Either way, we'd have been there before four.
Instead, between the bridge lift, some construction (not bad, really), and one accident (I think the backup was maybe 15 miles of stop and go traffic, and the accident wasn't even IN the lanes of traffic - someone had an ironic encounter with one of the "if you are in a fender bender, please pull to the side of the road" signs), we managed to hit bad traffic in Olympia and actual rush hour in Seattle. Oooof. It gives me a new appreciation for the parking lot that is 217 some evenings, because it's not THAT bad. ;)
Luckily, since it was informal, no one minded our arriving late. Drew was not of a mind to be quiet through the speeches, so we had to retreat a bit early. I came back later with Ian to say hi and congratulations and such, though, and it was overall a good time. Hopefully the fussy kiddos were not too much a nuisance to others - in their defense, they'd had a seven-hour car ride!
The next day, we went for a walk in the morning and saw a bit of Seattle. We also had breakfast at a cafe, where Ian really got me - I got him a banana. He ate a quarter, mushed the rest, and then pitched a fit because *I* was eating and *he* was not. (Can we say "I didn't WANT a BANANA, Mom!"? Yeah.) So he got shreds of bagel, which he coped with just fine and was very pleased by. Baby: 2 Mom: 1. (Hey, at least he was happy with the bagel. I get a point for that.)
Then we went to the wedding. We were in and out of the wedding - Drew did not like the music (I think the organ music?) and also had a lot of energy. (How did he have a lot of energy after walking around Seattle in the morning? Easy, HE didn't walk, he got Scott to carry him. Ooof!) My impression is that we managed to avoid disrupting it for others, though, so fingers crossed that's so.
To stop talking about my kids for a moment, it was a GORGEOUS wedding, every bit that I saw. The Cathedral is beautiful, everyone was beaming and happy and together...it was wonderful. I'm so glad we could be there, to wish them well and to share their joy. J was beautiful in her dress. (With the joy in her smile, she would have been beautiful in anything, but it was a lovely dress.)
A little down time (spent stuck in Seattle traffic, because we ambitiously decided to drive near to the Space Needle) and then off to the reception. I was a little worried about that - Drew fell asleep in the car and woke up out of sorts - but a Shirley Temple helped, and when he adored the cherries and the bartender gave him about 1/4 of a wineglass full of just cherries, well, that helped. (It also was the start of an astonishing sugar high. I hope his hyperness didn't disturb anyone too much, but the alternative was a Grumpy Kid, apparently.) He also got to look out through some binoculars - Scott and he were in another area, with someone (an employee of the restaurant, maybe?) looking out over the water with binoculars.
The reception, like the wedding, was wonderful. Drew mostly ate fruit and dessert and cake (remember that sugar high I mentioned?). I mostly ate fruit and seafood, with some dessert and cake. Hehe. Ian got to try watermelon, and seemed pleased with it.
The toasts were well done, touching or funny or both. Aunt Julia's friend played an EXCELLENT practical joke on her. (No, I won't explain, largely because it would require at least two blog-posts worth of back-story. Trust me, it was excellent.) There was dancing. Thanks to the lovely people who kept an eye on Drew and held Ian, I got to dance with Scott, even! :) That was very nice.
A couple kid-based moments that stand out in my mind and please me: I got Drew to say "congratulations" to JT. When I congratulated J, she said hi to Ian and he reached out to hold her index finger.
The food was nicely chosen - a mix of foods so that I think almost anyone could have found something they'd be happy to eat (and I had trouble deciding what to eat - so many good choices!). The decor was wonderful, the cake was gorgeous, the favors were neat and pretty. The theme was sea/ocean based, and the place cards had little starfish on them that are wildflower seed paper - so we could take them home and plant them. (How cool is that?)
We left at 9:30 - I would have loved to stay longer, but I didn't think the kids, Drew especially, could cope any longer, and it was really past the witching hour for them. I was sure they'd both fall asleep in the car. I was also wrong. Drew was awake when we got back, and Ian woke up. We had a hard time getting them to sleep but eventually did.
(The hotel supplied us with a crib for Ian. I think he spent a grand total of a couple hours in it all trip. The room was strange, the crib was strange, and he Did Not Want It. So he mostly slept with one or the other of us, cradled against us. This makes me a little twitchy now that he can roll, but our arm was always there so we'd wake up if he started to, and anyway he slept deeply and contentedly when held this way.)
