Month: July 2014

Afternoon in Port Gamble

Leave a comment
It was a perfect summer day that could not be spent in the house, so we took off and headed for one of our favorite spots. Port Gamble is always a perfect place to go any time of year but its gorgeous in the summer. Even if its warm, the ocean breezes keep you cool and the smell of the sound is refreshing. Its a favorite getaway spot and one that included a BBQ joint that Shaun still wanted to try. 
In the past, we never made it over to Port Gamble in time. While the restaurant would still be open, everything would be sold out before we could try it. Not this time! Nope… we got an early start and made it just before the lunch crowd and let me tell you, the world was our oyster.
5 Star BBQ in Port Gamble was AH-Mazing!!
They might be weeds to the average adult, but to a child they are magical bouquets of beautiful flowers perfect for wood sprites and fairies.

After a delicious and filling lunch, we walked around Port Gamble and let the girls play in the open fields nearby. We enjoyed the cool air and the break from the heat. Abby and Ellie gathered flowers, searched for fairies and wood sprites and giggled until it was time to head home.

I love our little adventures. It may seem repetitive to some but to us they are irreplaceable memories that I cherish. I also love that my children get to have memories like these.

Poor Elsa…

Leave a comment
I walked into the girls room and this is how I found Elsa. Poor Elsa. Maybe we should turn this into a Disney version of CSI or Criminal Minds. Was it the bubbly yet frustrated sister or the jealous and 12th in line for the throne prince? Hmmm, I wonder.

EMP Museum

Leave a comment

On their final day in Washington, we took the family back to Seattle Center and decided to show them the EMP Museum. Being that music is a very important part of my life and theirs, we thought this would be a great  place to go. That and the current traveling exhibits appealed to all of us!

Public art installment within Seattle Center.
Playing around inside what Abby called the “giant french fries”.
We see you Ellie!
Boo!
Boo Again!
Love the interesting perspective.
Heading up to the EMP entrance… well hello Space Needle!
Sunlight on the EMP

Along with the permanent exhibits that showcase the music of Seattle favorites, Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana, we also wanted to see LEGO exhibit as well as the SciFi and Fantasy exhibit. The later being one that I knew my sister would really enjoy. Props and costumes from some of films most well known SciFi and Fantasy films? Yes, please! So to make sure that our guests got to see what they wanted, we headed to this exhibit first!

The working guitar tower.
Watching some of the greatest names in Rock N Roll play in the big screen. The girls had fun just dancing around and rocking out.
The hat belonging to the Wicked Witch of the West in Wizard of OZ
Life size dragon as part of the exhibit… he was breathing and at times would blow smoke from his nostrils.
The wedding dress worn by Robin Wright as “Princess Buttercup” in The Princess Bride. I think I squealed out loud when I saw it
The dueling swords and the glove of the 6 fingered man from The Princess Bride.
Hello again, Mister Dragon
I think this one speaks for itself. As to which Superman wore this, I am not 100% sure. I think it was Christopher Reeves but I could be very, very wrong.
Grandpa Jerry, Abby and Ellie trying to make their own little movies. Its not as easy as it looks!
Uniform worn by Brent Spiner, AKA Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Captain Kirk’s chair and the Tribbles.

After a very long but interesting time viewing some of the goodness from our favorite SciFi and Fantasy movies and TV Shows, we took off to visit the Lego exhibit. Here we had the chance to see famous buildings from around the world made completely of Legos. Shaun and the girls really loved the exhibit and what blew me away was the attention to detail and scale. That and they are made of Legos!

Cant have an exhibit in Seattle without a LEGO replica of the Space Needle.
Burj Khalifa, Dubai and the Empire State Building, NYC
30 St. Mary, London and the Flat Iron Building, NYC
30 St. Mary, London and Big Ben, London
Creating their own LEGO buildings

After all of the Lego building fun we made sure to stop in at the more permanent exhibits. The first of which was dedicated to Nirvana and their short but history making career. Then it was over to the Jimi Hendrix exhibit to view his time period in London and the fame he reached there before ever becoming huge in the US.

