Seattle - Journaling Only

First a disclosure- this is just journaling because I dont have a camera and the only way to get pictures is to get them from my Mom or Lacy.

In order to make it to Seattle my day began very early. I had to have Porter packed and ready to go with Sam to meet his parents in St. George. Ruby and I had to be packed and out of the house by 9:30am (MST) to make it to the Las Vegas airport by 1:15pm (PST). Everything went very smoothly, even though I was having major anxiety (including crying) about flying without Porter, until I got to the airport. My flight was like 2 hrs late so they rerouted me through SLC, yeah I could have driven to SLC way faster then driving to Vegas and fly to SLC. I then flew onto Seattle and when I arrived there my Mom, Dad, sister (Lacy) and niece (Josie) where waiting for me and had been waiting for like 2 hrs. Well of course because of the rerouting they lost my luggage and car seat for Ruby. In the end everything turned out fine but at the time it was just what I didn't need at 9pm (MST) when I had been already traveling for 12 hrs.

My Dad was way too put out and mad to stop and get me food on our drive to Bothell because he had to wait for me but yet he had eaten at Denny's while he waited for me. We checked into our hotel room and the front desk girls where so nice to find me a portacrib and fill Ruby's bottle with milk. I finally got to eat at like 10pm because there was a McDonald's next to the hotel. Carri came and hung out with us while Palmer helped his family decorate for their open house.

Sept 13th - On Saturday Ruby woke up early and we went to the front desk to find my luggage had been delivered!!! We showered, got ready, ate, meet up with Carri and headed to downtown Seattle for a tour. Carri showed us her school, some of the houses she lived in and the many lakes that surround Seattle. I do have to say that Seattle is absolutely beautiful. The weather was perfect with clear sunny skies, which Carri's says it is always cloudy and I do not believe. I did hear a few people complaining about the heat though, it was 85 degrees, ha ha ha thats not hot! As Lacy and I kept saying its amazing what a little rain can do, the trees there are huge and it is green everywhere.

We walked around Pike Market, which is so cool. I got honey sticks to keep Ruby happy and a bunch of flowers including Stargazer Lily's for $5. We walked to the pier and at at Ivar's. When Carri first moved to Seattle she had a video of herself feeding the seagulls at Ivar's and it was so fun to get to be there and do that. I fed the seagulls, which was slightly scary, and even held Ruby's hand as she feed the seagulls. We had yummy salmon chowder and fried salmon was was so good. I got a fun shirt from Ivar's as my souvenier and then we shopped around for souveniers for the kids and our boys back home. Ruby got a bear with a Seattle ribbon around its neck who we named "Seattle". In true Porter/Parker fashion we got them matching Seattle pirate shirts and a pencil.

We then drove to the space needle and attempted to park. The parking in downtown is really weird and they have one-way streets with back in parking only. My Dad found a spot but in order to park backward he had to turn around and just as we were getting ready to back in this jerk pulled forward into the spot. Well....my Dad lost it. He was yelling at the guy and actually got out of the car to confront the jerk. I have never been so embarassed in my life and totally afraid someone was going to shot us. All of us girls in the car where yelling "No Dad dont!" "Dad dont get out of the car!". Well the jerk wouldn't leave and we had had it so we parked at a McDonald's and half of us went inside to cool down with an ice cream (to justify parking there) while Lacy and Josie went to the space needle.

We left downtown and went back to safe Bothell to check out the decorations for the open house. Palmer's family had done an amazing job and his Mom was is so creative. We loved all the decorations especially since we didn't have to do any of it. Back at the hotel we swam and took naps in preparation for the long night.

The reception was great and we got to meet all of Carri's roommates and friends we had heard so much about. We got to see a second performance by Palmer, his brothers Austin and Julian and Palmer's best friend. This performance was much more theatrical and entertaining and we really got to see Austin and Julian's personalities come out. We ate lots of chocolate dipped foods in the chocolate fountain. Palmer loves chocolate fountains and hopes to have one running full time in his house one day.

We took family pictures at the open house and since Trisha didn't get to come to Seattle we had Carri's roommate Megan, who looks a lot like Trisha, stand in for her. It was hilarious because my Mom was totally egging it on and they even made a mating dress for Megan out of a tablecloth. Megan was a really good sport and fun to have as a temporary part of our family.

After the reception some really loud cousins of Palmer's took over the microphone even though Julie had told them their songs where not appropriate. We cleaned and cleaned. Ruby went to sleep in my arms and I held her for what seemed like forever. Josie accidentally ran into a wooden scewer that embedded in her leg and she had to pull it out! Thank goodness the church has a first aid kit. Ate at McDonald's again after the reception and went to bed.

Sept. 14 - On Sunday we went down to the Lock's for a nice walk through the botanical gardens. We got to see the boats sail into the Locks and the water raise and the boats sail out. Ruby loved the salmon ladder and kept yelling "fish, fish" but wouldn't get close to the "windows".

