April & October

A Life Blog

Seattle: EMP and the Needle

We had to squeeze even more in the second day to make sure that we saw all the sights. I had everyone up when the sun came up and ready to go when all the attractions first opened. I fed everyone breakfast and we decided to make the trek out. 

 
First stop, the Space Needle. I was slightly sick when we first started our trip and I had an issue with being able to pop my ears. I wasn’t able to, the entire trip. The ride up and down the Space Needle made it worse. I was ridiculously loud spoken, the whole time and I had people yelling at me because I couldn’t hear. So frustrating. 

 
The elevator took no time to get up to the observation floor. It was pretty awesome. The sight was amazing. I loved being able to see a 360 degree view of Seattle. I loved hearing the facts about the Needle and all the interactive displays they had. I was able to email myself some photos, take a selfie up too and sign their guestbook. 

  
After that we took a walk right over to the EMP Museum. I think we spent the most of our time here. They have a Hello Kitty exhibit currently and there was just so much to see. Birdie had a blast looking at all of the Hello Kitty stuff. It was interesting to read all of her history. There was sci-fi stuff, a fantasy room, Nirvana display, Jimi Hendrix – the list goes on. We probably could’ve hung out the entire day there. 

 
We decided to hop on the monorail to see where it let us off. We walked over to Pike’s for dinner. We had a nice meal at Cutters Crabhouse. Nice view of the water. Fish wasn’t that great, kind of mealy. Birdie had a nap at the table. 

 
We took the monorail back and went back up the Space Needle. We wanted to check out the view with the city lights. It was simply gorgeous. 

Fun in Seattle

We decided to get a CityPass since we had a limited amount of time but we wanted to see so much in Seattle. A CityPass is a pass that lets you see a handful of attractions in the area for one price. We wanted to see at least 3 items on their list, so it was cheaper to get a pass.


We checked out the Argosy Harbor Cruise, which everyone basically slept through. They had us wait in line for 20 minutes, in the rain and cold. So once we got on a warm boat, nice rocking waves and a tour with a monotone voice – everyone was out! Learned a lot about the area though.


Pike’s was exactly how it is in the movies. Got to see the fish markets throw fish around. It was pretty awesome. Birdie was obsessed with all the flowers. She wanted to buy all the bouquets and take them home with her. There was just so many wonderful things to look at. The seafood was expensive! I thought it was going to be cheaper since that’s where California has been importing from – and it’s cheaper in California.


The Seatle Aquarium was nice. I love jellyfish and octopus exhibits. It was the last day of octopus week so we got to see feedings and play games. That was a lot of fun. Birdie got her face painted and got to color with some other kids. It was on the smaller side, but their tidepools were really nice. They’re run by volunteers, so you might find more information if you google, but that’s fine.

We got all of that done in one day! I was on a mission to make sure that we got as much done as humanly possible. It was a short trip, but I wanted to see everything.

Seattle!

We decided to check out Seattle for the weekend, because why not? The airline had some good deals and we just wanted to get away for a little bit. Unfortunately, everyone got sick the week we were leaving, but we decided to go for it anyway. 
  

I’ve never flown Virgin America before, but it was nice. I loved being able to play games, watch tv and chat with people in other seats. The flight attendants were nice. Our baggage came out on time. It was a nice experience. 

  
  

We decided to rent an apartment for a few days instead of getting a hotel room. I wanted the space for the babies and it ended up being a lot cheaper. We were still in walking distance of everything we wanted to check out. We also had a full kitchen which I love having access to. 
 

First night, we got in kind of late. We also got lost since the GPS kept dropping us off early. We ended up at Pagliacci Pizza for dinner. We ordered some salads and got the Brooklyn Bridge pizza. It was delicious! It was around the corner from where we were staying. The pizza took a little long to come out, but it was so good. 

The rest of the trip will be continued…

Review: Girasol Marley

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Girasol Marley, Cuervo (black weft), size 5

  • 100% cotton
  • $$
  • machine woven
  • Support: Average
  • Best for: Any age
  • Carries: Single pass carries for babies, multi pass carries for heavier babies
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I totally researched this wrap when I was pregnant. I’m a huge Bob Marley fan, and I love all things reggae. So I knew that I needed this wrap. I grew up in the islands, and was immersed into the culture. So I wanted something that reminded me of the time. I researched this wrap when I was pregnant with Tot. It just stood out to me, but I knew there was a bit of a learning curve. I had only used SSCs and mei tais, previously. So I waited on the purchase.
Marley was the perfect first wrap for me. The colors were great for me to learn to wrap with. The striping made it easy to figure out which rail I was looking for. It is a workhorse wrap. I had no issues using it. It wasn’t about being afraid to get it dirty. That’s for sure. I could use it for anything and everything. The wrap was thin enough, that I wasn’t getting overwhelmed while I practiced wrapping. It was nice and floppy once it was broken in. It molded to me well and I loved the passes that I got from it. Marley is a nice, textured wrap. Passes glided well. It wasn’t too sticky at all.

IMG_3143 copyI loved the knot that I could tie. It wasn’t too big, but it wasn’t too small. It didn’t slip at all. It covered Tot well. It’s a pretty solid wrap, that doesn’t sag. I wouldn’t consider the wrap tone too bouncy either. I felt like once Tot got bigger, it was starting to get diggy. He needed multiple passes and couldn’t be up in for too long.

I ended up selling it off once I felt like he got too big for it. I think the wrap is amazing for smaller babies. With a larger baby, you need multiple passes, so you’ll need a longer wrap, which I didn’t have access to purchasing.

 

 

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Monterey Bay Aquarium

My sister’s boyfriend won tickets to Monterey Bay Aquarium on the radio and couldn’t go. So he gifted the tickets over to me and I couldn’t be more thrilled! I love the aquarium. It is one of my favorite places to go. We used to have a membership, but we didn’t renew it this year. We might have to, because the kids simply love it!

  

We got there early enough to check out the majority of feedings. We saw an albatross, the sea of kelp, penguins and sea otters get fed. The kelp feeding was amazing. You don’t even think of the plants as being that alive until you see them feed. 

Birdie was completely over the moon. I like to surprise her with excursions so she had no idea that we were headed there. She wanted to see “everything” first and had no idea what she wanted to do. She loved lunch because she was able to pick whatever she wanted to off of the menu. 
  

I love seeing the Penguins. They like to swim up to the glass and just play with you. They’re the most playful creatures at the aquarium aside from the sea otters. The sea otters were great. I couldn’t get a decent picture, because there were so many people in front of the exhibit. 

They also had puffins, which I think are just as fun as the Penguins. They were just the cutest little animals. 

  
  

Jellyfish are my favorite. They changed up the exhibit from the last time I was there. I was a little sad about that, but I still get to see them! I only like to see them in aquariums. I saw them last year at the beach and it didn’t end too well for me. 

 

We stayed until closing and walked around the Cannery for a bit. It was the perfect day, perfect weather.