Seattle, Washington (ana)

A little background info. Uncle Matthew is my dad’s younger brother, and he’s a cop. Aunt Doreen is a second grade teacher at the local school. Kaitryn is 13, and going into her freshman year of high school. Eamon is 11, and going into sixth grade. So we had a freshman, an eighth grader, a seventh grader, a sixth grader, a fourth grader, and a second grader in one house. Definitely an adventure.

We arrived in Snoqualmie at around 6:00 pm. We had a great time, laughing and telling stories at the table. I spit out my orange juice at something that I probably shouldn’t mention on the Internet. Hehe. Let’s just say, Eamon got some interesting advice from my dad.

(clockwise) mary, eamon, kaitryn, matthew, andrew, mei, doreen, and allana

Allana and I crashed in Kaitryn’s room for the night, me on the trundle, Allana on the cot. We stayed up till 1:30 in the morning, talking and laughing, and getting up for the occasional bathroom break. It was a lot of fun.

The next day we hung around, watching TV, going on the computer, watching TV, eating lunch, checking my email, watching TV… You get the point.

After a while, our parents were getting frustrated, so they made us all get up and go see Snoqualimie Falls, which is taller than Niagara.

unattractive picture at the falls

It was pretty cool, but it was drizzeling, and I was in flip-flops (which I consider to be useful April-November), and I slipped and grabbed Kaitryn, and some old man with his dog laughed at me! Right in my face! Have some tact, dude.

the falls

Anyway, Falls were nice; we were there for about 10 minutes, and then after we went to Starbucks, where Kaitryn ordered Allana a vanilla bean frappacino. She was addicted. And yes, I’m blaming you Kaitryn, because every time we see a Starbucks (which is a lot) Allana gasps, and goes on and on about how good it was. I myself stuck with a scone and an Izze.

We went back to their house, and just plopped down on the couch again. Matthew, Doe, my mom and dad went to see Horrible Bosses, which is supposed to be absolutely hilarious.

We watched some more MTV, and then when the parents came home, went to bed. Again, we stayed up till 12:30 or so reading Seventeen Magazine, and chatting a bit. Watching six or seven hours of TV really wears you out.

The next day, we went into Seattle, and Allana and I got switched to Uncle Matthew’s car while Eamon got forced into the van. I feel for him.

We went to Pike’s Market, which we all love, and walked around there for a while. My mom and I and Mary picked out flowers for Aunt Doreen, who stayed at home because her insomnia had been acting up all night, and she wanted to sleep.

At the market, we just browsed, looking at the merchandise. We got these amazing tasting smoothies, which were also expensive, and donuts. Real ones, not like the crap that Dunkin Donuts gives you, which makes me just sick. Excuse my language, but seriously. So meanwhile, we sat on these stairs, eating donuts, and I got powder all over me. My mom, dad, and Uncle Matthew went to this French restaurant inside the market, which we went to last time, but they went to get some wine.

the girls outside the market

Us kids wandered back to the flower stand, where we were supposed to meet up with the adults. So we were all just standing there awkwardly, listening to this lady play the violin. She was probably in her twenties, and she was very good. None of us had any money to give her, so it was a little uncomfortable. Eventually, the parents showed up, and we got money from them, and we all gave her a dollar.

Then Eamon decided he needed a milkshake. So, we all walked up to Starbucks or a café like that, and he got a milkshake. Meanwhile, Mei was entertaining Allana, Kaitryn, and me I couldn’t even tell you about what now, but we were all laughing hysterically (which caused a few looks from strangers), and Mei even fell down at one point. The lady behind Mei was laughing a bit too. It was quite a sight.

this is my favorite picture of the entire trip

and 2 seconds later

mei being a goofball

We decided to go on a walk. Well, the parents decided. The rest of us groaned. It was very nice in the end though. We saw a few fountains, and even better, got to see Manchester United’s bus! For those who don’t know what that is, it is the best soccer team ever. And it’s our favorite. My dad got a picture next to Valencia, one of his favorite players. We all wanted to stick around and see them come out, but it would just be a few more hours.

my dad and valencia

We continued our walk, and then went back to the cars. Matthew had to pick up their minivan from the shop, so my dad hopped in and started driving, relaying on Kaitryn to direct us back to their house. She didn’t really know. Eventually, we got home, and gave Aunt Doreen her flowers, which she loved.

We all relaxed, and then Allana, my mom, Mary, Aunt Doreen, me, and Kaitryn all went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at a movie theatre in downtown Seattle. It was a 10:00 showing, but we all piled into the car at around 9:00, knowing there would be a big line.

The movie was great. I’m one for nerves, and I was scared practically the entire time. Everybody admitted in the car that they teared up a bit, except for my mom and allana, who really see to have no emotion in movies at all.

We got home at around 1:15 in the morning, and we immediately fell asleep. Well, Aunt Doreen had to come in and tell us lights are off, but it’s the same thing in the end. We slept.

harry potter

We got up the next morning, and told Uncle Matthew, my dad, Eamon, and Mei about the movie, and they told us about their night. It sounded like we had a lot more fun then them.

Then we went into Seattle again for Kaitryn, Allana, and me to get a leather bracelet at a booth in Pike’s Market. Mary looks around for a gift for her friend Isabella, and finds one. We leave, but as we’re going, it starts raining. My dad, Uncle Matthew, and Eamon had stayed in the cars when the rest of us had went to check it out. We call them, and they tell us to just walk in the rain. so we walked, which was nice, and we drove home.
we all relaxed a bit, and then went out for dinner at a pizza place, where the food was pretty good. but the best part was when we went to a milkshake/ice cream store in North Bend, which is a few towns over. and man, that stuff was good.
we all went to bed, and allana, kaitryn, and i all played on the ipad. well, they played on the ipad while i tried to catch up on blogging. checkers is very competitive i learned.
the next morning, we all brought our suitcases down, and packed up the car, while eating pancakes in the process.

there was almost a stabbing

we left for portland, which is only a 3 or so hour drive from seattle.
we stopped in a sports bar 5 mins outside of the city in Vancouver, Washington. we watched the 2nd half of the women's world cup, where japan won in penalty kicks.