Sunday morning we decided to have breakfast in the hotel and see if we could meet up with others. That didn't happen then, but after we packed, we went back down to hang out and that did work.
One of the two trips (I believe the second) was made somewhat more complicated by the elevators being out of service, complete with rushing air, because someone had set off the fire alarm in the basement, by steaming it up too much. (This according to the hotel clerk; Scott called down to ask from the phone by the stairs. They'd turned the alarm off and it never sounded on our floor at all, but bringing the elevators back into service required the fire department.)
Since we were told there was never a fire, we just waited up there for the elevators (on account of stroller, not stair friendly; I'd abandon it pretty much instantly for an actual fire, but a false alarm, not so much).
We had some good hanging-out time, idle chit-chat, and just general fun. Drew got to see people, color, and generally hang out. Ian got held a lot.
Just a bit after 10, we headed out. We went to Soundbridge, which I had found via a Yelp search, and suspected Drew would enjoy. I was very, very right. Ian also liked it - he got to shake a rattle or two, pat some drums, and watch the happy cacophony around him. Drew? Drew played a couple different guitars, several drums, at least two xylophones, a piano/keyboard, a gong, a stringed instrument whose name I've forgotten, a violin, a tuba, a trumpet, and a french horn. (He declined to try the flute. I'm not sure why, but it's the only one I worried might frustrate him, so it works.) He was very proud of himself when the lady helping us was complimentary that he already knew how to blow into the mouthpiece of a brass instrument! Ah, the green plastic vuvuzela from New Year's 2010 pays off...lots of practice. LOL. (Seriously, 3-year-old and tuba. That thing was bigger than he was. He was SO. HAPPY.)
We drove to that rather than hike hills and have to hike back, so we ended up paying more for parking than admission to the place (okay, only $1 more), but it worked.
From there we headed home, but two blocks from the freeway onramp, we were waiting at a light. I was looking down when Scott honked. I looked up...and there were JT and J. We waved to them, they waved back, and then we actually got on I-5 south and left Seattle. It was odd, but neat, to see them then.
The drive home was long - about six and a half hours - partly because we stopped to feed us only to find Drew had fallen asleep. Scott and I ate, but we had to stop again later to feed Drew. (Zoobles, one of the current McDonald's toys, make a lovely bribe. I bought a couple sans Happy Meal to help improve Drew's mood when he finally got lunch. Low blood sugar, cramped car riding, and the anticipation of hours more of the same do NOT make a sunny child.)
Ian has had it with cars for the moment too. A lot of that long drive was stopping periodically to see if we could do something for the baby, who was mostly irate that we thought he needed to spend hours in a car seat in a moving car. He was also out of sorts enough that he wasn't nursing as much as he probably wanted, so he got hungry again quicker.
It was such a relief to get home...though we arrived home with Drew asleep, and he woke up just about, oh, bedtime. LOL. Scott stayed up with him. No idea how that went. I went to sleep with Ian. Eventually, Scott came in and took Ian to the crib, and this morning I let Scott sleep in a bit while I did as much getting-ready as I could.
Thank goodness for planned vacation days - I had today off. Our life resembles our life again, instead of chaos. We're unpacked, laundry and dishes are done, I can't say they're fully put away but they're clean and in expected places.
It was a lovely, lovely trip, except for the traffic. And it was totally WORTH the traffic. (But if I'd known what that would be like, I would've planned our trip up differently. Heh.)
This weekend, we went up to Seattle for our cousin JT's wedding to the lovely J. We drove up Friday, leaving at 11 am with the intent of arriving mid-to-late-afternoon since the rehearsal dinner was at 6. Instead, we arrived after 6 and joined the (informal, luckily) rehearsal dinner late.
I will note that for two adults doing a straight run at the speed limit, this is normally a 3.5-hour drive. We anticipated two stops (to get dress shoes for Drew, and for lunch), pushing it to a 4.5-hour drive. The first stop went flawlessly (Drew amused me greatly by insisting the brown dress shoes didn't fit, and the identical size and style in black did, but as it resulted in Drew having and wearing dress shoes, I was happy!). The second stop was supposed to occur near Kelso/Longview, that being about when it would be lunch time. It happened, instead, at the north border of Vancouver...AFTER ideal lunch time. Interstate bridge lifts are no one's friend.
