Our Power-Packed Seattle Second Honeymoon!

Wednesday, August 20

We left my parents house in the wee hours of the morning. They graciously agreed to watch our boys for the week. We were both excited and ready to get away (especially Mommy!) but a little worried since it was Beau's first time being away from Mom and Dad. 

Papa Dunlap so kindly picked us up from the airport and taxied us to their ... newly painted home! It looked so beautiful and fresh! Mama D and Sethrina were outside painting the brick white when we arrived! Everything looked so lovely! 

We dropped off our bags, ate some tasty burritos, and headed out for FOUR hours of jet skiing on Lake Washington. Let me tell you - four hours on the water is a LONG time! We admired the lovely waterfront homes, spied on Bill Gates's estate, zoomed past the University of Washington, and I felt like I'd been on an eternal roller coaster ride. 

That night, we had tasty Paliacci's - a hometown favorite - and spent time with the family. Sethrina was in town (dropping Langley off for the semester), and Noah was slated to arrive the following evening.  

Found these hidden treasures behind a picture on the wall!

Beau sure looks like his Daddy!

Hilarious!

Ready to jet ski!

Thursday, August 21

We left the house early in the morning for a day of whale watching! This has been on my bucket list since high school! We boarded the Victoria Clipper II which left from downtown Seattle and took us to Friday Harbor on the San Juan Islands. We got a wonderful window seat on the lower level and saw sea lions, bald eagles, deer, and heron. We sat next to some sleepy, quiet Chinese girls and their American cousin. We spent our morning eating the big lunch Mama D helped pack, chatting, and trying to stay awake after taking anti-nausea medicine. We thought we caught a glimpse of one of our favorite TV villains (Logan from "Veronica Mars") and I took some sneaky photos of him. Watching him took up more of my time on the boat that first part of the journey than watching any of the sea life. After some Google researching, I discovered he must have been just a really close look alike! Ha ha!

The "whale watching" portion of our journey was only about 2-hours long and we really didn't expect to see anything. When we first glimpsed a black and white orca it didn't seem real. The whale looked artificial and cartoony out in the water! We held our breath each time a whale surfaced. We didn't know how long they would be in sight. It kind of felt like watching and waiting for a newborn baby to smile. At first the whales were far away, but they got closer and closer! Eventually, the whales were so close the captain had to turn off the engine to keep the animals safe! They were swimming alongside our boat and we can see the water glisten on their backs and hear them breath out of their blow holes! It was incredible! Our guide said that this was very rare and a real treat :) 

We walked around Friday Harbor and got souvenirs for the boys and a quick bite to eat (nasty old bagels!). Then we headed back to Seattle and played cards and napped on the boat. When we arrived in Seattle, we had dinner at the old Spaghetti Factory. I had the most fatty delicious pasta and a sickeningly sweet "cotton candy limeade." Thank you, Seb! What a day!

Ready to board the Clipper

What a doll :)

Hanging with my Sweetheart!

Can't wait to see those whales!

It's so windy and cold outside!

Nerd!

A friendly Sea Lion family came to say "hi"

Here they are!

Those green and white ferries will always remind me of Sebastian!

What a cutie pie!

Posing in Friday Harbor before boarding the Clipper

Heading back to Seattle

Friday, August 22

When Seb planned our trip, he let me know that Friday was a free day for me since he'd be spending some quality time with his high school pals. I think they went golfing. I ended up going shopping at Nordtrom Rack (ripoff!) and T.J. Maxx (love that store!) with Josh and Sethrina. We got gyros at a little Greek restaurant in the mall and then headed to a park to go paddle boarding! It was SUCH a fun day! I really love spending time with those two! They are a really fun, enjoyable couple :) Seb and Noah ended up joining us after awhile and we all swam in the lake. It was a blast!

That evening, Seb and Noah and I attended Ray and Tara's rehearsal dinner. It was SO fancy! We met at this ritzy hotel right on the water in downtown Seattle. The room the dinner was in had en entire glass wall that led out to a patio that hung over the Puget Sound. We were there to watch the sun set over the water. So lovely! I got to meet some of Ray and Tara's family and friends and it was so nice meeting everyone. 

Those two!

I'm so awesome!

I'm doing it, Peter!

Aww ... Joshy-Poo!

What a nerdo!

He looks like a missionary in this shot for some reason

Riding the waves in!

Gotta get me one of these things!

Its so fun having a sister! :)

Enjoying the rehearsal dinner

The groom!

That's the same boat we took whale watching! (It passed by the balcony at the rehearsal dinner).

