Seattle Sights, page 2

This is second page of the layout!  There were even photos of Roy and me!  I love how the kids just ham it up for the camera!  The upper photo was taken at a little coffe house near Pike's Market Place.  I had a glass of wine there!  Much better than the typical coffee house.  I love the overcast sky and the little drops of rain we felt.  I remember seeing a wedding party coming to the park as we were leaving.  I believe they had matching umbrellas.  How clever!

Seattle Sights

The Kids!

After visiting the troll, we headed on over to Gasworks Park!  What a beautiful view of downtown and the water.  I'm thinking that we need to take an extended vacation and visit more of Seattle and the surrounding areas.  Everywhere we went, we experienced great food, drinks and scenery.  By the way, Heather didn't get her drink at Gasworks; after this photo shoot, we went to Duke's Chowder on the other side of Seattle.  Thanks again to Brandon and Amanda for showing us some great places!

Here's the Fremont Troll!!!

The Fremont Troll!

Look at the size of the Troll!  Heather is always such a out of the box thinker/doer, she chose to climb it to pose for the pictures.  I don't think you can read the quote on the tag; it says "Everything you can imagine is real. -Pablo Picasso".  Some very clever people imagined what the troll under the bridge looked like and now we all have the opportunity to share in their creation.

Quite a few people were there to visit and have their photo op.  Thanks Brandon and Amanda for taking us to this unique spot!  After this visit, we headed on over to another Seattle site!

Fremont Troll / Seattle

When we were up in Seattle this past October, we were fortunate to spend some time with our niece Amanda and her husband, Brandon.  They showed us a few sites we have never seen before on our previous visits.  Brandon asked if we wanted to see the troll under the bridge and we said "why not"?  So, here we have the bridge and I had to take a picture of the plaque describing the "troll".  I thought the photos looked great in black/white.  This page design and the one you will be seeing later are from the "Wings" Workshop on the  Go from Close To My Heart. 

Isabel and Roy Have the Aloha Spirit!

Isabel and Papa!

Isabel and Roy, he's such a good sport, had their own photo op at Tiki Jim's while we were hanging out at Broadway on the Beach.  We had such a good laugh while they were "posing".  They became full of the Aloha Spirit as soon as they stuck their heads into the cutouts!   I know we are looking forward to our summer vacation and heading back to Hawaii with the family this coming July!  Aloha!!!!

Feeding the Ugly Fish!

Papa and Isabel

In the lake at Broadway at the Beach are living the ugliest fish I have ever seen!  And they are even more ugly when you are feeding them!  For a quarter you get a handful of fish food and boy do they come swimming over so fast!  Even the ducks were getting into the picture.  I couldn't get over how large their mouths were!  Don't these things ever eat?  But, Isabel sure did enjoy feeding the ugly fish. 

Isabel and the Grands

Isabel and the "Grands"

Like I said earlier, there were so many restaurants at Broadway at the Beach.  We didn't eat at Margaritaville but it proved to be a nice backdrop for a photo.  Roy and Isabel are standing in front of a water wall (ha), that is why you can see her holding her arm...she was getting wet.  I enjoy being out and about with the family.  This was a nice road trip from Brenna's.

Having Fun on the Boardwalk

Just a few shots of the kids and Roy on the Boardwalk.  I love the photo of them walking "away" from me; I think I will have that one printed in black & white.  Did I tell you that there is a man-made lake there?  You can rent paddle boats and feed the fish (wait until you see the photos I have of that....) Having a playground on the premises is such a great idea!  The little ones can play (with one grown-up watching them) and the others can shop! 

Broadway at the Beach!!

This was  a great place to spend some time.  Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach!  It's outdoors and the weather was perfect!  Lots of shopping, places to eat and rides for the children.  I will be posting other pages later with more of our Broadway fun!

Farmville in North Carolina!!!

Farmville, North Carolina

How many of you knew there was a "real" Farmville?  There is and it is in North Carolina!  Brenna took us on a little day trip to see it.  It's about a couple of hours from her home.  A nice drive through the country.  We just had to stand in front of the city limit sign for all of our friends who play Farmville!  It's a nice little town, I think there downtown area was more active then Upland!  They even had a Mexican restaurant downtown. 

Birthday Presents!

He really wanted it!

I wish you could have seen the look on his face when everyone was singing Happy Birthday to him.  It is on an earlier page I did, he's standing next to Brenna.  Rudy was so happy!  And when he was opening his presents, he was overwhelmed in a quiet way!  Here he is just wanting to open this gift (a car wash!)  He played with it as soon as we were back at his home.  He handled all of the commotion just great!  I think Isabel was just as excited as he was!  She enjoyed his gifts too!

Wild Thing

Little Rudy having fun at his party!

What a great place this was for a birthday party.  Look at Little Rudy's hair, it started out with his "normal" hairdo and by the end of the party, it was standing up.  All that running around and sweating makes for great gel!  He is our own "Little Wild Thing" and if you can't be wild at your own birthday party; where can you be wild?

Little Rudy's Birthday!

Toy Story Party!

One of the reason's we went to North Carolina in October, was to celebrate Little Rudy's 3rd Birthday!  I have been fortunate enough to celebrate each of his special days with him!  From his birth to his 3rd!  And this year, Roy was able to be there too!  Brenna had his party at a very fun place for the kiddos!  Lots of jumping "things", they even let the parents jump with them.  Isn't his cake just special!  Rudy loves the Toy Story characters and the cake included his favorites!  Happy Birthday Little Rudy!  You are so loved and so special to all who know you!

