What a terrible trip to Seattle. Nobody got along, everybody fought all day, there was nothing to do, the older kids picked on the younger kids, the weather was dreadful...Ha! Completely, 100 percent kidding, of course. It could not have been a more beautiful, joyful, or harmonious visit. I can't even remember the last time I saw Luke so consistently happy and laughing for so many days straight. And I can't remember the last time Zach was so consistently treated nicely and cared for by a bunch of older kids. I think it's safe to say we all found our happy place. Now Luke is insisting that we go back in the summer and stay "for three weeks." I'm not sure where he got that arbitrary amount of time, but he is convinced that that's the very least amount of time he needs in Seattle.
So - weather? Fantastic. We started out the first day with shamelessly beautiful weather at an incredible park/garden with 20 acres of gorgeous scenery and countless secret pathways. The girls know the ins and outs of the park and have nicknamed some of their favorite spots ("Orange Juice Falls" "Toilet Bowl Lake" "The Base"). With the girls leading the charge, the four of them set off on a wild and winding adventure while the grownups struggled to keep pace.
Inter-kid relations? Perfect. If you haven't already heard me mention this, the girls prepared for our visit by watching all of the Star Wars movies, and then took us to a Star Wars exhibit at the science center. We also took a ride on a monorail, which was something Zach has talked about for months. When we saw what a tourist-trap rip-off the monorail was, we almost decided not to do it, but Julie said, "I really want to see Zach ride the monorail" - and the rest of us agreed - so we all waited 15 minutes and paid $2 each for two minutes of watching Zach in rail heaven.
Sharing of toys? Of course. Zach enjoyed the trains; Helena and Antonia joined him and made a three-part chorus of high-pitched train whistles. Luke and Antonia enjoyed Wizarding World; then Zach joined them on the iPad playing air hockey. And so on.
Luke-Helena relations? Superb. Antonia kept telling them they looked like twins, which Luke didn't necessarily want to hear, but there was no bickering or quarreling; just hanging out like old friends. And Luke-Antonia relations were great as always; they held hands just about everywhere they went, and stayed deep in conversation throughout.
Zach-girl relations? Breathtakingly sweet. The girls are both such good care-takers and protectors. At our favorite Greek restaurant Helena sat with him in the kids' play area; at the playground Antonia supported him while he hung from the monkey bars. And he happily held their hands as we walked all around town. It's nice to have some big kids who have your back.
The only down side is that very little sleep was had by all. Both Luke and Zach dozed off on the 15-minute bus ride back from the Pike Place Market yesterday; Luke stumbled back to consciousness when we got to our stop, but Zach stayed asleep, almost comically so, for the better part of the next two hours. No matter where Dave carried him or moved him around the house with the hope of him being awakened by the noise, Zach continued snoring obliviously. "Looks like we've got a
Weekend at Bernie's situation on our hands," Dave observed. Ultimately Zach woke up and stayed awake, chatting cheerfully, all the way until the plane landed in L.A. at 11:15 pm; while Luke zonked out on the plane and had to be awakened to walk to the taxi. Somehow we can never get the timing exactly lined up. But look at it this way: In the past six months, we've been lucky enough to have great times visiting cousins in three different corners of the country. So who cares if the kids lose out on a little sleep? We must be doing
something right.
What a terrible trip to Seattle. Nobody got along, everybody fought all day, there was nothing to do, the older kids picked on the younger kids, the weather was dreadful...Ha! Completely, 100 percent kidding, of course. It could not have been a more beautiful, joyful, or harmonious visit. I can't even remember the last time I saw Luke so consistently happy and laughing for so many days straight. And I can't remember the last time Zach was so consistently treated nicely and cared for by a bunch of older kids. I think it's safe to say we all found our happy place. Now Luke is insisting that we go back in the summer and stay "for three weeks." I'm not sure where he got that arbitrary amount of time, but he is convinced that that's the very least amount of time he needs in Seattle.
Zach-girl relations? Breathtakingly sweet. The girls are both such good care-takers and protectors. At our favorite Greek restaurant Helena sat with him in the kids' play area; at the playground Antonia supported him while he hung from the monkey bars. And he happily held their hands as we walked all around town. It's nice to have some big kids who have your back.
The only down side is that very little sleep was had by all. Both Luke and Zach dozed off on the 15-minute bus ride back from the Pike Place Market yesterday; Luke stumbled back to consciousness when we got to our stop, but Zach stayed asleep, almost comically so, for the better part of the next two hours. No matter where Dave carried him or moved him around the house with the hope of him being awakened by the noise, Zach continued snoring obliviously. "Looks like we've got a Weekend at Bernie's situation on our hands," Dave observed. Ultimately Zach woke up and stayed awake, chatting cheerfully, all the way until the plane landed in L.A. at 11:15 pm; while Luke zonked out on the plane and had to be awakened to walk to the taxi. Somehow we can never get the timing exactly lined up. But look at it this way: In the past six months, we've been lucky enough to have great times visiting cousins in three different corners of the country. So who cares if the kids lose out on a little sleep? We must be doing something right.
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