Sleepless in Seattle-Part One

**Warning: my posts have become really long--and this one is no exception!**

I know that the "sleepless in Seattle" saying has been overused ever since the movie came out, what, a decade ago?, but it describes our vacation for a couple of reasons, which will be clear once you read the post.

Back in Feb. we asked the girls their choices for vacation this summer and they replied in unison: "See our Seattle cousins!!" So we found a great deal on NON-STOP (this is very important when traveling to the coast!) tickets and we were off. Our nephew, Andrew, was going to be baptized while we were there, which made it even better! And to top it off, Grandma and Grandpa and Wendy and family would be there, too!

I have to write a little our flight to WA. I always always always (have I emphasized that enough?) come prepared with food for the kids to eat for meals whenever we fly. But this time I thought that instead of lugging food around we could just buy our lunch on the plane. Since it was Midwest, we knew they would have cookies onboard and surely that would tide us over during the 3 1/2 hours it would take us to get there?? Our seats were towards the back of the plane and about 2 rows in front of us we heard the words, "we are out of food, sorry." You're kidding, right? For the first time, we've relied on the airlines for our food and now they don't have any and our kids are complaining that they are hungry and we can't buy any because we're 35,000 feet in the air! The only thing that saved us from whining, hungry kids were the snack bags of nutter butters and cheezits that we bought to tide Abbie over in the airport when she started complaining of hunger at 11 a.m. The lesson here: always bring your own food!

I have to say that I love that my kids have cousins their ages! They were inseperable and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning from the first night we got there. We stayed at Lind and Cressida's (thanks for everything!!) so the girls could share beds. One night we could hear Kiersten and Brynn up until at least midnight (and this from a child who normally goes to bed around 8 p.m.). They could not have been happier during this trip. And we had a blast, too, with Chris' siblings and spouses and nieces and nephews!

Thurs. morning I watched Cressida with a group of her cloggers, which included Kathryn. Talk about a good time--I wish I lived there so I could join in!

In the afternoon, we took the kids swimming to the same pool where Chris used to go when he was little. Here are Abbie and Callen.

Kiersten and Brynn. Kathryn with the boys--Andrew and Blaine.
Erynn and Megan took turns watching Analise.
On Friday morning, Chris and I did a session at the temple, which was only few minutes from Lind and Cressida's. Let's just say that this was one of the highlights of the trip for the two of us.

In the afternoon, Lind and Cressida took us to Lake Sammamish to enjoy their boat. Chris' parents arrived the night before so they were there, too as well as J and Kathryn and their boys. While one group went out in the boat, Chris and J took Abbie and Analise swimming in the lake.

Which one is J and which is Chris? Erynn and Megan. BTW, Eynn rocks for convincing Abbie that she could go behind the boat. She talked her all the way through it and Abbie had a great time.
Cousins on the boat.

Grandma getting Analise ready to ride with Lind taking a break from driving.
Ready to go!

Abbie, Blaine and Callen building in the sand.

Going to the lake was one of our favorite parts of the trip! Just ask the girls. Chris and I have decided that from now on we're going to live on mac and cheese and save all of our money so that someday when he retires (not sure if that actually happens with docs) we can live on Lake Sammamish. Aaah, pipe dreams are beautiful things!

Wendy and family arrived Friday night. We were dressed and ready to go to Andrew's baptism, when we got a call from J. Chris' dad had collapsed. It was horrible. To make a long story short, he was rushed to the hospital, put in the ICU, he was going septic and had blood in his lungs. As I write this post, the docs don't know what exactly he has except ARDS (a non-specific term for something got in your lungs and made you really sick). He is doing much better this week. But for the remainder of our time there, Chris spent part of his time at the hospital with J and his mom who stayed at the hospital most of the days. And it was awful not knowing what was going to happen and not being able to do anything. It made for a very restless trip.

In the afternoon we decided to take the kids out and try to get our minds off what was going on.

Here are A, B & C. I love this. These three were born a month apart. Abbie, then Blaine and then Callen, so we call them A, B & C. They had so much fun playing together.

We went with everyone to Pike Place Market. You can find anything and everything at Pike Place. For $15 you can buy the most gorgeous flower arrangements. Here, The kids were sitting on a pig in front of the famous stand where fish are thrown. If you go to Pike Place don't go on a Saturday, though. It was so crowded we could barely walk around and keep track of everyone.

We walked along the pier. Here's Coryn with Blaine and Analise.

Abbie and Callen on the pier in front of Puget Sound.

At one end of the pier is Ivars. For those who don't know, Ivars is a landmark eatery. You can buy the best fish and chips there. I'm not a big fish fan, but these are super yummy. After you eat, you can--actually, you are expected to--feed your french fries to the seagulls. One of the girls asked if she could feed her fried fish to the seagulls. I said I didn't know. Wait a minute--these gulls are eating fried french fries! It's not like fried fish is going to clog their arteries after all of the fries they consume. This tells you, too, that this is such a landmark place that the enviromentalists haven't stopped people from giving their fries to the birds.

Megan fearlously feeding fries. Erin took out Analise to feed the gulls. Analise wasn't afraid at all.

She started trying to throw fries into their mouths.

Wendy's son, David.

The crew eating inside with everyone else feeding seagulls outside--Kelsey, Kathryn, Scott, Coryn, David, Wendy and Lind.

Kierst and Brynn had people giving them basketfuls of fries...

After stuffing ourselves, we took the water taxi across the sound, where Kathryn, Lind and Cressida waited with cars to drive us to Alkai Beach.

Alkai Beach

Afterwards, we had s'mores at Lind's.

J and Blaine

Chris, Kelsey and Coryn.

We had more adventures--and a baptism--but that's for another post!