Let's Make a Pizza

Little Pizza Maker

This was a clever display at the museum; learning fractions while you're making pizza!  Isabel had a great time pretending to make pizzas for all of us.  I love how she poses; what a little ham!  Overall, we had a great time at the Children's Museum.  So many different and fun things to see and do. 
Roy and I were glad to be able to share this activity with our grandbabies.....we cherish our time with them very much!

Roy, Diane, Isabel and Rudy at the Museum

Just a few photos of me and Roy hanging out the Isabel and Rudy at the museum.  We were kept quite busy during our visit there but enjoyed every minute of it.  We sure do miss the Ramos Family and we are looking forward to our next visit.  I think the next time, we will most likely visit the Childrens/ Museum in Wilmington.  It's just a tad bit closer to their home.

Playing With Trains

What little boy doesn't love trains? And at the Children's Museum they were able to play to their heart's delight! I wish he had the space in his bedroom for a train table. We sent him a wooden train set but it would be great to have it set up all of the time. The layout I did here and the one before were a challenge I took on from the Creative Keepsake website. Using three 4x6 photos and what you have at home in your supplies......these two layouts were completed in less than an hour.

Inspired Play at the Childrens Museum

Here is Little Rudy riding on the Magic School Bus. It was a half-size bus and it gave the children the feeling they were riding on a real bus! You even had a ticket and could pretend that you were the driver and were taking everyone on a magical trip! I wonder where he was taking us!

Busy Boy at the Childrens' Museum

Here is my very busy boy, Rudy, having a fantastic time exploring at the Childrens' Museum. So many activities that kept him so busy and the grown-ups tired from following Rudy and Isabel around. I'm glad that Brenna exposes her children to these types of outings. These day trips are the best for every family!

Let's Sail Away!

Brenna and Rudy are getting ready to sail away from the Children's Museum to lands unknown! There was even a lifeboat on this replica with life jackets included. This was quite a popular attraction in the museum. I think this would fit in Brenna's backyard. I think I will mention that she should put one back there!

Blowing Bubbles

Blowing bubbles was another "station" that Isabel visited before she moved on to the giant bubble! It is so amazing to see how much children enjoy the simple things like blowing bubbles, watching pinwheels spin in the wind and using their imaginations.

Bubble Girl

This was a very cool activity that you could do at home! A little tub, soapy water and a hula hoop and you can become a Bubble Girl or Boy! Isabel had fun just making sure the bubble surrounded her. It did take a couple of tries because the bubbles weren't cooperating. A simple activity that can provide quite a bit of fun!

Look at Isabel!

Here is Isabel at the Children's Museum. The mural was painted on a wall outside of the museum. She and I were waiting for the others to meet us there so that we could head on to our next adventure. You can see in her hand that she is holding the pinwheel we bought; she loved watching it spin! While we were in the museum, she was also quite busy with her activities. Here is Papa seeing how tall his baby girl is! And what a big girl she has become!

So Many Things to Do at the Museum

There was literally so much for the children to do at the museum. Here is Little Rudy playing with the largest Light Brite I have ever seen! He also had a blast trying out the "just my size" dental chair and the car was actually half of a VW Bug / stick shift! I just kept following him all around with my camera. This is when I decided I need a camera that takes multiple shots in less than 15-seconds! Is there one like that?

Exploring the Museum

Rudy loved exploring at the museum. You had to keep moving just to keep up with him! He loved all the freedom to touch and explore. Truly another great experience for Rudy and Papa! I'm glad that Roy was there too because there would be no way I could have been taking the photos and then following our grandchildren.

Fun at the Children's Musuem of South Carolina

What a fun time everyone had at the Children's Museum in Myrtle Beach! Quite a few things to see and touch! Even a dinosaur lesson for Isabel! I will be sharing more layouts showing the little ones enjoying their experience. The size of the museum made it easy for all the children to have fun. There weren't long lines or pushy parents there! If you find yourself in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with young children, head on over to CMSC and watch them discover fun!

North Carolina Cotton Fields

These cotton fields were just around the corner from Brenna's home. I took these photos while we were driving past them. It was a grand sight. The fields were huge and I think the cotton was ready for picking. It sure is a different landscape for the Ramos Family! I'm sure they are glad that the ocean is not that far from them too.

Dinner With the Ramos' Family

One of our evening meals found us at the local Mexican restaurant. It really isn't that far from Brenna and Rudy's home! So, here we are eating the usual Mexican fare and what does Isabel eat? That's right....macaroni and cheese! Though she did enjoy the churro. Look at the picture of Brenna and Rudy; doesn't it look like she either is wearing large hair rollers but it was just a "lucky" shot! Sometimes, I am pretty clever! It was a great evening and actually not bad Mexican food for North Carolina!

Myrtle Beach Moments

Isabel found that the boardwalk was the best place to go for a walk with her pinwheel! The wind was blowing and the pinwheel was spinning frantically! It was a pleasure to see her enjoying such a simple thing with a simple toy! These are the moments I live for and enjoy; spending time with my grandchildren is the best thing in the entire world! Looking forward to summer 2011 with all three of them!

The Boardwalk at Myrtle Beach

October 2010, we were so lucky to be visiting our family in North Carolina! We took a trip down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and spent a few days there. Here we are on the boardwalk! Brenna, Little Rudy, Isabel and me! I love how the beaches look on the East Coast; the grass growing through the sand. There was a restaurant on the boardwalk that was offering a great deal on Long Island Ice Teas! I suggested that they leave me there and pick me up later! But, we headed on to other shopping adventures this day! I think going to the Carolinas in October is the best! The weather was perfect.