Terry's Take Seattle

Because my creativity is lacking, and I'm struggling to keep up on this space in general, I'm stealing Tiff's titles of the blog posts she wrote recapping her visit and just going with it. 

It's been three weeks since The Terry's (and Aunt Sherrie!) visited us and just typing that out makes my heart hurt a little bit.

I think it's (sort of) funny to read Tiffanie's recap of their visit because it's a very different experience for the person that's traveling versus the person that's hosting.  I think you'll see it if you read our posts after we traveled to Michigan last September (yes, almost one year ago).

I'll just tell you now that her posts are much better than mine and have more pictures.
{part one} {part two} {part three}

While Tiff was braving flying standby with two young kids and her aunt, I was over here pacing and watching their airplane icon travel across the continental United States on my flight tracker app in anticipation.  She was keeping me updated on their progress but the suspense was killing me.  I just wanted them to be here!  They arrived late on Tuesday night and because she is super-mommy-woman, she stayed up and chatted with me for a bit before retreating to bed.

Lucky for her, my children rise with the sun, so while Huck and Elsie woke along with Michigan time (aka early in the PNW), we were not far behind.

It's no secret that Camden and Huck are funny, busy little boys.  So, why I was sort of shocked when they started feeding off each other's energy and stepped over the line between busy and crazy is beyond me.  I have never seen Camden act or behave the way he did while Huck was in his presence. It sort of blew my mind.  And embarrassed me.  A tiny little bit.  As evidenced by the number of times I apologized to Tiff for his behavior.

Oh, you'd like an example?  On multiple occasions, the boys were wrestling with each other and Camden was body slamming Huck and giving him noogies.  Again, embarrassed.

Wednesday afternoon after naps (and lots of coffee consumption by the adults), we took the boys to the park to let them try and release some of their never-ending energy and if I remember correctly, it sort of worked.  Maybe it's because they spent a majority of the time dodging some crazy pre-teens that were running amok on the playground.  I may or may not have yelled at one of them.  Don't endanger my kids, alright?!

Thursday morning we hopped in our separate cars and made the 30 minute drive to Point No Point - a seriously beautiful, sandy beach just north of us.  We got there nice and early to see the tide was high and there was a lot of people fishing.  I can only imagine how thrilled they were to see the boys frolicking in the sand and into the water.  The water was cold but the boys didn't care.  They were happy to splash and throw sand (ahem, Camden).

On our way home from the beach we stopped in Poulsbo to browse, eat pre-lunch cookies and buy donuts from Sluys, a local bakery), and have some lunch.  I don't have any pictures from this little adventure because... Survival.  Zoey was asleep in the Ergo and Camden was inching toward a "I need a nap, like 20 minutes ago" meltdown.  Thanks to iPhones we made it through lunch unscathed and the Peters family headed home, leaving Tiff and her crew to look around more.

Thursday evening, Ryan and Sherrie held down the fort while Tiffanie and I escaped for drinks and dinner at a local restaurant and I cannot tell you how lovely it was to sit, eat, drink, and talk without interruption.  I'm pretty sure we talked about the kids and our husbands the entire time, but let me tell you - uninterrupted conversation with your best friend is priceless no matter what the topic.

  Why we didn't ask our waitress to take a picture of us together at this juncture is beyond me, so I'll blame it on exhaustion.

On Friday we hopped on the ferry and headed to Seattle.  Tiff bought the boys matching shirts that said "Wild One" and boy, were they appropriate.  I just realized we didn't get a good picture of them together in their shirts, but I promise, it was adorable.  

We navigated through Pike Place Market, got some lunch, and ate on the lawn outside the market so the boys could run (wild).  Because I am a chicken shit and don't trust my elder child to get through a nap-less day without imploding, the Peters family again retreated home to try and rest up for the afternoon.     

That evening we proclaimed it "time to play outside" because... Sanity.  We brought out the ride-on Hummer, chalk, the baseball bat and equipment, and bubble machine, and went nuts.  

Because they flew standby, there was some uncertainty as to when they would fly back to Detroit.  Long story short, flights out of Seattle were full and they wouldn't be able to leave until Tuesday.  Selfishly, this was absolutely fine with me, but I knew that they were ready to get back home and get the kids back into their routine.  Both Elsie and Huck (especially Huck!) impressed me with how they adjusted to the time change but I think it was all starting to catch up with them.  We decided their best bet was to fly out of Portland.

Saturday morning, after successfully getting pictures of all four cherubs together (as well as a super unattractive one of the six of us in our jammies that I'm posting because... memories!) we again proclaimed "time to get out of this house," and took the boys to the indoor play center where they became best friends with the big blow up slide and farm.

These sweet girls, I tell ya.  They lived in the photo-shadows of their crazy big brothers the entire time.  Thank goodness they are two of the most relaxed, happy, go with the crazy-flow babies ever. 

The boys were incredibly fun to watch play together.  They played with trains and tractors, played on the little indoor slide, watched a little TV when the mommies needed a little quiet time (that lasted all of five minutes but... silence!), and found themselves hysterical when they repeatedly took turns hollering "hellooo?!" up the stairs.  Huck kept calling Camden "Griffin" (because of his similarly built, blonde haired cousin) and Camden would say "I'm not Griffin.  I'm Camden."  Of course, I think it was Saturday before Huck was saying "Camden" more than "Griffin." Anytime Huck said my name (it came out sounding a little like "Warnen") I pretty much melted into goo and would have given him anything he wanted. 

Even though the girls didn't interact, just knowing they've "met" makes me incredibly happy.  Some day they will see each other again and will do more than lay on the same blanket or swing next to each other.

As much as it pained me (and not because of the drive, but because I didn't want them to leave), we saddled up and drove to Bainbridge Island to take the ferry to Seattle so Tiff could return their rental car and we could make our way to Portland.  Camden was still napping when we left, so I was so sad that he didn't get to say goodbye to his Aunt Tiff, Sherrie, Huck, and Elsie.  You know he was asking "Where Huck?  Where Elsie?" for the next several days.

We made it to Portland safely and after we got all of their stuff unloaded, I couldn't keep the tears away.  Thankfully, I saved the ugly crying for the first few minutes of my drive back home, but I was incredibly sad for them to leave.  Tiff is my person, my best friend.  We talk/text every single day, so getting to have her in my home, talking to her face-to-face, and seeing our kids together was priceless.  Our friendship has come a long way from trips to the mall and dates at Panera, talking about softball, boyfriends, and Grey's Anatomy.  I rely on and cherish our friendship daily.

We were so busy with the kids that we didn't get many photos together, but I'm holding tight to the ones we did.

I can't wait to get to see The Terry's again.  Hopefully sooner rather than later, of course.  Until then, we'll just keep texting each other about our kids' sleep habits, our husbands, our television shows, Grace Patton, and everything else under the sun.  Our conversation frequency has gotten to the point that if Ryan sees me tip-tapping away on my phone he'll just ask, "Tiff?"

Always.

Take Luck,

LP