Like my Wicked reference? Leilani and I started singing this over lunch when we were talking about how one full day visiting Seattle just isn’t enough. For the long weekend, I loaded up the whole family (minus the dogs) and did the 13 hour drive to Seattle to see my family. Crazy right?! Why do I keep doing this to myself? But driving four people is a fraction of the price of flying so we charged all our devices, purchased some movies, and headed out.

I was SUPER excited to be able to bring my step kids Ryan and Ace on this trip too! They’ve never even been to the States before let alone to Seattle! So they were pretty excited the whole way down and chatted and enjoyed the beautiful views and all the new things.

We left Friday after school and went the first seven hours to Post Falls, Idaho where we stayed at the Red Lion. We were all beat from the drive and passed out pretty early. No one was happy when I woke them up at 7am to hit the road, but I was so excited to go and see my family!

Laura and Nick just moved back from Norway and I was stoked to be reunited with both my sisters. Bruce and his wife Lauren were away in Hawaii though so I only got to see them briefly when I picked them up from the airport Sunday night.

When we did finally made it to my sisters house, we were greeted by my brother in law Nick and their dogs but my sisters were in Seattle getting their hair done! I went to visit my mom who was at Bruce’s babysitting my nephew Liam. I didn’t realize that this would be the only time I saw him on this trip, so I’m very glad I got in so much playtime with him.

That evening we had Thanksgiving dinner (sorry I didn’t snap any photos) though it was not quite what I was anticipating. There was not a single store in the area carrying turkeys yet (remember Thanksgiving is late November in the U.S.) but we had four steaming roast chickens delivered via Amazon prime in it’s stead. My family forgot that I’m lactose intolerant though and most of the food was very buttery. Darn it! But the few bites of potatoes I had were exquisite!

After dinner we played games and enjoyed each other’s company. Ryan, the kids and I went to bed really early, we were wiped from all the driving.

One Short Day in Seattle

Do you know what’s so hard about bringing a newbie to your hometown? You want to show them EVERYTHING! And there just wasn’t enough time. Ben and I both had lists of items but because everyone wanted to sleep in (I was up by 7 am bored out of my mind all morning while everyone slept) we got a late start and didn’t head downtown until noon.

We parked in Pioneer Square which gave the kids a small taste of historic Seattle. My sisters told them about the haunted Merchants Cafe and the woman who lives in the very top of the Smith Tower.

1. Ferry Adventure

We kicked off the day with a Ferry Adventure taking the downtown ferry to Bainbridge. I couldn’t WAIT to show the kids all the cars that loaded on, the city views, and how fun it is to stand outside and let the wind whip your hair everywhere.

When we landed, we opted to go for dinner because everyone was starving and went to a nice pho restaurant. Leave it to Ace to order french fries at a Vietnamese restaurant! Ha ha! At least he practiced his chopstick skills while we waited for our food.

After lunch, we went off in search of a local beach to show the kids but all the beaches by the ferry are private. We walked around for a good 30 minutes trying to find a public access beach with no success. Darn it! Something for the next visit I guess.

2. Seattle Centre

I was going to scrap Seattle Centre because everyone was looking so peckish toward the end of the ferry ride but Ben and Laura insisted that we go. So off we went to check out the Space Needle. We didn’t go up it, but we took the typical tourist photo beneath it.

The highlight of the Centre for the kids was the fountain! Ben told them how the goal is to watch the timing of the fountains so you can run in and touch the base and get out without getting wet. Of course, Ace had to accept that challenge. Ryan eventually joined him and even Ben got in on it. It was fun to watch them run and laugh and play. I always forget that even though they’re both very mature kids, they’re still kids and things like this are a novelty.

Once they were nice and wet we hurried for the car to warm them up.

3. Fremont Troll

Ben insisted we hit the troll and big Ryan was actually very interested in it so we went off to check it out. I had never seen it myself. There was a line of people waiting for pictures so we snuck in for a photo opp and then took off. The kids were most impressed by the fact that it was a real VW car built within the sculpture.

4. Target

Yes- I am counting this on the list of our Seattle adventures and do you know why? Little Ryan has never been to a Target! So imagine what it was like for a 12 (almost 13 year old) to walk into a Target? Fun right? So we shopped with my sisters, they insisted on spoiling her and buying her a couple dresses.

I just loved hanging out with my sisters again like we used to. One of my favourite moments from this trip was while at Target. The three of us were waiting for Little Ryan to try on clothes and I told Laura she had a booger in her nose. She then leaned forward and blew onto me (it didn’t get me) and I screamed real loudly and shoved her. It was so us, it was such a sister moment- I miss those two gals and our times together so much!

And just like that- our trip was over. WAY TOO SHORT for such a long drive! But this was a special occasion so we suffered through the 13 hours on the way back. Ryan and Ace handled the trip like champs though! They’ve never driven so far in a car and you never know how kids will act but they napped, listened to music, chatted, and watched movies. And they’ve never had any quality time with my family before so it was so great to watch them chat and get to know my siblings. Next time, we’ll go for a week and the list will consist of beach days, the Zoo, the Science Centre, and the Experience Music Project.

I need to go back for more time with my family so I’ll be watching for seat sales on the next long weekend.