Pacific Science Center

Adam's parents and sister, Katie, visited for the week between Claire's birthday and Betsy's baptism. Most mornings, the girls went to their usual activities (music class, playgroup, catechesis) while Adam's family did a little sightseeing (Pike's Place Market, Snoqualmie Falls). On Friday, they took Claire and Maggie to the park to give us some time to work on baptism brunch prep. And on Monday, we all ventured into the city together to check out the Pacific Science Center. 

We only made it about halfway through the museum, ending with the little butterfly garden, before it was time to head to lunch at the Armory across the street. It was a surprisingly great museum for toddlers! And with Adam's company discount card, it only cost $6 a person to get in. Admission also included an IMAX film. I wish we could have seen the new national parks documentary, but after a few attempts we've decided our kids just get too overwhelmed in movie theaters. You should have seen how upset Claire was in The Peanuts Movie during Thanksgiving! Who sobs hysterically over Charlie Brown losing the school dance contest? We'll try again in a couple years...

On the way home, we stopped to marvel at the view of the Seattle skyline from Kerry Park. It was so windy at the top of the hill that Betsy and I just stayed in the car. But this cute picture of Claire and Maggie reminded me of a similarly adorable shot on the same sculpture from a few years ago: 

How precious is baby Claire?!

We had such a great time with Adam's family! We're hoping we'll get to see more of them in Seattle this summer and that we can swing a trip to Houston later this year. I can't believe it's been three years since we've been in Texas - we were planning a trip last year but ended up going to West Virginia for a family wedding instead. That's three years without Bluebell or queso from Pappasito's!





My mom's friend, Kelly, was also in town for Claire's birthday and Betsy's baptism, but my parents were home in Richland for the week in between the two celebrations. Kelly is not only my mom's childhood best friend, but she also happens to be my great aunt! She married my mom's uncle (who was just a couple years older, you know how it goes in big Catholic families) and they actually met at my parents' wedding. Kelly lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia and I know my mom really appreciated her making the long journey to Washington State and enjoyed getting to show her around their new town.