Christmas in Seattle!

We went to Washington for Christmas break and had the best time.  I was so sad to leave at the end of the week.

A rest stop in Oregon

 We started out with a visit to one of my best friends, Paige, and her cute family!  I'm kind of mad at myself for not getting a picture with Paige, but what can you do?

Ellie decided on this trip that she loves Ryan

 We thought it would be a fun idea to get a Santa picture with all the grandkids done this year, so we went to Bass Pro Shop.

Andy wanted his picture taken at this desk

They had a lot to do for the kids while we waited in line

At least the Smith kids smiled

That night we all went down the park and looked at the Clam lights that Ivars puts out every year.  The entire time we were telling Ellie and Max to slow down, stop running, etc.  Finally I shouted "Stop Running" and the slammed into each other and both went flying, just like we knew was going to happen.  But they are both made of tough stock and after shedding a few tears, on Ellie's part, they were both fine.

The kids felt like they needed to warm their hands

My sister Rebecca is a warrior woman and works nights, so whenever we are visiting we try to take the kids out of the house so that she can rest in peace.  We loaded up the van and took the kids on an adventure in downtown Seattle.  We went to the public library, Gas Works Park, the Freemont Troll, ice cream at Dicks, and ended our visit being stuck in traffic for almost 2 hours, but at least the kids were good.

Freaky red hallway in Seattle Library

Jack in king of the troll!