Grandma's Funeral & Seattle Trip

Well, we're home. What a crazy/fun/exhausting/memorable trip. When I read Susan's blog, I was happy because she broke down the trip each day and explained what we did. So, I figured I could just put a few pictures on my blog and call it good. But then I remembered why I kept a blog...it's my journal. So, BEAR WITH ME while I post all my favorite pictures from the trip! There is a lot so if you are taking your lunch break from work and don't have much time, stop now, and revisit me later. Trust me...

I'm the only girl in my family and I have three brothers. Here they are: Darren, Curtis, and Michael. This was taken just before my Grandma's funeral.


Carson and I at Snoqualmie Falls. This is near Redmond, WA where I lived from 1988 to 1993.


If anyone knows my dad, they know how obsessed he is with the Ballard Locks in the Seattle area. This is where Lake Washington meets the Puget Sound. The water in Lake Washington is higher than the water in the Sound. Enter the locks: Boats pull into these little canals, gates close, and the water level rises or lowers depending upon which way the boats are going, and then the gate opens and the boats are able to navigate from one body of water to the next. I asked my dad "what would happen if they didn't have the locks?" He said "It would Lain the Drake!". I think he meant to say "it would drain the lake" :)


Carson and I at the Locks


Next to the locks, there is this really cool fish ladder. It's where all the salmon rush upstream to lay their eggs. The fish ladder enables the salmon to navigate through the locks. It's pretty sweet because you can go underground and look through windows to see all the fish. Here is a picture of the fish and all the kids that were on this trip with us: Courtney and Camilla (Michael's girls-they live in Indiana), Carson, Ethan and Kevin (Darren's boys-they live in Rexburg, ID).


Here is Curtis and his wife Shandy: Shandy is AMAZING! She is 7 weeks away from her due date of their first child. She never complained once! Curtis summed it up well "Shandy, you are the troopiest trooper that I've ever trooped with!"


We went to this really funny toy store in Seattle called Archie McPhee's. They have totally bizarre novelty toys. For example, I bought some bandaids that look like strips of bacon. I also bought Sam a sucker that has a real cricket inside. Well, Courtney was told she could pick out one item from the store to buy. She chose a pack of fake mustaches. I loved that she chose those! When we got back to the hotel, all the kids put on a mustache for this sweet photo. Kevin (all the way on the right) cracks me up. He took this very seriously!


We went to the Mariners game on Friday night. They were playing against Boston. It was fun, but it was almost 100 degrees, which is CRAZY for Seattle. They reached record temps while we were there. Here is a picture of the stadium from where I was sitting.


Here is a picture of Carson and I. Carson was being a little hyper (shocker) and I figured Curtis and Shandy needed a break from us (we shared a hotel room). So, I grabbed Carson and we took some pictures outside our hotel.


Deception Pass: This is the bridge that takes you to Whidbey Island. Maybe my dad can put a comment here that explains why it's called Deception Pass because I can't remember. It's slightly scary because you can walk across, but there is only a tiny little sidewalk and then you have cars and trucks speeding past you. I actually have a friend who was smacked on the arm by a truck's side mirror as he was walking across this bridge!


Here is Curtis underneath the bridge.


At Deception Pass there is a beach called "Rosario Beach" and it rules! There are tons of big rocks and as the waves splash over the rocks, it creates tidal pools. You'd be amazed at all the critters that show up in tidal pools. We found several crabs and small fish. My dad took this picture of Darren, Curtis, and I checking out the critters.


If you know my family, you know how we love to keep a joke running for YEARS! Seriously, in 1994 my family was driving to Idaho from Seattle and I was hot. My dad told me to pipe down and go to sleep. I yelled "I can't! I'm in the sun!" Well, to this day and even several times on this trip, everybody would look at me and say "Can't, I'm in the sun!".
So, another inside joke: when I was about 16 I had cramps really bad so I didn't go to church. My brothers were so mad that I got to stay home from church and they didn't. They demanded to know why. My mom said "Because she has the cramps", but she said "cramps" in a really hushed, reverent tone. So, if I'm having a bad day, my brothers will still say "do you have the cramps" and they will say cramps all quiet-like.
Sam and I found this shirt in the mall about a month ago. I bought it for Curtis because he loves his XBOX. I thought it was appropriate!


And finally...on the 24th we went to a park by Curtis and Shandy's house in Orem and flew kites. Sam took this great shot of Courtney flying her kite.


I told you this would be a long blog entry! I hope you didn't fall asleep... Even though we did a lot of driving this past week, I wouldn't trade it for anything because we got to spend a lot of time together, which is something the Clark kids don't do often enough. I'm so glad that Mike and Kim came out from Indiana because we haven't hung with them very much over the past decade and it was awesome catching up with them. Now, get back to work!