That meant we hit bad traffic in several areas that, had we been 45 minutes further north, we could've skipped. It was not helped by the fact that the plan involved the boys taking a two hour nap after lunch (which they DID), which from Kelso/Longview would have had us in Seattle (if traffic was kind, which it should've been since we should've missed rush hour), though likely not at the hotel, when they woke. We could then have jollied them along the tiny bit of extra time required to reach the hotel, or made one stop and then continued on. Either way, we'd have been there before four.
Instead, between the bridge lift, some construction (not bad, really), and one accident (I think the backup was maybe 15 miles of stop and go traffic, and the accident wasn't even IN the lanes of traffic - someone had an ironic encounter with one of the "if you are in a fender bender, please pull to the side of the road" signs), we managed to hit bad traffic in Olympia and actual rush hour in Seattle. Oooof. It gives me a new appreciation for the parking lot that is 217 some evenings, because it's not THAT bad. ;)
Luckily, since it was informal, no one minded our arriving late. Drew was not of a mind to be quiet through the speeches, so we had to retreat a bit early. I came back later with Ian to say hi and congratulations and such, though, and it was overall a good time. Hopefully the fussy kiddos were not too much a nuisance to others - in their defense, they'd had a seven-hour car ride!
The next day, we went for a walk in the morning and saw a bit of Seattle. We also had breakfast at a cafe, where Ian really got me - I got him a banana. He ate a quarter, mushed the rest, and then pitched a fit because *I* was eating and *he* was not. (Can we say "I didn't WANT a BANANA, Mom!"? Yeah.) So he got shreds of bagel, which he coped with just fine and was very pleased by. Baby: 2 Mom: 1. (Hey, at least he was happy with the bagel. I get a point for that.)
Then we went to the wedding. We were in and out of the wedding - Drew did not like the music (I think the organ music?) and also had a lot of energy. (How did he have a lot of energy after walking around Seattle in the morning? Easy, HE didn't walk, he got Scott to carry him. Ooof!) My impression is that we managed to avoid disrupting it for others, though, so fingers crossed that's so.
To stop talking about my kids for a moment, it was a GORGEOUS wedding, every bit that I saw. The Cathedral is beautiful, everyone was beaming and happy and together...it was wonderful. I'm so glad we could be there, to wish them well and to share their joy. J was beautiful in her dress. (With the joy in her smile, she would have been beautiful in anything, but it was a lovely dress.)
A little down time (spent stuck in Seattle traffic, because we ambitiously decided to drive near to the Space Needle) and then off to the reception. I was a little worried about that - Drew fell asleep in the car and woke up out of sorts - but a Shirley Temple helped, and when he adored the cherries and the bartender gave him about 1/4 of a wineglass full of just cherries, well, that helped. (It also was the start of an astonishing sugar high. I hope his hyperness didn't disturb anyone too much, but the alternative was a Grumpy Kid, apparently.) He also got to look out through some binoculars - Scott and he were in another area, with someone (an employee of the restaurant, maybe?) looking out over the water with binoculars.
The reception, like the wedding, was wonderful. Drew mostly ate fruit and dessert and cake (remember that sugar high I mentioned?). I mostly ate fruit and seafood, with some dessert and cake. Hehe. Ian got to try watermelon, and seemed pleased with it.
The toasts were well done, touching or funny or both. Aunt Julia's friend played an EXCELLENT practical joke on her. (No, I won't explain, largely because it would require at least two blog-posts worth of back-story. Trust me, it was excellent.) There was dancing. Thanks to the lovely people who kept an eye on Drew and held Ian, I got to dance with Scott, even! :) That was very nice.
A couple kid-based moments that stand out in my mind and please me: I got Drew to say "congratulations" to JT. When I congratulated J, she said hi to Ian and he reached out to hold her index finger.
The food was nicely chosen - a mix of foods so that I think almost anyone could have found something they'd be happy to eat (and I had trouble deciding what to eat - so many good choices!). The decor was wonderful, the cake was gorgeous, the favors were neat and pretty. The theme was sea/ocean based, and the place cards had little starfish on them that are wildflower seed paper - so we could take them home and plant them. (How cool is that?)
