I thought this was too cute not to share. Damien plays a game on his computer called slither.io. You can pick from a selection of different snake/worm things. Damien loves things that are cute so he likes to pick the one called “Jelly” because it’s cute and looks super happy. He even drew a picture of Jelly and he gives Jelly points when he does well on his spelling words. AND he created a song with hand gestures for Jelly that he’ll perform from time to time and I think it’s about the cutest thing ever. The video below was taken on the Ferris Wheel in Seattle.

Day 5 – Boeing Flight Museum

Boeing had a giant centennial event that was free for all employees and retirees so we  spent the day at the Boeing Flight Museum.

Day 6 – The Mall

By now we got all the touristy activities out of the way so we spent the rest of the trip hanging out locally. Grandma, Damien and I headed out to the Mall while Tom took Scott to Fry’s Electronics which is a HUGE electronics store that he’d never been to before but really wanted to. They have very few locations. Now he wishes we had one closer…

Day 7 – The River

Grandma had a social function to attend so Tom took us all back to the Mall so Damien could ride the animals again because he loved it so much. And they were closed! Oh well, at least we got to enjoy it once. For a little adventure we went down to a river so Damien could throw rocks in the water.

Day 8 – Family Time and Packing

The time flew by! We spent the last day packing and spending time together. Grandma took me for a mani/pedi and lunch where I got to try a Teriyaki place. Very good! We also had a fantastic last meal out at Black Angus Steakhouse.

Day 9 – The Adventure Home

We had quite the adventure getting home. It all started off great. We only had two flights and about a 2.5 hour layover in Chicago. We get to Chicago without any problems then it all starts when our flight home gets delayed a few times. We eventually board and try to leave before a storm comes in, but we can’t make it out. After waiting on the plane a while they finally had to cancel the flight because the crew couldn’t legally work anymore hours. We get hotel accommodations, food vouchers, and new flights, but don’t get to leave until after 5pm the following day AND we no longer have a direct flight so we have a short layover in New York. So we go to the hotel shuttles as instructed and wait around a while. At this point it’s around 11pm. No shuttle so I call the hotel and they inform me that their shuttle services have ceased for the evening. Grrr… Alright so we take an Uber the 30 min drive over to the hotel. And here is the bad part. The airline didn’t book us a room! And the hotel is full! Now we are 30 min away from the airport with no place to stay and we’re exhausted. We noticed a Motel 6 on the drive up so Scott went to see if they had any rooms left. They did! So we walked over in the rain and got a good night’s sleep. And other than the Motel 6 not providing shampoo to wash my gross hair and a full day waiting around the airport, the rest of the trip back went just fine. Damien was surprisingly well behaved. He was a little cranky at a couple of moments, but hey–we all were.

As I said in part 1–such an amazing trip! Thank you so much to Grandma and Tom. You both went out of your way to make us feel really special.

I can’t believe we’ve already been home over three weeks! Back in July, we all ventured over to the Seattle area for a nice summer vacation to stay with my Grandma and her husband, Tom. It also completes our “Year of Washington” because we’ve now visited Washington, D.C. in April and now Washington state. It was a great trip! Great weather, great family, great time!

Day 1 – Travel Day

Zero issues getting from Virginia to Washington. We did arrive very late at night so it was straight to bed for us!

Day 2 – Recuperation

After a long travel day, we spent Thursday relaxing.

 

Day 3 – Seattle Exploration

Scott and Damien had never been to Washington before so we spent our Friday in Seattle. We tried to get into the Space Needle but they were all booked up until that evening. We opted to visit the water front and we all went up in the Ferris Wheel which worked out great since no one had done it before and it had a nice view of the city.

Day 4 – McChord AFB and Outing with Nicole

We took a driving tour of McChord which looked very nice…at least compared to Langley… That evening Scott and I went to dinner and the Gas Works Park with my cousin, Nicole. I don’t have any pictures of Nicole and I together because they’re on her phone 🙁 Waiting for her to send them!