Pre-Fame Nirvana memorabilia
Kurts famous sweater and memorabilia from the time around the Nevermind release.

The “french fries” from a different viewpoint.
EMP and the Space Needle at City Center
Getting in a few giggles before heading home.

The EMP was a big hit and everyone enjoyed their time there. After what ended up being a longer than planned day there, we set off for home and some dinner before the crew had to head back home to Montana in the morning. It was a great few days together and worth every moment of time off from work. I am going to miss my mom, dad and sister! But as I always say…. until next time!

Freemont Troll Fun

Leave a comment

Today was a pretty tame day. We went out for breakfast, hung out at home and just spent some quality time together. We did head to the city for a bit and revisited the Fremont Troll so that Auntie Jillian could see it. The trip back in April was without her and by the time we visited the troll, people were starting to fall with the horrible Norovirus that swept through all of us, except my dad.

The girls are always up for a trip to the Freemont Troll and this time they even had the chance to do a mini photo shoot with Auntie JJ. This is what fun with Auntie is!

After all of our fun, we headed home for some BBQ done perfectly by Shaun. Then Jillian and I head out for the evening to do a little ghost tour of the city. I know where a few haunted spots are. We had fun until the gunshots we heard near us while driving through the International District at 12am. That’s when we high tailed it out of there and called it quits for the evening. We did however drive past Kurt Cobain’s former residence, over to the Pioneer Cemetery, through Queen Anne and its several haunted locations and over to the site of the infamous Wah Mee massacre. There were a few more in there as well, so despite our brush with gunfire we were ok.

4th of July Across the Sound

Leave a comment
In my very humble opinion, I feel that the best way to enjoy the 4th of July and beat the holiday crowds is to head away from the city and out to the smaller towns on the Peninsula. While I know there are plenty of great celebrations for the 4th near Seattle, we just didn’t want to deal with the crowds. So we headed for the Bainbridge ferry and took off to the smaller towns on the Peninsula.
The ferry was busy but not bad. Unfortunately, we were the last car on and my parents and sister were right behind us. So we took the ferry and then we had to wait for the them to catch up. The day was a bit cloudy and cool. To most people, that would be a huge bummer but for us it was heaven. Despite the delay in catching up with everyone, our 4th was off to a great start.
Patiently waiting to head out the door.
Rainier from the ferry to Bainbridge.
Seattle skyline on the way to Bainbridge Island.
Seattle skylines and ferry boat trails.
Snuggles with daddy
Kisses for daddy too!

Once the troops were rallied and potty stops were made, it was off to Port Townsend for some fun! We walked through some shops, enjoyed the beautiful afternoon and then needed to stop for lunch. We found a new little spot to enjoy and the food was AMAZING. Hillbottom Pie in Port Townsend has some of the best pizza, soups and salads I have ever had.The Clam and Corn Chowders were perfect for the slightly cool day and I didn’t want my bowl to be empty.

After lunch we continued our walk around town and through more shops. So many of them were decorated for the 4th. It was so charming and perfect for the day. To me it was far better than spending the day in a crowded spot.

We wanted to make a stop in Port Gamle on the way home, so we eventually had to pack ourselves up in the car and go. As we drove, the clouds that had hung on for most of the day had started to part and the sunset over the Olympics on the drive home was stunning. Who needs fireworks when you have Mother Nature on your side?!

The perfect clam chowder that I wanted to take home in vats.
All smiles and having fun!
Feeling festive and enjoying all of the decorated shop windows.
Love it!
Silly girl enjoying a break from walking.
Perfection…
Happy 4th of July!

Most of that statement about needing fireworks is true however, after our ferry ride from Kingston to Edmonds we were treated with a fireworks show by the city of Edmonds. We stopped along the street and watched. Sure there wasn’t any music or anything to accompany it because we were too far from the park, but it was still pretty and a perfect end to a fun night. Ah, the adventures!

