Alaska 2025: Part 1 Seattle and Sea Days (including our 19th Anniversary)

 Ever since Justin and I went to Alaska with my family in 2019 we wanted to come back with our kids. We waited until James was old enough to appreciate and remember the trip and we some of our kids needed to work on their table manners so we could enjoy the dining experiences. We kept our eye out for a good deal and itinerary and booked this cruise in November of 2023. We told the kids at Christmas time, "Hey we're going on a cruise! But not for 17 more months!" They were excited of course but kind of got sick of us ever talking about it because it felt like it was never going to come.

Well the day did come. 

Day 1 5/23

We got up at 5am to catch our 9:25am flight to Seattle.

Running on pure excitement and Excedrin.

I got to sit next to Erica on the way there. This was all the kids' first time flying. She was nervous but everything was so exciting!

James and Justin were seatmates.

Sarah near me and Henry behind Justin. Corey and Nadine were on the flight as well and they were across the aisle from Henry. It was a small plane so we were closer together than it seems.

I got the first seat after 1st class which had amazing legroom. But it meant I couldn't have my bag down in front of me and gave me an awkward straight eye view to the flight attendant. Super hard to avoid eye contact during turbulence.

The flight was short and mostly uneventful. Here's Mt. Rainier and a view of Puget Sound.

 

Off to baggage claim....

 

And then waiting for the airport shuttle.

The kids loved the luggage cart at the hotel.

Was it even noon by this time? We dropped off all our luggage and got some lunch at a Japanese restaurant near our hotel. The food was pretty good but it had the most disgusting and dirty bathroom I have ever been in. I'm surprised none of us got sick if that's how they run things. Good thing (bad thing?) we had all finished eating or I wouldn't have. Then we took the train to downtown.

The 5am wakeup was catching up to us.

Where to go, what to see? Downtown is really pretty because there are so many trees and the buildings have lots of character. 

I came to Seattle when I was 14 with my family. I don't remember downtown being so pretty. I really only remember eating clam chowder for the first time.

We made our way to Pike Place Market because I wanted my kids to feel like they had really been to Seattle.

Erica can always find a sloth.

 

This if for my sister Rachel who loves ginger ale (all my family does.)

 

So much to see. The kids didn't really enjoy it though. It was pretty crowded.

Famous fish market. We heard them yell and throw fish.

My favorite was the flowers and watching this woman assemble a bouquet for a customer.

James really wanted to get down to the water so we headed away from the crowds.

Henry wanted to see the Space Needle but we were far away and pretty tired at this point. He hiked up to the top of a walkway and spotted it so that had to be good enough.

Erica's impression of a homeless person. Just kidding, she was just so tired. There were a lot of homeless people who were obviously high and lots of drug paraphernalia. It was heartbreaking and jarring. I don't think the kids noticed or at least they didn't ask anything about it.

We were so tired and hungry and food downtown was pretty overpriced so I found a pizza restaurant down the train line in Columbia City. I loved this part of town and the pizza was delicious.

It was just the most charming area and refreshing after the chaos of downtown.

Restless kids taken outside while the others finished eating.

Then we stopped at a little grocery store to get some ice cream and ate it at the park next door.

And then back to the hotel. I made all the kids give Nana and Papa a break for awhile since the girls were sleeping in their hotel room that night, the boys with us. I logged more than 17,000 steps that day.

Day 2 5/24

We had a little time to kill after hotel breakfast and before our shuttle arrived to take us to the port.

This little park and lake was right behind our hotel which surprised me since we were right by the airport and in a more industrial part of town.

 

And then we got on a shuttle to the port. We drove pretty close to the Space Needle so Henry got an even better view.

There's our ship. It was huge and new and beautiful. It's kind of weird I didn't get more pictures of it.

After a lengthy embarkation processes and my "red folder of all importance" with passports and birth certificates, we made it onboard. We headed all the way up and to the ice cream, of course.

First of a million ice cream cones.

We explored the ship including the kids and teen areas.

Then back outside to watch us sail away!

"Henry, the Space Needle!" for the 20th time that day.

And then the kids swam until dinner.

Justin and I went to bed early. The kids stayed up at the kids club until closing and came into our room holding ice cream cones to say goodnight.

Day 3 5/26

See the sun breaking through the clouds on this beautiful morning? Little did I know I wouldn't see sunshine for 72 more hours.

Henry's quote of the day: We're at sea level? See how sick Erica and James look at breakfast?

James cracked me up in the dining room. He was hungry and flagged the waiter down and said he was ready to order.

