Seattle Aquarium

Kylie was very excited to go to the Seattle Aquarium today! Of all the activities that we told her we would do on our "big trip" this winter, the aquarium was one of the few that peaked her interest. 

We started the day, as usual on our first day in Seattle, at Nielsen's Pastries, for snitters, matcha lattes, etc. It is still a hidden gem, and I am purposely NOT reviewing it on social media, so that it stays wonderful! Next stop was the aquarium, which I think, exceeded baby-expectations, followed by a trip through the market (which was a baby-bummer), followed by nap and a surprisingly forgettable dinner at Roti in Queen Anne.

Starting the day off right!

 Beautiful day for an intense round of 1,000 stairs!

 Yay!

 Thar she blows!

 So, mid-day, mid-week at the aquarium is basically toddler heaven!

 I a JELLY-fish!

 Me and my baby eel!

 Touching with ONE FINGER...

...same rules apply to Christmas trees!

 I gonna sit on that otter!

 Parental treats~!

I will follow that arrow!

 And in a completely unrelated, and delicious dinner....

To Seattle!

After the family festivities this weekend, we drove down to Seattle to spend a few days with old places and old friends. Unfortunately, Jeannie was feeling under the weather, so we didn't get to spend a lot of time together, but it was so nice to see familiar faces from our old life there. Special thanks to Jason, Eran, Emily, Stephanie and Amy for still making the time to meet up with us after five years of being away!

 Winky-Blinky riding in the baby backpack...

...can't believe that Kylie will be too big for this in the not too distant future!

 How sweet, W-B brought flowers to my sick aunt!

 Kylie's first haircut...

...Thank You Melissa at Li'l Klippers!!

 Kylie's reward cupcake for being a good girl at the salon...

...Mmmmm Neopolitan and Hummingbird @ Trophy Cupcakes!

 Quick visit to the market

TAKE MY PICTURE!!

Birthday Trip! Sao Paulo

For Autumn's birthday, we left Kylie behind with friends and jetted off to Sao Paulo for an adults only weekend adventure of shopping and eating!

 First stop: Micheladas at Oba - A Thai / Mexican / Brazilian restaurant!

 Chips and salsa! How I've missed you!!

 Next stop:  O'Malley's Irish Pub for Guiness!!

 Third stop:  Farto!

Just kidding, but I guess Drogaria Farto must be expanding!

 Another hilarious store! 

It was so nice to stroll around Jardims in the cool spring weather and shop!

 All hail the king!

We had a fantastic sushi dinner at Nagayama, followed by drinks at the rooftop bar, The View! 

Happy Birthday Autumn!!

 The next morning, we got all bundled up to brave the "freezing cold" (60 degree) weather, and headed out to Starbucks for breakfast on our way to Liberdade for another day of eating and shopping!

 Should I walk or not!?!

 Spring roll delight at the street market

 Can't go anywhere in Brazil without getting meat on a stick!

 We spent the rest of the morning browsing through all the great stores and stocking up on Japanese kitchen ware, including Autumn's crowning glory - the 4 tier dumpling steamer!!

Goodbye Liberdade!

We spent the afternoon back in Jardims for one more visit to O'Malley's and a bit more wandering and shopping.

 The birthday girl!

 More birthday goodies from Chocolat du Jour

 One last look at the city

We had a freak accident with our in-room safe, and maintenance had to come up and drill the door open, so we could get our stuff!! Luckily, they got it open in time for our super-fancy Italian dinner at Fasano.

Our loot!

Rio Getaway!

To celebrate my friend's birthday, we spent a long weekend in Rio de Janeiro!  It was my second trip, but my first as a tourist.  I visited before in December for my job, and I worked the whole time.  I saw the Christo from a taxi, and that was about it.  This time my friend and I set out to see things that we couldn't bring our kids to, since it was a rare trip without them.

Starting the day off right at Stabucks.  Olin?  That would be me.

Fresh produce in a street market.

This is the Metropolitan Cathedral downtown.  Very modern.

Stained glass inside.

The top.

Next we found this Presbyterian church, so we had a look there too. 

Beautiful and peaceful.

Following this we proceeded to get pretty lost.  Getting lost can be fun too, though.  :)

After getting our bearings and grabbing some lunch, we had a tour of the Municipal Theater.

Stained glass inside.

The ornate interior.

 Dinner brought us to Via Sete, where I had this burger with pesto, cherry tomatoes and burrata.  What a day!

Grandma Cathy at Caruaru

On Tuesday, we drove two hours inland to the town of Caruaru to visit their huge outdoor market. It was a bit of a let down, but we still had fun. 

The next day the tide, Kylie's nap schedule, and the weather all came into perfect alignment for a bit of shark-free swimming in a coral pool at the beach in front of our house. Yay!

 Dick Park lived up to it's name...ugh!

Ready to shop

View into the market

 Yes! Swimming at last!

 Kick! Kick! Kick!

 Kylie's Kitchen

 May I take your order?

Let's get cookin'!