We left at 9:30 - I would have loved to stay longer, but I didn't think the kids, Drew especially, could cope any longer, and it was really past the witching hour for them. I was sure they'd both fall asleep in the car. I was also wrong. Drew was awake when we got back, and Ian woke up. We had a hard time getting them to sleep but eventually did.
(The hotel supplied us with a crib for Ian. I think he spent a grand total of a couple hours in it all trip. The room was strange, the crib was strange, and he Did Not Want It. So he mostly slept with one or the other of us, cradled against us. This makes me a little twitchy now that he can roll, but our arm was always there so we'd wake up if he started to, and anyway he slept deeply and contentedly when held this way.)
Sunday morning we decided to have breakfast in the hotel and see if we could meet up with others. That didn't happen then, but after we packed, we went back down to hang out and that did work.
One of the two trips (I believe the second) was made somewhat more complicated by the elevators being out of service, complete with rushing air, because someone had set off the fire alarm in the basement, by steaming it up too much. (This according to the hotel clerk; Scott called down to ask from the phone by the stairs. They'd turned the alarm off and it never sounded on our floor at all, but bringing the elevators back into service required the fire department.)
Since we were told there was never a fire, we just waited up there for the elevators (on account of stroller, not stair friendly; I'd abandon it pretty much instantly for an actual fire, but a false alarm, not so much).
We had some good hanging-out time, idle chit-chat, and just general fun. Drew got to see people, color, and generally hang out. Ian got held a lot.
Just a bit after 10, we headed out. We went to Soundbridge, which I had found via a Yelp search, and suspected Drew would enjoy. I was very, very right. Ian also liked it - he got to shake a rattle or two, pat some drums, and watch the happy cacophony around him. Drew? Drew played a couple different guitars, several drums, at least two xylophones, a piano/keyboard, a gong, a stringed instrument whose name I've forgotten, a violin, a tuba, a trumpet, and a french horn. (He declined to try the flute. I'm not sure why, but it's the only one I worried might frustrate him, so it works.) He was very proud of himself when the lady helping us was complimentary that he already knew how to blow into the mouthpiece of a brass instrument! Ah, the green plastic vuvuzela from New Year's 2010 pays off...lots of practice. LOL. (Seriously, 3-year-old and tuba. That thing was bigger than he was. He was SO. HAPPY.)
We drove to that rather than hike hills and have to hike back, so we ended up paying more for parking than admission to the place (okay, only $1 more), but it worked.
From there we headed home, but two blocks from the freeway onramp, we were waiting at a light. I was looking down when Scott honked. I looked up...and there were JT and J. We waved to them, they waved back, and then we actually got on I-5 south and left Seattle. It was odd, but neat, to see them then.
The drive home was long - about six and a half hours - partly because we stopped to feed us only to find Drew had fallen asleep. Scott and I ate, but we had to stop again later to feed Drew. (Zoobles, one of the current McDonald's toys, make a lovely bribe. I bought a couple sans Happy Meal to help improve Drew's mood when he finally got lunch. Low blood sugar, cramped car riding, and the anticipation of hours more of the same do NOT make a sunny child.)
Ian has had it with cars for the moment too. A lot of that long drive was stopping periodically to see if we could do something for the baby, who was mostly irate that we thought he needed to spend hours in a car seat in a moving car. He was also out of sorts enough that he wasn't nursing as much as he probably wanted, so he got hungry again quicker.
It was such a relief to get home...though we arrived home with Drew asleep, and he woke up just about, oh, bedtime. LOL. Scott stayed up with him. No idea how that went. I went to sleep with Ian. Eventually, Scott came in and took Ian to the crib, and this morning I let Scott sleep in a bit while I did as much getting-ready as I could.
Thank goodness for planned vacation days - I had today off. Our life resembles our life again, instead of chaos. We're unpacked, laundry and dishes are done, I can't say they're fully put away but they're clean and in expected places.
It was a lovely, lovely trip, except for the traffic. And it was totally WORTH the traffic. (But if I'd known what that would be like, I would've planned our trip up differently. Heh.)
