Whale Watching on the Victoria Clipper - Our mini-cation

After a great many
"cations" had happened so far this summer (Charlotte-cation and Nana-cation), it seemed time for our own mini-cation. So, I booked a day long whale watching tour to the San Juan Islands.

It started out great (albeit somehow freezing due to the delightful wind), with us happily residing on the top deck of the Clipper. Approximately three minutes into the trip, Logan and I were pretty much the only people left up there. We ventured down below and spent the next three hours with Logan asking "Where are the whales?!?!" and walking up and down between the three decks of the boat. The scenary was gorgeous and the sun was out so it was thoroughly enjoyable anyway. (See happy Logan above in the Strait of Juan De Fuca shortly after Deception Pass).

Upon finally arriving in Friday Harbor we went out on our whale watching tour which was conveniently re-titled "Whale Watching and Sea Life Excursion." Note to self - when sea life starts to get included and includes an island populated by sea gulls this is not the best option for your child who has been discussing the "J-Pod" for three hours. Another three hours later and all we had to show for it was an overtired boy who has seen one Minke Whale and a few harbor seals at such a distance he assured me they were "just rocks."

What is a minke whale you ask? (I am not making it up - I swear) Minke Whales are solitary whales (not so awesome) that are shy (even less awesome). Fortunately for us it was a juvenile whale so we saw it's tiny fin 4 times. Yay! Seriously though, Logan was a little heart broken by the lack of Orcas and insisted that we sit inside the boat for the last hour of the sealife tour. He only missed the island of sea gulls anyway...

Once in Friday Harbor it was hot hot hot. Finally a little bit of summer! We walked the little town, ate ice cream cones, and went to a great book store where I had enough sense to buy a Richard Scary book.

When it was finally time to board the Clipper back home trauma struck our family. Logan's beloved (tiny) stuffed crocodile (which he had not looked at in a year but suddenly fell in love with at five am today) fell overboard amidst some wild hand gesturing as we waited at the dock. Logan began to wail as if his arm had been broken to the point where he was gasping for air and there was nothing I could do. The crocodile had fallen 15 feet into the water below us and all we could do was watch it slowly sink as there were at least 100 people in front of us on the pier blocking the way to the single file ramp to the crocodile's watery grave. Grown men around me were trying to figure out ways to rescue it but it simply could not be done. A lot of consoling and a small stuffed orca whale toy later (and perhaps a slightly illicit game downloaded onto my iPhone) we embarked on our trip home. Somehow the trip home was the best part of the day.

Very Sweetly, as we walked off the boat in Seattle, Logan decided that one of the "sea life" creatures we saw today would probably really enjoy his stuffed crocodile to play with and declared that he did have fun today. Thank goodness because it was a long day and there were not enough whales! :)

First Sleepover

Charlotte came to spend the weekend with us so her parents could move into their new home and she could practice having a night away before her new baby brother is born.

Day one - a trip to the park for Logan's school picnic and BBQ

Time at University Village getting books, playing on the playground, and trying on silly diver costumes.

Then home for pizza making, watching Tangled,and bath time together (scandalous, I know!)

Day Two - A trip to the aquarium, adoption of two new sea otters (brown for Logan and pink for Charlotte), and a ride on the carousel at the pier.

Finally it was time to go home and play on the new playground and treehouse at Charlotte's new place before saying goodbye. Logan had a great time with Charlotte and can't wait for the next sleepover!

And June rolled by too...

Each month keeps rolling by so quickly these days. Getting into the new place, getting it set up, dealing with the drama of its continuous failure to close due to things outside my control, and suddenly it was July.

We had lots of fun in June though too. We took advantage of the sunshine, biked to the new park, and went to the aquarium with the beloved Charlotte who demonstrated her love of the whale.

May is for Moving

After a year in our little apartment in Eastlake, it was time to find somewhere more permanent to settle into. Lots and lots of hunting later, we found a terrific place. It is in the University District, has a huge patio, and a bathroom for each of us. Logan has declared that we are going to live here forever! It is pretty great that he is so happy here and for me it is like real estate heaven.

May also brought with it Logan's first experience horseback riding at his friend Charlotte's birthday party. He had so much fun riding the pony.

Birthday, Easter and Birthday

Logan is four and since his birthday it has been a whirlwind of activity in our lives.

Logan had a firefighter birthday party and the amazing firefighters on Mercer Island brought their truck to our party place for the kids to explore. It was pretty fantastic and the kids loved having the chance to climb in the truck.

After the group festivities, we went home and had a family party. Quynh-An Phan found a video tutorial for me to make a firetruck cake and here it is. Thanks Quynh-An for the tip!

Then after the birthday festivities it was Easter. And, after that, we were off to California as a family to celebrate the 60th Birthday of the Beloved Nana and the 61st Birthday of the Beloved Grandpa. Good sports that they are, we had a family friendly birthday celebration at Disneyland with the whole family. It was so great to all be together and Logan loved every minute of the trip.

After a few days at the happiest place on Earth we spent a day at the beach in Hermosa. My happy little beach baby dug in the sand, ate dinner at the Kettle, and hung out on the sand with Grandpa.

April was an amazing month for all of us and I am looking forward to our next family vacation extravaganza.