Picking up my smoochy.

Finally, the end of our trip was in sight.  We were on the last leg of our trip and were headed to pick up Yaya from her week with Bird's parents.  As we drove down Snowqamy Pass just outside of Seattle, my mom's car started acting up.  Thankfully, we made it to our hotel without breaking down on the side of the mountain or in Seattle's rush hour traffic.  After checking into our hotel, we made arrangements to have her car looked at and set up a time and place to meet Bird's parents to pick up Yaya the next morning. First thing the next morning (Monday) we learned the transmission in my mom's car needed to be replaced.  Good news, it was under warranty.  Bad news it would take til Friday (maybe longer) to get all the parts in and replaced.  After making some quick changes in plans we arranged to stay with my uncle and we were finally off in our rental car to pick Yaya up.  I've never been so happy to see my "little smoochy!"  It felt so good to hug her and hold her in my arms again.  Sigh!   She had so much fun with Bird's family and couldn't stop talking about all the fun things they did together.  

 The entire trip God opened doors with perfect timing.  My uncle had the next several days off from work due to his schedule rotation which meant we had a cozy place to stay in Seattle and a wonderful tour guide.  The next morning we were off to spend some time at Pike Place Market.

We found a bracelet with Yaya's name on it which is a first and my uncle bought one for her. 

(When we first brought Yaya home I was at a craft fair and asked a man in one of the boothes if he had her name on one of his products.  His response was, "You parents that give your kids crazy names and expect us to have them available need to rethink a few things." I will never forget his rudeness or his hurtful comment.  I imagine he doesn't do much business with an attitude like that!) 

We had a blast watching the fishermen throw the catch of the day back and forth.  Yaya even saw a goat's tongue at one of the boothes and couldn't believe people would eat such a thing.  Can you see the flying crab I've pointed to in the picture?

After a delicious lunch we headed out to ride the Duck bus.  It is a tour bus that goes all over Seattle by land and water!  Yaya loved the little duck bill we bought her.  We however, grew quite tired of hearing it's loud QUACK pretty quickly!  Go figure!

We floated by the house from the movie Sleepless in Seattle with Tom Hanks. 

I LOVE THIS MOVIE don't you?

One of the next nights my uncle took Yaya and I to the highest point in Seattle to watch the sunset.  There were photographers lined up everywhere so I knew I must be in the right place.  It's easy to see why Seattle is called the "Emerald City" in the shot below.  I love it because both the Space Needle and Mount Rainier are in it.  Can you see Mt. Rainier peeking from behind the clouds on the right?

While I was snapping pictures Yaya and Kevin were playing down below at a local playground.  They had a blast together sliding, swinging and spinning each other on this little seat.  Little being the key word.  I enjoyed running up and down the hill capturing moments with them together and seeing the lighting change on the Seattle skyline as the sun set behind the hills.

We had a great time making lemonade from the lemons we were dealt in Seattle.  My uncle, Kevin and his partner Zeus treated us like ROYALTY and spoiled us rotten while we were with them.  We really appreciate them letting us drop in unexpectedly and for taking such good care of us.