Traveling fools

We spent a large part of July living out of a suitcase.

Here's a huge photo dump w/commentary.  Feel free to stop reading at any time.  Let's be honest, this is really a post for grandparents. 

After Galveston, we took a trip to Tulia to see V's parents.  My sister-in-law and her kids were also there so there was entertainment in the form of cousins. 

Every time they heard the train, they would run up to this chair and climb to get a peek of it across the street.

Tulia is very small.  I can run around the whole town in half an hour.  That being said, you would think that I would have scoped out places to take the kids, but all I could come up with was a park two blocks away that I later learned is the drug park.  There were broken pieces of glass in the rocks and graffiti on the equipment, but these two guys made lemonade and found ways to use the trash in their play.  Did they play with used straws?  Sure.  Who am I to ruin a good time?  We just washed our hands when we got back. 

Oh and this slide they're playing with is pretty much straight down...not a big angle.  I might have known this just to watch their faces as they flew down.  Don't worry, I caught them, but their facial expressions were priceless.  This is why they're only playing at the bottom of the slide in the picture.  One time was all.

Getting a picture with everyone was hard.  Maybe because we did it right before bed time.  Ba and Dada (Grandma and Grandpa) were troopers. 

In another afternoon, I walked the boys over to the depot.  Every time I've ever visited Tulia, the depot has been locked.  This time there was a man mowing a very small patch of grass outside and the gate was open!  I had no idea if I was allowed inside or not, but I decided to ask for forgiveness and ushered the boys in for a photo.   I wish I could show a better picture for such a rare event, but this is it.  Usually though, they would be outside of a metal bar fence in front of this area. 

I kept my eye on the man mowing thinking we would be in trouble at any moment.  I watch Locked Up Abroad so I'm always looking to toe the line.  He came inside to water the plants and I introduced myself in a very awkward exchange.  He told me his name and said he was the mayor.  I almost laughed...thinking it was of course a joke...but he was serious.  He unlocked the depot for these guys and let them walk around inside.  He said it's one of the oldest depots in Texas.  
The boys appreciated it none...mine especially, whining about having to pose for pictures.  

Then the mayor dug in his pockets and gave the boys free sonic slushy coupons.  
What a nice man.  Does he always have those on him?

My favorite thing about Tulia is that our room at night has a window air conditioning unit.  It provides a loud, steady hum that knocks Alex out.  I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and played on my phone a couple of hours after he fell asleep and he didn't hear a thing.  
Oh, and even took a picture to prove it. 

We drove home from Tulia, slept one night at home, and then headed to Seattle!

When V was in med school, our friends threw a crawfish boil every summer.  It was a huge party complete with camping in their backyard.
They now live in Seattle and have transferred the event there.

We traveled with our friends, also from med school, and their son who is the same age as Alex.  
Just a fair warning:  We like to make our boys hug and hold hands a lot.  Mostly because it's the cutest thing ever, but also because it really perturbs V.  

The boys did great at the airport considering everyone there hated their life and wanted to drag out every process just as long as they could make it!

We spent the first couple of days in Seattle doing the tourist thing.

My child still wants to be carried everywhere.  He might be too big for this but V and I took turns lugging him up and down the streets.

And even when we "forgot" to bring it, still ended up carrying him...
Jokes on us.

We went to see the Salmon swim up the ladder.

We rode a Ferris wheel to get the "view".

And made the boys hug in front of a water sculpture.  

I call this next one the pooping shot because they are so hypnotized by the water...but they are not really pooping.

We then jumped in the car and drove out to our friends house in Anacortes for the party.  Let me tell you about our car.  V reserved a large SUV and we ended up with an Escalade ("slade").  It was the worst, most nonfunctional car...ever.  It's sole purpose is to haul four homeboys to the club...but it better be close by, because there is ZERO room for anything else (definitely not a dead stripper).  We had trouble putting a backpack in the trunk space.  

I nagged enough for V to try and trade it in the night after we got it, but apparently there was nothing (so he said...)

We found an Army Surplus store and bought rope and bungees to tie our luggage to the top.  Ridiculous.  

Seattle is crazy crowded in July and August because those are the only two months of the year they see sun.  People flock to escape the heat of summer.  It was nice to drive (not really in the Escalade, but whatever)  out to the bay and get some space.
On the first night there, this boy spent three hours throwing rocks in the bay.  
Three Hours!!!

We had some Dirty Dancing moments...

And took in the scenic view.

Instead of crawfish, in Anacortes, we get to feast on crab and salmon.  
I am not lying to you when I say I ate at least 5 of these guys...
It was 10:30 PM, there was a board game going on and I had already eaten all day, and there was still a moment when I thought, "hmmm.  I could eat another crab..."

And I did.

There was a lot of cute playing...

And a little cute fighting...

We took the kids to pick berries because that's the kind of thing you can do in WA.
We made the boys hug and hold hands a lot in the field.  We ate a massive amount of berries while picking (which is allowed and encouraged).  Alex finally tried one to see what everyone was enjoying so much.  And then that was it.  One Blueberry. He hates nutrition.

Just the black ones!  (That's what she said...)

On our last day, we tried to get a group (what was left of the group...sorry Jamie V) photo.  This was our best shot...

We stopped at the Boeing Flight Museum on the way back to the airport...
My kid was done with everything by this point and for some unknown reason, I thought it would be a great time to really stick to my guns about things I should have just let go.  I'm an idiot.
It was miserable.  
But thankfully, V and I have been before and it really is a cool museum.  

Lastly, I'm going to go ahead and insist if you are traveling with small children...invest in the car seat carrier.  Our friends insisted we needed one and they were right.  That thing paid for itself, in my mind, the first day of the trip in the airport.  

I've learned that the best products for toddlers are ones that restrain them from going anywhere.