After a wonderful Christmas in California, Tara, Aden, and I headed north to Seattle for some time with Nana Kim and Papa Don. It was our first trip to Washington and we really enjoyed our time with family and exploring.
Our first few days were spent at Lakeshore Bible Camp on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. Friends of the Gillaspie's from East Troy work at the camp and were able to put us up in a very nice three bedroom, two bathroom lodge. Aden had a great time running around in the big open space when it was raining outside. With that said, Aden also did enjoy some time running around outside in the rain . . . until he realized how cold he was and started crying. Aden also had fun playing with some new friends. The kids living at the camp really enjoyed getting to know Aden. They came over for dinner one night and we went to their New Year's Eve party the next night.
On New Years day we headed into Seattle and checked out the REI flagship store and out to a seafood dinner with some of Don and Kim's friends that they have met through a church in Seattle. The REI flagship store was awesome. Aden had a great time playing in their kids jungle gym and Tara and I finally replaced our old leaky water bottles.
Up next . . . the Space Needle! One of the USA's landmarks. It was pretty cool to go up and check out the views of all of the mountains around Seattle, especially Mt. Rainier.
Unfortunately, that afternoon, I headed to the airport and was off to Wisconsin. My uncle, Bill McGuire, died very suddenly the week earlier and I went back for the funeral. The difficulty of supporting our families in hard times is something Tara and I think about more since living overseas. Since we can't change what happened, I'll say I was thankful for being able to be there with my family while we grieved Bill, who was not just family, but a close friend also. I was thankful for how blessed Seth and I were with our flights. Seth and I were able to fly in from different airports, land five minutes apart, and share a rental car in Madison. I flew out the next evening so I could fly back to Santa Barbara with Tara and Aden. Seth flew out the morning after and we landed an hour apart in Santa Barbara and drove back to Seth's house together. The timing couldn't have been better.
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| Playing with the other kids at Lakeshore Bible Camp |
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| Picnic time with Papa |
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| The Needle |
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| The scenery was breathtaking |
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| Nana, Papa, and Aden sitting on an otter |
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| Papa and Aden being silly |
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| Touching ocean creatures! |
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| Watching the otters |
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| Aden made a new friend |
I'll turn it over to Tara for the rest of the time in Seattle:
The next morning was all about Aden. We went to the Seattle Aquarium and had a blast. There was an area where you could touch sea stars, sea cucumbers, and other docile ocean creatures. Aden loved putting his hand in the water and touching things. The timing was perfect when we passed the otters because it was feeding time. I was really impressed with how many hands-on activities they had at the aquarium and the range of ages it was for.
The location of the aquarium was nice too because it was right behind the Pike Place Market. We went there for lunch and ate some fantastic clam chowder (which is a family favorite). My dad and I also stopped at the very first Starbucks for a special treat. Most of our afternoons were spent taking a nap and relaxing after our busy mornings. That night, Jamie came back, and we were off the next morning back to Santa Barbara.
After a few more days with Seth and Kelly, we finally went back to Saudi. We had an uneventful trip which is always good in our point of view. School has started back up and we are working on getting into the swing of things again before our next big adventure: the arrival of baby girl!
Tara and Jamie
