Veterans Day in Washington

When I looked at the school calendar and realized that Veterans Day would be another three-day weekend, Steve and I decided to take a quick trip to Washington to visit Sheldon, Julie, and Jace.  I miss my daughters and their families, so we definitely try to travel whenever the school calendar allows for even the slightest break.

We flew into Seattle on Thursday night after I attended a school staff development day.  I was one of the presenters during the staff development meetings, so I was tired and definitely welcomed the idea of having some rest and relaxation far from Las Vegas and school.  It was cold and rainy the entire time we were in Washington, but we had a lot of fun in spite of the poor weather.  I managed to catch up on my sleep plus spend a lot of time especially with Julie and Jace.  It was just what the doctor ordered!

Friday we went to the zoo in Tacoma called Point Defiance Zoo.  Richard and Roselle drove down from Seattle and met us there.  We spent a number of hours looking at all different kinds of animals.  We seemed to especially enjoy the indoor exhibits the most which allowed us to get out of the cold, wet weather.  After the zoo we went out to eat at Panera Bread and then we did some Christmas shopping.  Later that night we all ended up at Julie and Sheldon's home for dinner and a birthday party for Steve.

Richard and Roselle spent the night with us at Sheldon and Julie's house and then headed home Saturday morning.  Roselle is in dental hygenist school, so she had to get back home to study for an online test later that night.  After they left we drove to Walmart in Shelton and did some grocery shopping,  Then we meandered over to Sheldon's optometrist office which is part of Walmart.  It was fun to see where he works.  He definitely looks official, and I felt proud of his accomplishments.  After he got off of work, we headed for Olympia to eat dinner at Red Lobster.  It was a fun day.  It was really hard to believe that Steve and I had to go home the next day.  The weekend went by entirely too fast, and it seemed much too soon to leave.

Sunday morning we went to church.  It was a good meeting.  It was nice to see where Julie and Sheldon go to church and to meet some of the people in their ward.  When we got home from church, we had a yummy turkey dinner, and then Steve and I were off to the Seattle airport for an 8:30 p.m. flight.  Wow, did that trip ever fly by!  We are excited that all the girls will be home in January when Natalie and Thomas' twins will be born.  It never seems like we get enough family time now that almost everyone lives far away.  We definitely snatch every spare vacation minute we can grab!

We had an amazing view of the moon coming up above
the clouds as we flew into Seattle.

Julie gave Steve and I both a pair of rubber
boots as an early Christmas present.
These are definitely a must in Washington
with all the rain and mud everywhere.

Here we are ready to go into Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma.
Hey, the rain didn't stop us from having a fun day.

We enjoyed looking at the elephants even if it was
wet and cold.

Isn't he cute?

Fall has definitely found Washington.
The leaves were so beautiful
everywhere we went.

Jace loved looking at the walrus, and I think
Roselle and Rich were interested as well.

Panera Bread was inside a mall near the zoo.  After we ate
a late lunch, Julie and Jace rode on the train that
went around the mall on the first floor.

Dad and Rich took Jace to Chuck E. Cheese while Roselle,
Julie, and I did some Christmas shopping at Target.

We had a fun 64th birthday party for Steve Friday night.

This is the examining room at Walmart
where Sheldon works as an optometrist.

This is the contact lens room at Walmart where
Sheldon works in the Vision Center.

We went to Charlie's Safari on Saturday evening.
It is a great place for children to play indoors.

Sheldon, Julie, and Jace were having a great time
bouncing on the giraffe.

This is Julie's yard by her house.  She was leaving for
a church meeting early Sunday morning.

I bought Jace an umbrella.  I tried and
tried to get a cute picture of him holding
it, and I think I succeeded with this one!

After church Steve took a picture of me outside Julie's
house.  It really feels like you are on vacation with a lake
practically in your back yard!

Before heading home in LV, we enjoyed a
yummy turkey dinner.

We are ready to eat!

Such good food, such good company,
and such good memories. . .

Julie is a good hostess; she served us pumpkin pie
before we began our long trek home.