Three days after Dylan’s birthday we hopped on a 6:30am flight to visit Grandma and Grandpa at what Jake calls “the BIG ranch up in Oregon”. We really missed not taking this annual trip last year since we were still in the middle of our move/remodel/newborn baby/etc…Since we left the house so early, we pretty much scooped the boys out of bed and put them in the car, so they were cozy in their pajamas during our flight from San Diego to Seattle. And we think that because it was so early in the morning, they were still kind of half asleep while taking in everything around them, which made for an easy flight. Jake was so excited to be on an airplane and kept talking about the jets, and asking what every single picture and symbol meant. So when he saw the seatbelt light and the no smoking light overhead, he asked what they were. We explained the seatbelt light and just dismissed the no smoking light. But anyone who has ever been around a persistent three year old knows that he wasn’t going to let us just dismiss it…instead of launching into a discussion about what smoking is, how bad it is for you, etc… Justin came up with a great idea and told him that it means no yelling or talking loudly on the airplane. Since the light is on the entire flight, Jake kept telling us that there was no yelling or talking loudly on the airplane...Hey, it worked! And the funny thing is now whenever he sees a no smoking sign anywhere (and for some reason our Target has them everywhere, I never noticed them until Jake started pointing them out), he tells me that it means no yelling or screaming! One day we will have to tell him what it really means, but for now, I’ll take no yelling or talking loudly! I just had a thought…maybe I should put no smoking signs all over the house and in the car!!
Ok, back to our trip, of course the second we landed in Seattle, Dylan promptly fell asleep. And he stayed asleep while we got off the plane and made our way through the airport to find a restaurant for breakfast. We found the perfect spot by the windows so Jake could watch the airplanes.
After breakfast and changing the boys out of their PJ’s, we found a quiet corner where they could run around and burn some energy before the last leg of our trip. After his little catnap, this guy was ready to go!
It was a bit of a challenge to keep Dylan in my lap and quiet during the flights, but all in all, the boys did great. And we were so happy to see grandma and grandpa when we arrived!
The next day was pretty hot, so we decided it would be a good day to start our adventures by driving into the mountains and visiting the fish hatchery. But first we had to stop for lunch at the local pub, Brewers Union.
Aside from it having bad lighting inside for taking pictures, this was such a great place! Not only do they have really good fish and chips…
But it was very kid friendly. They had all kinds of toys for them to play with, including a kid sized pool table.
I can remember my mom doing this same thing to me, teaching me how to shoot pool.
When our food arrived we had to corral the monkey’s to eat.
Jake stuck with the grilled cheese sandwich
And this guy was being a cheeseball while eating his sweet potato fries
With full tummies, we made our way to the fish hatchery.
First, we got some fish food to feed some really big, over 50 year old, sturgeons.
The boys loved seeing the fish jump out of the water to get the food
We walked around the rows of fish, where you can see them as teeny tiny little babies and each row they were a little bigger and bigger.
It was fun watching the little fish swimming against the current and jumping into the water pouring in the channels.
There were other things to do at the hatchery as well. They had some small animals and birds to look at.
And Jake and Daddy’s favorite was the miniature golf!
Our last stop was the tiny museum. After looking around we sat down and enjoyed the cool AC blowing while the boys chased each other and the fish around in the big tank.
It was a great way to start off our vacation!
Great pictures Michelle. Your family is just darling. I just got back to SD after spending 3 months in MN. I took care of my sister who had a lung transplant, I learned a lot. She is doing great. Hope our paths cross sometime in the future.
Barb
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