Gone down south

So here are some things I have concluded from our Seattle trip:

1. The roads in Seattle are strange and confusing

2. Don't rely on the GPS and use some common sense (i.e., even if your TomTom says to go straight and it's a dead end, don't try to plow through the road)

3. A map at 7-11 should not cost $8.00

4. Renting a house is a million times better than staying in a hotel

5. Shopping malls and the Seattle outlet is not stroller friendly (how can I shop if I can't even fit my stroller down the aisles?!)

6. Babies don't really like shopping even if you tell them you are going to buy them cute clothes

7. The Seattle zoo is awesome (the big animals like babies and come right up to the glass, probably because they think Natallie is a good size lunch)

8. Going to the zoo with a 2-for-1 coupon makes it even better (and you can use the $18 you save on an over-priced lunch!)

9. Its unnecessary to buy a baby a toy from the gift store because 5 minutes later, the toy is not new and exciting anymore

10. Going through the border crossing with a cute baby makes the guards ask less questions like "well hi there sweetie, how old are you?!"

11. Stroller-blading is the best way to see a city, get some exercise and fit in baby's nap

12. Travelling in the truck is awesome and the tail gate is the perfect level for changing diapers

13. Always pack waaaaaaaaay more diapers than you think you will need

14. Swim diapers are not meant to be worn for mutiple hours in the car

15. Taking apart a pee-soaked carseat and washing it sucks

16. When ordering at a fast-food place, a small size American drink is actually a large size on a Canadian menu

17. Always pack along extra clothes for yourself on a day trip even if your baby is beyond the newborn spitty phase (unless you enjoy smelling like baby puke the whole day)

18. Roaming charges on your cell phone suck. Walkie talkies are the best invention ever

19. God is so creative and has quite the sense of humour when creating animals (example the black and white colobus looks like a cross between a skunk and a monkey)

20. Going on vacation with friends that have kids the same age is awesome (thanks Sarah & Jordan!)

And now photos from our little road trip...

pretending to ride the mechanical toys at Bellis Fair

example of my point #15 : this is a medium size?!

playing in the fountain is so more fun than shopping at the outlet mall

we went to the zoo with our friends Sarah and Jordan.
They have 2 kids: Corin & Ellie.
Natallie and Ellie are birthday buddies,
born 30 mins apart.

Yay! Finally at the zoo!

ready for Natallie's first time at the zoo

Natallie loved the penguins! They swam right up to her!



Ellie liked the penguins too!

Natallie's eyes were glued on the gorilla

What are you looooookin' at?!

Sarah & Jordan's son, Corin. He thought the gorilla was pretty cool too!

The jaguar must of thought Natallie could of been a tasty lunch and
pounced on the window. It scared me but not Natallie!

Right up close to the jaguar and loving it!

Giraffes were cool but a bit too far away for Natallie to get excited about

Lions (they were a bit far away too, our camera is just zoomed in)

Simon's favourite was the Komodo dragon
...a pretty manly-looking but ugly thing

Corin pretending to be Komodo dragon
(FYI, the one he is sitting on isn't real)

The indonesian tapir, we saw a tapir in wild in Costa Rica
and it was way smaller than this one.

we brought the stroller to the zoo but Simon carried Natallie all day

Grizzly!

the Canadian section of the zoo wasn't quite as exciting for us

we see these at home...although a lot farther away

Simon & Jordan with the kiddies at the end of the trip
(pretty successful outing, I must say!)

Sarah and I with the kiddos (almost everyone looking at the camera!)

Stroller blading around Green Lake in Seattle

Hi Ellie! You are cuuuuute!

Natallie says Hi to Ellie
(not yet learned that it's not necessary to wave right in someone's face)

Natallie sharing her toy elephant that we bought her from the zoo

Stroller-blading to the Sunday Market in Fremont

Don't you want to buy a pulled pork sandwich from a van that looks like this?

on the Burke Gilman trail

Rollerblading to Gas Works Park
(sort of obvious why it's named Gas Works Park)

@ Gas Works Park, not sure what this is but took pictures
Simon said this place would of been his dad's dream and could of spent
all day looking at all the different pipes! (i agree)

@ Gas Works Park
you can see the Space Needle in the distant background

I love you Natallie!

the back of the truck was perfect spot for lunches and changing diapers
(not at the same time)

Mmmmm mango-pineapple smoothie!

You know its a vacation when lunch is ice cream!

Although packing for a 2-nights away had the truck packed full,
it was super fun and so glad we did it!