Crossing over the Pacific Ocean to Seattle

Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge

After we made it to the top of Hurricane Ridge

Lake Crescent

There's that smile I was talking about.

My father, Keshini and Ramesh (my cousin) at the zoo.

Keshini's birthday

Rushil could not get enough of Ramesh, he wore him out by the end of the trip. My cousin is starting college this fall.

Adult night out.

Adult night out

Boeing museum

Boeing museum. To the left are my 2 cousins and Harry next  to them.

The cousins at the movies. (we couldn't manage getting all 6 together)

I never got to complete blogging about the Seattle trip, we were always on the go and it seemed like there was never enough time in the day.  We were able to get to pretty much whatever we planned. Our cousins Samir and Ramesh flew in for the weekend and we were 16 people  at one point.  You can just imagine what a production every meal was. It's certainly easier to entertain and host people in India.  Unfortunately, my mother had a problem with one of her feet and was not able to walk properly, I hope she will be able to get it sorted when she goes back home. Some of the highlights of the trip:

• A visit to the Boeing museum
• A trip to the Seattle zoo
• Two adult night outs with a couple of baby sitters watching the children.  Really really fun!
• A couple of shopping sessions at the mall, just the girls.
• Seema took Sindhu and Keshini to Nordstroms, hooked them up with a sales rep with some basic guidelines. The rep and the girls selected some outfits, tried them on in the dressing room and narrowed down their choices.  They had a ball and told Seema it was the best shopping trip they had.
• Shailaja and I took the kids to see "Despicable Me" and the guys went to see "Inception"
• Prasad bought some bikes for the kids at Goodwill and they rode them quite a few times.
• Trips to the park
• Small birthday celebration for Keshini with kids playing on the slip and slide outside.
• Prasad had some quality time with his BIL and visited REI and Fryes, 2 of his must-dos on this trip.
• Photography session with the whole family and we actually got a couple of decent ones of everyone together in one shot.
• Visit to Sequim  at the Olympic National Park. We visited the berry farms, a zoo where you could feed the animals and not just barn animals but bears, llamas, zebras, bison,  trek up to Hurricane ridge and swim at  Lake Crescent which is a beautiful lake similar to Lake Tahoe but less crowded and serene.
• After the kids went to sleep, we got into the  hot tub at the cottage we rented, it was my first time and I was quite wary but  I really enjoyed it and will do it again.
• And I drove everywhere, I was initially worried since I don't drive at all in India but that seemed to work in my favour since I wasn't confused whether to drive on the right or left side.

Sindhu played her role as the responsible, older cousin to the "T". Keshini and her have always played well together and this trip was no exception. Rushil and Sachin just seemed to get closer and closer each year. They have a lot in common now and both had a great time playing together. All 6 of the cousins got along well and played for hours in the front yard. Sarathy and Seema's twins turned two on August 15th and they were an absolute delight. Ahisha became attached to Rushil and would ask him carry her.  Every morning she patiently waited for him to wake up. She is at her happiest when she has her spray bottle and wash cloth and is at work cleaning the house. If she sees someone sweeping the floor, she goes ballistic and needs to do it herself :-) Arjun is the techie and is just like my brother. He is the social butterfly and greets you with a big smile and breathless hello. He will drop whatever he is doing if he spots a new gadget, he was completely fascinated by the iPad. He is also the one that will get his hands on whatever  is not childproof  and will find the item in the most obscure places. I could appreciate how much work it is to raise two toddlers.

It was a great trip and we're planning on getting together in Europe next year, let's see if we can pull it off.

Family Picture - Sort of

You know what I mean when I say sort of....

Aren't the lavender fields beautiful?

Ahisha with her berry picking bag

Keshini picking berries

We picked a bucketful

We're in Seattle and everyone is here!!  All of us have not been together in 3-4  years and it was quite the monumental task with everyone living on different continents.  We're staying at this beautiful cottage in Sequim, Washington in Olympic National Park with a view of the ocean. We started our afternoon off by berry picking, the area has many farms, with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits available and it is mainly known for its lavender fields. More pictures coming up during the next few days.