Wets get dis party started!

Those words actually came out of Jayden's mouth.  We were packing up the car to leave Gramma and Grampa's house and I asked Jayden to climb into his car seat.  He said "Okay Mom.  Wets get dis party started."

Carmen and I literally froze for a minute, unsure if we'd really heard what we thought we heard.  And then we both just started laughing.  I mean, seriously?!?  Apparently I say that too much - but I'm not mad.  Because it has never sounded better than when Jayden said it.  And out of nowhere.  Just the best.

In any case.  We had a great trip to Seattle.  I never sleep as much as I want to, but it was very relaxing.  We did nothing and also did a lot.  But we didn't have an official schedule, and that's what was great.

We flew up last Wednesday, with the idea that Jayden would take his nap on the airplane.  The alternative, and what Jayden had planned, is that he wouldn't sleep at all.  It was awesome.  We watched a little bit of Cars 2 on my computer, until it got too scary and too boring for Jayden (turns out Cars 2 is a whole lot more grown up than the original Cars - kinda weird for Disney to do that).  He managed to stay awake until we got into Gramma's car, and then he slept until we got to the ferry terminal and had determined that we had missed the boat.  Luckily he woke up in time to get out and explore before the next boat came in, and we looked jelly fish, boats, the water, etc.  And then we got to "WIDE" on the ferry boat - so ridiculously exciting.  :)

My city from probably about 20,000 feet.  In my mind there is no place more beautiful in the summer.

Auntie and Jayden at the ferry terminal.  He's only sort of trying to escape back into Mama's arms.

The view from my parents' porch.  Seriously so lovely.

Thursday we had no plans, which was great.  My sister and I made it out for a run, we went to a park, we went out to lunch, had a good nap, and then went to dinner on the boat.  It was basically a perfect Seattle summer day.

On the bridge at the park with Gramma.

Daddy climbed the ropes!

Got my life jacket on Mommy!

On the boat, riding up front with Daddy.  Headed to dinner in Bremerton, at the Boat Shed.
Dinner on the boat is one of my family's favorite Seattle summertime traditions.  There are a number of towns nearby where there are public docking at the marinas, so we drive our boat the marina, park it and walk to a nearby restaurant.  The Boat Shed actually has its own dock, so it can be difficult to get a spot but when we got there it was empty so we got lucky!

Not sleeping, just hiding in Daddy's chest because he's scared.  Most of the boat ride was scary; only a few parts were fun. 

Riding home with Mommy.  Mommy thinks she's funny.  Sometimes she is and sometimes she is NOT.  :)

Friday (obviously) was Fourth of July!

We participated in Bainbridge Youth Services' Fun Run - Ellen, Carmen, Jayden and I were signed up to run a mile at 9:00 am.  There was a 5k also, but the timing didn't work well so Ellen and I skipped that.  We figured we'd take a bit longer than normal, but that we'd get through the one mile.  Turns out Jayden decided to be in a mood on Friday so he wouldn't walk, wouldn't run and definitely wouldn't smile.  So I got to carry him on my back for about half of the mile (my quads and back were certainly sore the next day, in case anyone was wondering).  As soon as we hit the downhill part of the run Jayden's attitude kicked back in and he took off.  For my sake it's too bad he chose to run the downhill portion, but for his sake and for the sake of pictures, it turned out to be great.

Starting the sprint to the finish line.

All four of us "running" to the finish line.  Carmen pointed out he never thought he'd see another picture of him running.  And my mom got two!!!

After the run, we did a quick car outfit change (something ferry boat riders in middle and high school are experts at) and headed out to the street fair and pancake breakfast.

Enjoying pancakes, ham, eggs and orange juice in the grocery store parking lot.

#myhusbandscrazysocks
Yes, he really wore these socks and these shoes all day long.

We made a wooden boat!  It was a little challenging, but the end result was awesome, covered in glitter glue, stickers, beads and other random decor.  My mom has the picture of the final product, so I'll post it when I get it !

We grabbed food and then it was time for the parade - so exciting!  Except it turns out the parade seems a lot smaller to me now than it did twenty years ago.  Weird how that happens.  And since Jayden had just woken up from his nap he wasn't really feeling anything so he was not nearly as excited about the parade as I had hoped.  Oh well.

The Navy band.

Bainbridge Island Fire Department.

Even our Senior Centers are Hawks fans.  #12thman

Bainbridge's Filipino American Community.