Fritz's, Fountains and Fun

A few weeks ago we went to Crown Center with friends and had a great time going to our favorite places: Fritz's, Kaleidoscope and the fountains. I tried to think of a way to make Kaleidoscope start with an "f" so that it would sound really witty on this post, but it just wouldn't work! In any case, it was lots of fun! The pics tell it all.

A Week with Cousin Kendon

After rockhounding we spent the week with my sister Natalie and her husband Steve, and son Kendon. Or should I say, the kids and I spent the week with them. Chris had time to take in a yummy dinner from the Red Iguana (if you haven't been there in SLC you need to check it out), sleep and visit a little then he was flying back in KS for work.

We went swimming a couple of times at an indoor pool (it was cold outside and rainy!!). The kids couldn't get enough of the 2-story slide, and Analise could wander out pretty far in the water without it going over her head. Why doesn't KS have anyplace like this indoors? O.K., besides Great Wolf Lodge which costs and arm and a leg to go to and a new place which is a ways away??
It truly is a small world. Steve's brother in law served a mission with someone whose sister went on art history study abroad with me in 1992. Natalie invited her, some of her family, her sister-in law, Laura and family (who were visiting from CA and who I haven't seen for a very long time) over for dinner.It was great to catch up with her after so many years while the kids played in the park!

Natalie taught gospel doctrine on Sunday. She did a great job dodging the whole caffeinated drinks issue while talking about the Word of Wisdom. As much as I loved sitting through gospel doctrine and Relief Society I have to say it was hard! I felt like I should be running around doing primary stuff instead of sitting.

After church we went to Temple Square. We spent a lot of time in the visitors center looking at the interactive exhibits. Analise liked pressing buttons more than anything else, but the other girls enjoyed the movies.

We stopped in the tabernacle and I couldn't help sharing memories with the girls about how we used to get up really early to stand in line to sit in the tabernacle. We would be packed like sardines sitting on the hard benches around the top of the tabernacle, listening to conference. Utah has gotten more rain than usual and because of that my sister's drain overflowed with water and flooded her garage. She had someone come out to help fix it the next week but until then we were on a vigilant rain watch. Here's my sister bailing out her driveway after more rain. One morning we attended the Oquirrah Mountain Temple open house. This was a real highlight for me and I think it really made an impact on Kiersten and Abs. The tour was pretty much a self-guided tour with signs in each room and so Natalie and I explained what happened in each room and shared our testimonies of the restored gospel. The girls were amazed at the mirrors in the sealing room. The Spirit was so strong. I couldn't think of anything better than being in the temple with my children. I can't wait until they can realize all of the blessings of the temple! This trip was an eye-opener for Kiersten as far as the church goes. We could see 2 temples from my sister's deck, and we passed church after church after church. She couldn't believe how many there were in Utah.

Zoo Day--kids loved it. It's not a big zoo but the animals are up close and personal. I can't help but compare it to KC. A lot bigger but a whole lot harder to get around.
Of course we had to ride the carousel!

Natalie and Kendon.

One day we drove the 3 hours from SLC to Burley, Idaho to visit my parents' graves. My parents spent most of their married lives in Boise, but when my dad died, we felt like he should be buried in Burley, where he grew up. My parents are in the same cemetary as my grandparents, and a lot of other Nielson relatives (Kiersten remarked at how many Nielsons there were)!It's been 11 years since my dad died and this July it will be 3 since my mom died. I think that when someone close to you dies the hurt is almost unbearable. Even after you feel like you've grieved, thinking about them is painful. You push the pain away daily, trying to forget how much you miss them, trying not to think about what you wish you could share with them. Although we were crying, Natalie and I were able to share a sweet moment remembering our parents and laying flowers at their resting place.

Afterwards, we laid flowers at other relatives' graves and drove to nearby Oakley. My great great grandparents (the Haights) helped settle Oakley, Idaho at the direction of the prophet. There's a small museum there that has a beautiful picture of their family and we visited their graves as well as my great grandparents'. Some large photos of my great grandparents hang in my house so it brought a little meaning to them as we told family stories to the girls in Oakley.

We took a detour to Shoshone Falls, near Twin Falls. For some reason I have never seen these falls on a map, but if you're from the area, you know they are there. Supposedly they are taller than Niagra but not as wide. Some years I have been there barely a drizzle has fallen from the rock, but this year with all the rain it was spectacular. When I was about Kiersten's age my dad took me to there after he had finished some business in Burley. I always remembered how amazing it was. It definately did not disapppoint us!

The girls in front of the falls. Analise wouldn't turn around because she was so taken with all the water.
Natalie and Kendon.

Another day we went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point--one of our favorite places! Analise got caught up with the dinosaur puzzles. A lesson in erosion--or just digging for dinos!Uncovering bones.
BYU was a trip down memory lane. We had to stop at the BYU Bookstore and take advantage of Steve's discount. While there, we ran into a friend from med school (who lives in CO) and also my niece, Coryn! I thought she had gone home for the summer so it was a real treat to visit with her for a few minutes!
We toured Steve's office in the new humanities building. Beautiful!

The kids played in the fountain for a few minutes. Analise got a little into it--if you can't tell, she's sopping wet.
BYU Creamery for dinner. Yum! Everyone looked happier after ice cream arrived.The day before we drove home my Aunt Ronda and her daughter Jennifer Jo dropped by. I brought back such great memories to see them. Jennifer Jo and I used to hang out when we'd go to Utah and I haven't seen her in a very long time.We also had a nice dinner with my Uncle Don and his wife Joan, my great-aunt Lucile and her son Norman. The next day we started the long trek back to KS. How did the pioneers ever do it by wagon??

We had a great time with Natalie and family! Thanks for all your hospitality! We just wished it hadn't gone by so quickly. The only thing missing was Chris!