Snoqualmie Falls- 1.4 miles out and back, 250 feet elevation gain
Pass-none Difficulty-1/5 Rating-3.5/5
This past week my mom and sister came to play! It was SO much fun having them here! It was a busy week and we tried to be able to do as much as we could while they were here! The weather was OK while they were here. It was definitely a chilly (low 60s) week and we got more rain than we have in the past little while. But I think they enjoyed a break from 100+ temperatures. The last day they were here it rained a bit and slowed us down a little. Luckily we were still able to do a lot! The sun did come out on and off while they were here. Sadly the clouds didn’t lift enough to show off our awesome mountains! Next time!
Wednesday morning me and the kids left early to go to Bellingham to go and pick up my mom and Beth. (Bellingham is just over an hour and a half away and generally their flights a decent amount cheaper than the Sea Tac airport.) I love drives and my kids do great in the car, so I was excited to be able to pick them up! We ate at a small breakfast place in Bellingham after they landed. I can’t even remember the name of it. It was a little strange, but the food was good and not overly expensive.
After we left Bellingham we wanted to do a little hike. Over Mother’s Day weekened Chris, the kids and I went camping at Deception Pass. I LOVED it there. Lucky for us Deception Pass isn’t too far from Bellingham, and not too far out of the way on the drive back to Seattle. I knew it was must see spot for them. We parked the car, walked across the bridge, and went on a small hike. I loved being able to show off the beauties of the Northwest to my family! That area I especially love. It has everything that is great about the Northwest. Forest trails along the water! The kids eneded up running most of the way and they loved having Mimi play fun games with them along the trails!
The rest of Wednesday I think we just spent around our house. The kids wanted to show off all their toys to Mimi and Aunt B. My mom and Beth had been up since 230 that morning so they were ready for bed fairly early!
Thursday morning we got up and got kids ready. I was able to drop the kids off at the day care at the preschool (the MAC) while my mom, Beth, and I went and got pedicures! It was a lot of fun to be able to do that! Pedicures were great! We then picked up the kids and went to get lunch in Ballard. We parked and walked around a little bit. We decided that burgers with the kids would be easiest so we went to Lil Woody’s, a hamburger place. It was really good and I think we all liked what we got! We then walked down the road a little ways and got cupcakes for dessert.
After lunch the kids were wanting to go play on a playground so we went to Golden Gardens (the beach) and played for awhile and ate our cupcakes there. We were all tired after that so we went back to the house for some quiet time.
When Chris got home it was the sunniest it had been all day, the kids were rambunctious so we decided an outing would be a good idea. We decided on going to the Ballard Locks. I have never been before and it has been on our bucket list since we moved here. I was really excited to finally go! We LOVED it. It is such a cool place! We were able to see a few boats go through the locks. The locks connect the Sound and Lake Washington/Lake Union. The lakes are over 8 feet higher than the Sound is so its like a boat elevator as well. It is really cool to see and I highly recommend it. The locks really have a lot going for them. There is a botonical garden that is part of the park area. Sadly we didn’t really have time to walk through the gardens much, but what we did see was beautiful! There are also the fish ladders there. The fish ladders are really cool too! The fish ladders were built to help the salmon migrate back to their hatchig waters to spawn. Wikipedia has a lot of the information on the locks/fish ladders that is really interesting. We were able to see sea lions as well which is always fun!
The locks were such a beautiful, interesting place. I think we will spend a lot of time there. After we saw the fish ladders the kids found a huge hill to run/roll down. They also played fetch with a friendly dog there. When we were playing on the hill we were really close to the heron nests there. (There were so many HUGE herons up in a tree.) All of a sudden all the herons went CRAZY! I guess there was a bald eagle that was trying to get to the Heron’s eggs/babies. We were able to see the bald eagle getting chased off by other birds. It was such a cool and unique experience! On the way back home we stopped at a shack for some clam chowder and fish and chips. (The fish and chips were nothing special, but I think we all liked the clam chowder.)
Friday morning we got up and caught the bus to City Center. We walked around the Space Needle area, got some hot coco and decided to take the monorail downtown. The monorail was built for the world’s fair that was in Seattle. There is only one stop and it is a quick ride. It was fun, but a lot quicker than I thought it would be. I am glad we did it. We then walked down through Pike Place Market. It was the busiest I had seen the Market since I have lived here. (We did see two cruise ships docked on our way into downtown.) It was too crazy for us to enjoy the market or browse, but we did get to taste some declicious fruit. Aunt B was able to see the fish get thrown as well so it was a win. We then went to the aquarium for a few hours. We got the family pass when we first moved here which was a great idea. I have yet to pay for any of our guests to go which makes looking around for a short time totally worth it! I think this was Ryan’s favorite time at the aquarium and he seemed to look at everything! After the aquarium we went for Aunt B’s favorite sandwhich that she had last time she was here. It didn’t disappoint! (We got it at the Alaskan Sourdough Bakery, the sandwhich is called The Italian Sandwhich. We like it there because they have the clam chowder in bread bowls as well.)
