just the highlights, please!

Last week, we went to Seattle for a very short little trip to visit my family out there. We were there for just under a week...although one would think we were there for much longer because I took waaaaay too many pictures while there.

So, since most of the pictures and events are probably only interesting to me...I'll try to be as concise as possible in my writing so as not to not bore you loyal readers out there to death.

There are, however tons of pics to show, so bear with me!

Here we are at the airport and on the plane. We had a short layover in Maui before flying out to Seattle, so Kela and Anna killed time by making funny faces and "sliding" down the tall bench sitting area by the gate windows. Anna insisted on carrying her back pack around which housed the only toys we allowed them to bring on the trip. I though she looked just too darn cute with it on. And, for the record, the girls did WONDERFULLY on all the flights. They behaved, never cried, and rarely fussed. They napped (lucky us got an entire row both there and back!), watched their videos, ate their food ('cause Hawaiian still feeds their passengers!), and were all around very pleasant. Even Jolee slept the entire way there and back-her very first time on a plane! Horray for more travel possibilities in the future!! :)

This was Ojichan (my dad, "Grandpa")'s first time meeting Jolee. She took to him quite nicely!

And of course, Obachan (my mom, "Obachan") with the girls. Everyone loves Obachan!

The best thing about Seattle is that my brother Makoto has 3 little girls. Kela and Anna LOVE to spend time with their cousins and miss them so much already! My sister, Elika and her family also happened to be there, too! Good fun for Kela and Anna...so many cousins to play with, even in Seattle!

Probably one of the main reasons why we flew out to Seattle is that my parents are getting ready to sell their house. It's an empty nest now...so we spend quite a bit of time painting and prepping the house for the market. Any takers??

Oh, and see the sploch of paint on JoJo's head? Um, that's supposedly after Mitch washed up...

My favorite meal there was our Sushi Party. Courtesy of our very own personal itamae, my brother, Makoto. Salmon, Natto, Kappa, California & Spicy Tuna Roll. Thanks Makoto! It was just soooo good!Then, after dinner, we picked some plums off my Dad's plum tree in the back yard. The kids each got their own basket & collected the plums that Ojichan picked. Yum Yum!

While we were there, Jolee got pretty good at smiling on cue. Of course, it could have been the taste of the popsicle I gave her...

She sure is getting so big!

So great that I got to see my good friend (and fellow blogger!) Rachel and her two cute little girls. We ate lunch at Anthony's down by the marina in Edmonds. Oh, the food was so good! And by the way, the weather in Seattle was PERFECT the entire time we were there! As you can probably tell by these pictures. Yummy lunch and great company! Thanks, Rach!
What's so great about Anthony's is they have little sand boxes for kids to play in, right next to the outside dining area! So, before and after lunch, Kela and Anna got to play with the sand toys with little Lucy while Rach and I chatted & "caugh up." How great is that?! Genious!


And one person that I never leave Seattle without visiting is my good friend Carrie. We've been friends FOR-EVER! She is my oldest and probably closest friend from childhood. What's so great is that her daugher, Amy, is super close in age to Kela...although you wouldn't know it by how TALL she is! Sheesh, Kela looks like a midgit next to her! Oh well.

And, they recently got some chickens!! The girls had tons of fun feeding the hens and chasing them around the yard. Hopefully, they aren't permanently damaged from the trauma of being chased around by 4 little girls!!

I miss you, Carrie!

This is at Silverlake Park on the outskirts of Mill Creek ( I think...). Beautiful lakeside park with the biggest playground ever! Better than anything we have here in Hawaii! We seriously need to do something about the parks here in Hawaii!!! Anyone want to start a petition?

Anyway, so, so, many more good times and memories with the family and friends... The week flew by so quickly! And even though Mitch wasn't there for the entire week (he had to fly home for work, then flew back out to help me on the plane ride home. The benefits of free travel!!), I got to do almost everything I had planned to do. I even made my rounds to the all-important stops of Target, Nordstrom Rack and even IKEA. I did miss seeing a couple of friends...but there's always Christmas time!