Longest Train Ride EVER!!!!

Well we are back-got back late Sunday night and are now trying to get back in the groove of things with summer school, summer camp coming up, and getting ready for 1st grade in the fall.

Our trip went well, the train ride was two days each way and we spent a small fortune on food and the food wasn't even that good. We packed what we could-fresh fruit, crackers, fruit cups, juice etc. but you can't pack for 6 meals so we had to eat in the dining car a number of times. On the way up we figured out dinner in the dining car sucks for the price you pay so we opted to do lunch both days on the way back since they had a build your own angus burger on the menu for $7.25 which wasn't too bad. The kids had fun although sleeping in a reclining chair sucked and getting Chase to sleep on the way home took hours. Lots of great things to watch from the train and about a million train depots to stop at along the way. Steve says no more train trips like that again and he doesn't even want to visit the train station for a month at least!!!





Seattle was fun although it was kinda humid which sucked. There was a chance of rain on the 4th which didn't happen but it did keep the weather pleasantly cool and we enjoyed our traditional BBQ ribs along with many yummy side dishes and lots of friends and fireworks. In the evening we headed over to our friends parents house for the night fireworks show put on by Steve and a few friends. Every year the crowd grows and the show gets better and better as the years go by. I'd say there were easily 100 people who came to watch including church friends, extended family and any neighbor who wanted to join. Shane even found a little girlfriend to spend the day with named Peyton and according to Shane she was "SO PRETTY" and he wants to write and send here some letters now. Sadly Steve didn't download all the pics from the train so my camera was full but hopefully we will get some photos emailed to us from friends.

I got to spend a day with my friend Sarah and her three kiddos while there and we had fun having lunch, making a Walmart trip, going to the park, and ordering pizza for dinner. We even introduced her kids to my kids favorite-pineapple pizza-which was very well received. It was fun meeting her youngest who was born just weeks after I saw her last year on our trip!

We visited Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium while there and I got a few pictures on my cell phone since our camera was full. I'll have to post those once I email them to myself and get them up. Chase had a blast seeing the sharks, turtles, and tiger and Shane loved the kiddy playground which had just opened and the show they had in the amphitheater with a whole ton of animals in it!

I always love vacation but have to spend a few days recovering as a moms job is never done and still has to be done even on vacation. Luckily Steve took Monday off too so we had a day to spend together at home. We all slept in enjoying our own beds, visited Downtown Disney, got Shane glasses adjusted, went out to lunch and then went over to Grandma and Grandpa Hartmann's house and had dinner!