Lacy left us and went to go stay with some old neighbors she had that had moved to Seattle. We got to go to church with Palmer's family but Ruby wouldn't be quiet and we were all tired so we left after sacrament. I tried to get Ruby to nap at the hotel but she wouldn't and she was getting so loud and whinny that it was driving me nuts.

We went to Palmer's parents house for dinner so that we could visit with his family and get meet some of his extended family. Palmer's family is fun and funny! Palmer and Julian sang comical songs for us that had us all busting up. Ruby was still grumpy but finally Aaron(Palmer's Dad) won her over. Aaron loves babies because he said in this world every child needs as many friends as they can get. Aaron and Ruby picked berries and fed them to the neighbors pigs. Unfortunately we had to leave the fun and headed back to the hotel to put Ruby to bed.

Sept 15 - On Monday morning we really only had time to eat, get ready and pack before it was time to check out. We drove to Carri's apartment and helped her get her kitchen clean. Carri had sponges and Ruby loved scrubbing the floor on her hands and knees. My parents left to fly home and Carri and I made plans to go shopping. We shopped but were in a hurry the whole time because Carri had an appointment to sign her rental agreement. I did manage to get a few things including clothes for Ruby.

We ended up getting stuck in Carri's apartment waiting for her landlord to fix the garbage disposal. Ruby was whining and crying and making us all crazy. I could tell it was too much for the newlyweds to deal with Ruby and trying to unpack and organize an apartment. The landlord flaked out and since we were starving and didn't have the patience to go to a restaurant we went to Taco Bell. Ruby was pretty awful and loud at Taco Bell and more the same when we got back to the apartment. Palmer had planned to spend the night at his parents to visit with his visiting extended family and to allow me to sleep in their bed with Carri so off he went. Ruby was awful and I finally got her to go to sleep which was just blankets and pillows on the floor. Carri and I watched Arrested Development but Carri really just went to sleep. Ruby started making noises so I ended up sleeping on the pillows on the floor which was just fine so Palmer could have stayed.

Sept 16 - The Breaking Point
I decided this day needed a title. Carri and I took forever to get ready and by the time we left her house to do some more shopping it was Ruby's nap time. We shopped and Ruby slept for 30 mins. We went to the grocery store and Ruby was so loud and whining that I was literally about to lose my mind and had to leave the store and call my Mom. I couldn't believe how bad she was behaving and it was iritating everyone. We went back to Carri's and met Palmer there. As we walked in Ruby was whining and I could tell Palmer was in a bad mood and I lost it. I picked Ruby up and went for a walk. I was so upset that she was acting like this and that I was losing it. I was on the verge of tears and needed to get away and figure out how to get Ruby to stop whining. Carri lives next to a cemetary that has an amazing garden with walkways in the middle. I took Ruby for a walk, to wear her out, and to get away. We walked over the bridges, listened to the water and enjoyed the flowers. Ruby got to play in the sprinklers, she LOVES water. I had an epiphany, it was totally my fault Ruby was acting this way, I am a horrible mother. She was in a strange place and had been traveling to strange places for three weeks. She hadn't been napping consistently and had been going to bed very late. She wasn't able to just play and be a kid for a few days, normally she is very indepentant and just cruises around our house and backyard and she hadn't been able to do any of that. I should have just been more consistent and made sure she got good long naps and went to bed on time. It was time to put Ruby before me having fun with my sister. I dont know what I was thinking she was driving me nuts and I should have never have let it get that bad.

After the walk and playing Ruby was already much better, not good, but better. We ate dinner and Carri drove us to the airport. The Seattle airport is very nice and even has a play area for little kids and Ruby loved playing and climbing all over everything. The nice TSA guy told me about the play area, can you believe it the TSA guy, he must have children or knew I looked like I needed a break.

The flight home was non-stop which you would think would be good but I hate flying and the thought of being in the air for 3 hrs was terrifying. We found a wonderful lady named T'angela who was playing with Ruby before the flight and I knew would be a great person to sit by on the plane. She helped me keep Ruby occupied and even watched her while I went to the bathroom. She told me all about her daughters upcoming 21st birthday party, her job, her family and kept me distracted most of the time. Ruby never went to sleep so it was nice to have someone help me with her on the plane. We arrived safely in Las Vegas and Sam's sister, Anna, picked us up. I drove Anna home and then drove on to Mesquite, NV. All I wanted to do was get home, see Porter and be done with traveling. It was midnight when I reached Mesquite so I had to stop even though I wanted to keep driving.

Sept 17 - I woke up super early in PST and realized Sam had a meeting at 9am (MST) and I had to get there before the meeting so Porter didn't have to be babysat again for the third day. I put Ruby in the car and we barely made it by 9am.

I was so glad to see Porter and to hug him and kiss him! I think this trip was the longest I had left him. I was so glad to have all the flights over worth and I didn't have to worry about dying anymore. I was so glad to be home and to be able to put Ruby to bed in her crib and to have her be able to play with her toys and wander in the backyard and to put her back on a schedule. I was so glad to be home with Sam to have OUR family back together. I am so so so happy to be home that there aren't words enough to discribe it. I just want life to be normal, our normal crazy life, but normal.