Adventurous Day with The Taylor Crew

Leave a comment
Grandma Denise, Grandpa Jerry and Auntie Jillian arrived last night! Its been just under a year since I last saw my sister and boy have I missed her. Her last journey to Seattle was a short one and a little more limited because of weather, so I have lots of things planned for her now that she is in town. So to start, we headed over to Pike’s Market and Post Alley for some fun!
We walked through Post Alley, stopping at some stores and to give Jillian the chance to take as many photos as she wanted. We then made our way over to Beechers and one of the French bakeries. We even had the chance to sit and watch them make cheese! Pretty cool to see them make it in such a big vat! After that we strolled through Pikes and watched the fish throwers. It was super crowded, so I didn’t get the chance to take a great picture but we had fun regardless!
Walking through the markets, trying not to buy everything in sight.
The people of the market
Listening to performers and vendors
Tossing a little bit of money into their case.
Shops along Post Alley
Along the streets and the street performers who have been there for years.
Seattle’s iconic Pikes Market… it may be a tourist trap to the locals but I love it.
Pretty fans for the girls…
Classy ladies exploring the sights!
Trying to catch a glimpse of the fish mongers and their fish throwing skills.
Hanging with Grandpa Jerry and the fish mongers.
Watching the cheese making process at Beechers.
After Pike’s Market we decided to do one of our planned trips… Ride the Ducks. Yeah I know… super touristy but I had a blast! Sometimes its OK to be a tourist in your own city and do silly things. I know the Ducks aren’t popular with a lot of people, but its a great way to get an overview of the city and have some fun. My parents, Shaun and of course Auntie Jillian had a blast and Abby did as well. Abby was amazed that a giant car could go into the water too! Unfortunately Ellie fell asleep through most of it but did wake up while we were out on Lake Union. I guess this means we will have to take her again some time. Bummer.
Two cute little duck faces… all ready for some fun!
Ducks, Kings… we know the real winner here…. Go Kings Go!!
Sporting our very best “duck faces” 🙂
My Ducks crew mate. She’s pretty cute!
Auntie Jillian’s adorable crew mate!
The rest of the peanut gallery, ready for a fun and funny tour of Seattle.
Quack, quack, quack!!
Down by the waterfront…
Our hilarious tour guide and captain!
Miner’s Landing
Historic car washes! Its said that while filming here… Elvis would bring his car here every day to have ti washed.
Seattle skyline from Lake Union
Gas Works Park from Lake Union
Loving her time on Lake Union!
From the ducks we decided to have dinner at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants. This was a treat for my parents and sister, being that Bozeman doesn’t have a lot of choices when it comes to Chinese food. After a delicious meal, we decided to make our way back to Seattle Center and enjoy the sunset view from the Space Needle. Like I said, we have guests in town… its fun to play tourist in your own city.
Patiently waiting for the monorail and having a little fun.
Oh silly little Abby!
Enjoying the ride to the Space Needle..
Loving the ride and another break from walking.
Hello Space Needle!
Trying their best to stay still and be patient. The line was a long one!
My beautiful sister… this is her first time visiting the Space Needle.
Finally made it to the top!  Pretty sunset city views!
Sunset city views!
Auntie JJ and her adorable nieces… Abby said she would keep Auntie Jillian safe.
City and mountains at Sunset.
Sunset on the Puget Sound
Hey!  I know them!
A rare moment and photo alone with my amazing husband!
They were having fun up there… I swear!!!

After our stunning views and fun at the Space Needle, it was time to head home. Everyone was exhausted from all of the fun and adventures that we had today, but it was a wonderful kind of exhaustion. Tomorrow we celebrate the 4th of July and goodness knows where our adventures will take us. Until then!

Brave Little Trooper

Leave a comment
 Mommy was a meanie and made poor Ellie go in for her 4 year check up at the doctors office. That wasn’t the bad part though…. it was the vaccinations that she received that made mommy the bad guy. Lucky for me, she was a brave little trooper and I had an easy time taking her for ice cream afterwards. After some crazy colored and overly sugary stuff, the shots were all but forgotten and mommy wasn’t so mean anymore. Thanks 31 Flavors!