Life-long buddies

Saturday, August 23

We really lucked out to have Aunt Nancy and Uncle Trent and Uncle Scotty come visit for the weekend! We love them SO much and always enjoy our time with them. We met up in the morning for breakfast at the Pancake House. After a delicious lunch, Noah and Seb joined up with their friends for some pre-wedding activities and the rest of us took a stroll through downtown Kirkland. Kirkland is a charming little town. We visited an art gallery, some cutesy shops, and got some gelatto. We sat by the water and enjoyed the nice weather. It was just lovely! 

Then, we headed to the University of Washington to go canoeing! This is one of my favorite things to do in Seattle. The water is so peaceful and gorgeous. I went out with Josh and Sethrina - we had a great time! I had to cut the trip short, though, to go home and get ready for the wedding that evening! 

The Breakfast Club

Cool dudes

Two happy people with such nice teeth!

Everyone feeling quite full after breakfast!

Thanks for the canoeing pic, Aunt Nancy!

The Wedding

Ray and Tara's wedding was like a fairy tale. It was absolutely beautiful! They got married at the Seattle Tennis Club, which is right on Lake Washington. I loved seeing Ray's face as he watched Tara walk down the aisle. Seb's childhood friend, Zach, officiated the wedding and did an outstanding job. I was impressed how professional and polished he was. It seemed like he did it for a living! 

After the ceremony, all the guests hung around for an hour or so and ate appetizers and chatted. Then we were all led inside for a host of activities! A really great DJ ran the entire evening and filled the night with lots of fun games. We competed against tables to get a spot in the dinner line, pigged out on the delicious buffet, watched Ray and Tara play "The Newlywed Game" and more. I especially loved hearing the speeches by the parents, best man, and maid of honor. I also loved their first dance - it was totally choreographed and SUPER fun and cute. My most favorite part of the evening, though, was the DANCING!!! SO MUCH DANCING! I LOOOVE going to dances and this one was a blast! We danced all night long, then said farewell to the happy couple and gave them a bubble send off! A great night!

Ready to head to the wedding!

Needed to get a goofy shot with these folks - look at all that tongue!

Look at those flowers!

The ceremony took place at that little white table

Just hanging at a wedding - no big deal

Brothers!

So fun!

Sunday, August 24

On Sunday, we basically just went to church, said our goodbyes to the Wilms Clan, went for a walk, and hung around the house. We sure needed the rest and really enjoyed our time with the family. Mama D made some awesome tacos, by the way!

Uncle Scotty teaching me about smart phones (I know - I suck)

Aww - sibling love!

Those sweet Dunlaps

My Seattle Family <3 td="">

Monday, August 25

Monday was all about spending time with Mama and Papa D! We hit the zoo in the morning (we can't get enough of that awesome brown bear!) and then headed downtown to do some touristy things at Pike's Place. I bought some rad souvenirs and we got Beecher's Cheese macaroni for lunch. It's tradition! Papa D showed us this nasty (but oh so awesome) gum wall - more like a gum corridor. It was so pretty but so sick. There were bees all over the place checking out the sweet, sticky gum. I think we all left our own little mark somewhere. 

We decided it would be fun to do something new to all of us, so we bought tickets to the huge ferris wheel that goes over the water! It was so pretty up there. Sethrina and I topped off the canival-like experience with two huge bags of cotton candy. Yum! Then we went to Red Robin for dinner and sat right on the water. (That really seemed to be the theme of this trip - guess my poor Sweetie wanted to get in as much water time as he possibly could before heading back to the dry desert!) 

After dinner, we did a little window shopping before hopping on the subway bus to go to a Mariner's game. We had nosebleed seats, but the view was awesome! It was a long, fun-filled day. 

Check out that bear at 1 o'clock!

 Another bear sighting!

Can't remember what bird he was comparing his wingspan with ... an eagle? That cutie!

What cheeseballs

LOVE Mama D's face in this one!

Nice, huh?

Love this shot of Noah

Gotta take some nasty gum hanging out of our mouth pics, right?

Beautiful flowers at the market! Wish I could have taken some home to my Mom! She sure deserved them after a week with my little hooligans!

Aww cute!

Nice view of the Seattle Aquarium

Enjoying the ride

This is kind of scary

I could never go skydiving - this was scary enough!

Great view of the city, eh?

See the ferris wheel over my shoulder?

What a table!

Crappy pic, but you get the idea

Who are those crazy people?

Nerds!

View from our seats

Love the stripes and green - nicely coordinated

Thank you, Mama and Papa D for being such wonderful hosts. The paint job and updated bathroom looked so nice. And Mama D pampered us with some new sheets and a new air mattress (after we sank to the floor the first night!) Ha ha! Thank you for everything!

And thank you SO MUCH Mom and Dad for watching the boys that entire week. You two are amazing. We wouldn't have been able to have all this fun without your help. We love you so much!