Seattle, obviously, part three

We had to wait until midnight July 5th for Eric to come home so we spent the day in Seattle doing all our favorite things like riding the monorail

and running through the fountain without getting soaked.  Although apparently repeated attempts in excess of 20+ adds up to getting pretty wet.

It was fun while it lasted.

Camryn could not stop herself, it was too fun.

And then she was drenched.  Good thing it was hot in Seattle, not like that happens everyday.

Others were proud they were dripping wet.

 And then we found some other fish

at Pike Street Market.  We waited to see some flying fish but no one was buying at the moment.

It was really crowded at the market

and if you turn just right there is Lonny's old building.  The one where he went to work everyday for five years with the half circle roof on top.

 And there is Emily

and Lonny's building once again.

Then we went to Alki Beach to play

and to eat at Spuds.  It is still so hard for us to go to Seattle without a visit to Spuds.  What is wrong with us?

 And of course the Statue of Liberty which most people think is in NYC:)

It was such a beautiful day, the people, the place, the weather

and the ending.

Obviously, part two

When we got off our Disney Cruise ship on Monday morning Bryce's mom and dad were waiting.  Bryce was so brave to be away from them for a whole week.  He never cried or acted like he was homesick.  He was such a big boy since he had only been five years old for one day when he left his home with Grandpa for the plane ride to Seattle.

Camryn was happy to be back with Bryce and he was so nice to share his treasures.

She did have her eye on Mickey Mouse.  She likes herself a stuffed animal.

We loved having Bryce all to ourselves for a week and seeing his big beautiful grin. 

And Camryn found herself more than one animal.

I love this picture of Camryn supervising Max taking care of Reese.  Looks like Reese can kick him if she is not satisfied.

We had time to spare before Eric arrived.  Grandpa, Justin, Kirsten and Bryce went to the Mariners game.  It helps to have family handing out tickets.  Grandpa thought she needed a baseball hat, and really she did.

And of course we had the Fourth of July with a parade and lots of attempts of trying to get everyone to smile at the same time.  I think they all look cute at the same time.

Jenny does not have a big lap but that did not stop everyone from trying to sit on it.

You know what I hate about parades?  Well I will tell you anyway.  It seems to bring out the worst in people.  You know how you get there and sit in your spot so you can see.  Then the parade starts and people come and stand in front of your children like they think your kids want to look at the back of their legs.  Oh well, nobody died.  Apparently daggers with your eyes to the back of someone's head is not fatal.

And remember, God Bless America.

At least Colton had some train tracks to find his way home.

 So more posing

and wading

and somersault training

and cuteness.

 Then we tried to see who could make the most noise in the neighborhood.  We are still not really sure if fireworks are legal outside of an Indian reservation but from our backyard we can see the best show hands down of anywhere we have ever lived or attended or paid for?

So might as well start them young.

Grandpa and Max had front row seats.

 And apparently there are lots of pyromaniacs in the family.

 And again nobody died but Camryn was looking for a how are we going to put out the fire if  

that's what we do solution.

And more cute grandkids.

We miss them all, the little posers.

Old news, obviously.

There was a time this year that I should have hired a blog writer.  If it didn't appear here did it actually happen?

There is proof in the photos so with gratitude the five week summer should be documented.

Emily's last day of school was Friday, June 22nd.  That weekend was the stake youth conference at a forest service camp across the water from our house.  (How nice and odd to only drive a mile to a stake event.  If we had a boat. . . .)

  

We left on our Disney Cruise to Alaska Monday morning with our grandson Bryce.  There still may be 5 or 20 posts on that subject and we are way out of sequence BUT in order of importance 

Eric came home from his mission on July 5th!!!!  If you had made a paper chain you would know that was three weeks early.  Turns out we needed some prep time for the Townsend's Big Adventure/Move to South America!

And because Eric was coming home so did everyone else.

Camryn and some skipped stones.

Max thinking about throwing rocks.

Bryce, a rock skipper in training.

Eric's plane was scheduled to arrive at 11:50 p.m.  Have you ever heard of such a thing?  We live two hours from the airport, so to avoid a Friday meltdown we stayed in Seattle for the night.   The siblings and Kirsten were all smiles

 and then all of the sudden there he was, our skinny, starving boy returned from Mexico.

Everybody knows the mom gets the first hug

and then Dad.

Jenny, Geoff, Emily, Kirsten and Justin (behind the camera) all took a turn.

And just because you didn't see it here before, we love having Eric back.

Trunk or Treat

Emily obviously doesn't understand the seriousness of the situation.

 

See what I mean.  Try not to get a knife in your head with Emily around.

 
 She does love a wicked Snow White.

 
I hope no one else wanted a tutu in Peru.

 

Okay, who woke Bryce up?

More treats

Emily's Seminary teacher, she hasn't said anything about him looking like this in the morning.

Our Bishop.  Of course.

Little Andrea, one of about 100 Snow White's I saw last night.  I did not see one dwarf out of the 700 that should have required.

Another day in Paradise.

The two Emily's and Scott.

The two Emily's and Scott.  And Bryce.  I saw all the youth getting a group picture taken but my Emily had just taken off with a mad scientist, well maybe some things are better left unsaid.