After lunch we made our way back to the bus stop, but decided to get some gelato that was near the bus stop before we went home. It was delecious and I would totally go again! We got creme brule, lavander honey, orange cream, and a cookie one. (We got the orange and cookie one for the kids thinking that they would like that best, but Ryan LOVED the lavander one…who knew my picky boy would love it.) Both kids loved all the flavors we got and all of them were so good I would get all of them again!
When we got home we had a few minutes of quiet time then we had to go to Shoreline to look at a house we were interested in. (We did put a bid on it, but didn’t get it.) After we looked at the house we went to Richmond Beach in Shoreline and walked around for a bit. It was cold and windy and my poor mom and sister were freezing there! On the way home we stopped for Thai food and we were all in heaven. I think Thai food is the best food!
That evening Beth stayed with the kids while Chris, my mom, and I went for a walk. We ended up walking to the secret beach in Magnolia. It was a really pretty walk and it was nice that I was able to go kid free and visit with my mom and husband!
Saturday morning we woke up and drove to Arlington to go see the Kangaroo Farm. We got there too late for one tour and too early for the next, so we went to the Arligton Farmer’s Market. They were having a car show as well and it was a lot of fun to walk around! We drove back to the Kangaroo farm and got to play with the Kangaroos. It was a lot of fun and we all loved it! I would highly recommend it! We were able to go in the pens with the animals. We were able to feed and pet them and we were able to spend a lot of time with them. Both kids really liked it! (there were donkeys, goats, alpachas, peacocks, and a mini horse there as well.)
After the Kangaroos we decided to get fish and Chips back home at Little Chinooks. After lunch we decided to walk around Discovery Park. We missed the beach shuttle so we decided to go on a small hike instead. The kids were also able to show Mimi and Aunt B the zipline they love so much! It was a very busy very fun day!
Sunday we don’t have church until one so we woke up and decided that we wanted to go to the beach again. We went to Carkeek Park. I had never been before, but had been wanting to go for awhile. A friend of mine recommended it for seeing tide pools. The kids played on the playground for awhile and walked along the beach. It was really pretty place and a place that we will go back to! Went home and got ready for church, then we went to church. That evening we watched Zootopia as a family. The kids liked it and the adults liked it too so it was a win!
Monday we woke up and Beth stayed with the kids while my mom and I went to a bakery called Fuji Bakery. We ended up getting these corn flake cinnamon sugar coated, custard filled donuts that were to die for! Then we rode the bus downtown and took the ferry to Bainbridge Island. I really wanted to take them to the Bloedel Reserve. The reserve has turned into one of my favorite places. Sadly it was closed and I didn’t realize that until after we bought our ferry tickets. (They aren’t opened on Mondays.) Bummer. We did go to the water front on Bainbridge Isalnd and we found a park with good monkey bars. Ryan was finally able to show off his mad moneky bar skills to Mimi and Aunt B. We then walked around Bainbridge Island’s downtown, ate terriyaki, and got ice cream (Aunt B got a crepe instead.)
When Chris got home that evening my mom and Aunt B babysat the kids so Chris and I could go out. It was nice to have some time with just Chris. We did stop by Shari’s Restaurant on the way home and we got pie for all of us as a treat!
Tuesday was the worst day weather wise, which was a bummer, but it didn’t stop us! We went to Snoqualmie Falls, another of my favorite places. We just stayed at the top part of the falls and didn’t hike down, which was a huge bummer! But the weather wasn’t great and Lilly was throwing a huge fit. We did go to the train museum near the falls, which was small and cold. We did go to some outlet malls near by which was fun! Then we stopped and got Mt. Ranier cherries that were declicious. We stopped and had Indian food for lunch. It was really good and I was impressed with how much Lilly liked it and ate it!
On the way back to our house we stopped and got some chocolates at Boehm’s chocolates. That was a fun little place! Once we got home my mom and Aunt B had to pack up and get all their things together.
Wednesday we got up early got more of those yummy corn flake donuts, and drove to the airport. Goodbyes are always so hard and I hate them, but I am SO glad I got my mom and sister for a week! We really had so much fun! There is so much to do here and we definitely didn’t have enough time to do it all in, but just spending time together is the best! I am grateful that they came and we miss them all so much already! Ryan is ready for them to come back, but wants them to bring Papa next time!