Cool "fast" cars in the parade!

Watching, but less than impressed.

Once the parade was over it was back to the house to get ready for the party.

Our little fish with no fear.  Jumping off the diving board.  It looks like nobody is there but I promise Carmen is close by ready to "rescue."

A couple of kids showed up - I think the girl was four or five and the boy was three - and Jayden attached himself to them immediately.  They spoke probably a total of five words between the three of them, but were inseparable for the 20 minutes they were there.  It was really cute.

They got a hold of these water guns and were squirting two eighth grade girls who were playing in the pool and were very patient.

Sunset from the pool. 

Fireworks at dusk (which is about 9:30 pm in Seattle this time of year - so great, unless you're trying to put a toddler to bed at 8:00 pm).

Falling asleep with cousin Molly.
Molly was great with Jayden.  She's going in to high school and there weren't really any other kids there to hang out with, so she was super nice to Jayden, taking him on the beach, showing him how to make s'mores and watching fireworks with him.  It was really sweet.

More sleeping, this time on Auntie.  We're pretty sure he was delirious at this point because we're not sure he would have passed out on Auntie's shoulder otherwise.  :)

Jayden made it until 9:30 or 10 and then it was just too much for him.  As Auntie and I were getting him ready for bed, he woke up a bit and said "Mommy?  Mommy, where are the fireworks?!?"  I told him they were outside and he kind of nodded and said "okay," and promptly passed back out on my chest.  And slept all night.  He sleeps in a crib in his own room there, which means Carmen and I have generally uninterrupted sleep, which is really nice.

Saturday we relaxed around the house again.  We visited Mom and Dad's good friends Becky and Michael, because their kids (and Ellen's and my good friends growing up) were home for the weekend.  And then Carmen and I went into Seattle for a date night.  We ate way too much food, but had a good time, and were home early enough to be in bed by midnight (and even that was late in my book!)

The ferris wheel from the ferry boat.  Very patriotic.

Stuffed on the ferry boat.

The Seahawks stadium and the SoDo part of Seattle (for those of you not familiar, SoDo = South of Downtown and is pronounced "So-Doe").

Sunday Carmen, Jayden and I went in to Seattle to have brunch with my friend Maya.  We ate at this great place on Capitol Hill called Americana (for any of you in Seattle, you should try it - the food was great, and Maya and I had lavender mimosas, which were lovely!).  We got back, went swimming and then went to dinner on the boat again (this time in Port Orchard).

Ferry boat!

The other ferry boat, on its way to Seattle as we're on our way home to Bainbridge.  We really couldn't have asked for better weather while we were there.

Carmen relaxing in the pool with his fruity beverage.

Jayden "pushing" Carmen into the pool.  This is one of Jayden's favorite games, to push me and Carmen into the pool and watch us splash.  He likes to knock up off floaty things, push us while we're standing up, push us off ledges, etc.  It puts such a smile on his face it's hard for us to say no.

Riding up front on the boat with Mommy this time.  Still not so happy.

Auntie, after Carmen splashed her with the waves and then (supposedly accidentally) spilled his fruity drink on her feet and shoes, thereby making her salty and sticky.  

No, I said TWO!  Jayden and Gramma at the restaurant.

Riding up front with Gramma on the boat ride home.

Walking up the ramp with Auntie after getting home.  It's about 9 pm when this picture was taken.  And it's still so light outside!

And Monday it was back to Santa Ana (where Mommy's car was, according to Jayden, and Jasmine too).

Getting comfortable on the airplane.  This time he slept the entire flight home - I actually had to wake him up when we landed at about 5 pm.  Poor kid was exhausted.

Alaska airplanes at Sea-Tac.  

It was a lovely trip.  Neither Jayden nor us slept quite enough, but Jayden had an awesome time with Gramma (and Grampa and Auntie, but we all know who his favorite is), and he got to experience Seattle in the summer, which is great.  Michael is convinced (or was on July Fourth after numerous glasses of wine) that he and Carmen will be producing a fireworks show for us next year.  I am not so convinced, but we'll see if they can convince me (and Becky) that it's a good idea.  I got to see a number of my parents' friends who I haven't seen in a while, possibly since our wedding six years ago, and we got to relax.  I got to run on the roads around my house, which is one of my favorite things to do (now) and I killed the largest spider I've seen outside of the zoo in my parents' downstairs bathroom.  All in all, a pretty successful trip.