All the kids except Henry were feeling a little seasick. Sarah the most sick. After throwing up we moved to the top deck so she could get some fresh air while we played cards. A angel of a woman on a granny scooter wheeled by and could see that she was sick. She talked to her for a few minutes, wheeled away and then came back with some seasickness patches.

Within an hour Sarah was eating ice cream and watching Fall Guy with Erica. Blessed, blessed woman.

The entire time on ship I could easily find my family on the app with their medallions. What a lifesaver. I let them all wander and go back and forth to the ice cream shop and pool and our room with no problems. I wasn't expecting this little feature to be so helpful. The kids had so much freedom and saved us all time with coordinating and searching for eachother.

90% of the time they were at the pool and hot tubs.

It was so cold and rainy but they didn't care.

Justin and I took the opportunity to test out our rain gear out on deck. It was scary windy and the rain was pelting us in the face pretty hard and we lost momentum walking around on deck. Good times.

When we got James from the kid club, he showed us his medal for winning the foosball tournament.

Formal night! These kids clean up well.

Corey and Nadine do too.

This day was also our 19th wedding anniversary so we ate at a restaurant on ship instead of the dining room.

Me being so fancy.

He being so handsome.

The food was amazing. We ate so much good food but the favorite part for me was the little piles of exotic salts they put on our plates to eat with our steak. We love salt.

19 years! 

Up next: Port days at Ketchikan and Juneau

Another School Year Ends

The 5th grade held their wax museum so I stopped by during my class's recess. It was so loud in the gym and I could barely hear Erica recite her part about Ruth Wakefield but she did a great job. (Ruth Wakefield invented the chocolate chip cookie so she's pretty beloved at our house.)

Being the luddite that I am, I am late to the game on new technology and am wowed by things that everyone else is over. My new phone has a stylus and I stumbled upon a fun little drawing app that turns your drawing into art and it's the new fun thing to do. My little kids like it so much they get ready for bed super fast for a chance to draw a few things.

James's

 

Erica's

Mine

It's really good for my self-esteem.

Saturday afternoon we took Sarah to Morgan County to meet with her Kenya group. I didn't want to look middle class so I didn't take any pictures of the mansion we were at but this place was big and fancy. The room we were in wasn't even in the main house but some sort of fieldhouse/guesthouse. They had lots of information to go over like don't talk to airport security without an adult present and the Kenyans will most likely want to touch your hair. Justin and I stayed through dinner.

We went for a drive through the valley and stopped at an ice cream shop because that's how we roll.

It was very good. We were full when we started so....

We drove back to the ginormous houses but Sarah still wasn't done so I made Justin go for a walk with me around their neighborhood. Red brick houses are my favorites (and I like a lot of house styles) and this one is especially pretty.

Alright, onto actual school things. Erica and Sammy came to visit me for the last time. Erica comes in at least a couple of times a week to see how I'm doing or to fill me in on the drama of her class. This day I put her and Sammy to work. I'll miss her next year when she goes to the middle school.

My center was sidewalk chalk which means I get to hang out outside while they rotate out to draw for 10 minutes and then the next group comes out. Izzy drew a heart with my name.

Second attempt after I told her how to really spell my last name.

Third times the charm.

I also took the opportunity to take their pictures as they drew and played but I won't post here. I will miss them so much, the little rascals. Sure they gave me a headache most days but it was worth it.

Last day of school pictures! I don't know why I do this. It used to be fun to see how they've changed but it's just going by too fast.

First and last

First and last

First and last

 

First and last

First and last

First and last

I cannot get over how much James has changed! Aside from losing baby teeth and his underbite getting corrected, his face has thinned out, he has lots more freckles, and he won't let me cut his hair.

At school the kindergarten had their graduation which consisted of singing a bunch of songs with actions. It was pretty cute. Afterwards they had doughnuts in their classroom and parents could take them home afterwards. We had 3 kids that stayed until noon. We still fit in 2 recesses, of course.

Henry went to Lagoon for the day with some friends and Sarah went to school long enough to meet up with friends and then they bounced from house to house until the afternoon.

After school Erica went with Avery to a friend's ranch in American Fork. Cows and horses are her favorite so she was in heaven.

James met up with his friends at Calvin's house. The entire second grade made these tie-dye shirts a few days before.

I went to my mom's to see my sister and niece that flew into town for my aunt's wedding. My niece had never been to Utah before so for the first time she visited her grandparent's house and met a lot of cousins.

Sarah and her friends had a fire in our backyard to burn their schoolwork. When James got home he wasted no time grabbing his stack of papers and workbooks to add to the flames. 

Here's to a summer full of trips, swimming lessons, campouts, and camps. Hopefully some lazy popsicle days in there too.