This year we did a Charlotte's Web theme. We are ususally pretty last minute with Halloween costumes but this year I am very proud of myself for being prepared. I thought long and hard about a theme and order the costumes way in advance. I have been very anxious for Halloween to come. I did feel a little guilty about dressing Isaac head to toe in pink but I figured he was young enough that he wouldn't really care. And he was a really cute pig. Charlotte went as 'Charlotte' (the spider), Isaac is Wilber, Garrett is Zuckerman, and Sarah is Fern. Now I need to start thinking about next year. Who knew Halloween could be this much fun? 
I luv Trunk-or-Treat. It has to be the most efficient way to collect candy, a plus with little kids. 
Score!!! Let's PIG OUT!
Isaac is such a good big brother!
Immediately as we left the airport we were taken back by the tall trees and all the greenery; vines growing arbitrarily from the overpasses. We are acclimated to the dry climate of Colorado so this was a nice change of scenery. First stop, Pike Place Market. I never realized it until we were there but the market is built on the edge of a steep hill several levels up from the waterfront.
Garrett was hesitant about the fish market as he has a strong aversion to fish and specifically the way it smells. I was surprised by the hustle and bustle of the market especially on a weekday. The streets were lined with vendors of every kind, produce, antique dealers, crafts, and restaurants. We did lots of window shopping picking up a few souvenirs here and there.
Mmm, gotta love them Washington apples!
The flowers were so fresh and fragrant. I wish I could have brought them home with me.
Do you like my hat? Okay, we're nerds.
The view from the top was breathtaking.
Mt. Rainer and Qwest Field home of the Seahawks. We were fortunate enough to have perfect weather while visiting, not one drop of rain and low 80's everyday. I guess people can live in Seattle for months without seeing Mt. Rainer. Lucky us, first day!
We hit the road early to travel to Anacortes where we caught the ferry to the San Juan Islands. First time on a Ferry for us. Most interesting to experience different forms of mass transportation. There was a little league baseball team on the ferry headed to the island for a Saturday game. Just so out of my norm. I didn't bring a jacket. I checked the forecast and didn't want to be carrying a jacket when the day warmed up. Well, little did I know how much the cool ocean water puts a chill in the air. Thank you Garrett for talking me into purchasing a jacket at the ferry terminal. I wore it the entire day.
This is a shot of the open sea from the stern as we left Anacortes Ferry Terminal.
We went shopping and had lunch to kill some time before our whale watching tour. Which was a bust we saw a dozen sea lions, three porpoise fins, and two bald eagle. NO killer whales. And of course our boat docked just as the ferry was pushing out. I think the locals plan it that way. The next ferry wasn't for another 2 hours so that meant spending more money. We would have been a little upset but the island was a really fun place to hang. 
The Underground is a network of underground passageways that was originally at ground level during the 1850's. When 25 city blocks burned to the ground in 1889. The city saw this as an opportunity to correct the problem of daily flooding during high tide. So they decided to regrade the streets at a higher elevation. The shop owners couldn't wait 5 to 10 years for the land to be back filled so they built the new building with two entrances one on the first story and another on the second story. For the regrade, the streets were lined with concrete walls that formed narrow alleyways between the walls and the buildings. At first pedestrians climbed ladders to go between street levels. I think they said that there were 13 people died falling from the ladders so they built archways for people to cross. Crazy who thinks of this stuff.
This shot is blurry but I think it gives you a good idea of what it was like down there.
And of course, we had to visit The original Starbucks at Pike's Place. Seriously every time you turn around in Seattle there's another Starbucks, no joke. The line was too long at the original so we went across the street to get our carmel apple ciders.
Home sweet home. One last shot of Mt. Rainier.
BEFORE: This is our living room the day we moved in. The carpet was pulled up before we took possession, but what you don’t see still stuck to the wood floor are the tack strips and staples where they connected the carpet at the carpet seams, hmmm. Notice the closet door and the half wall.
AFTER: We like it better this way. The walls are texured now, the floors sanded and re-finished, new base & crown, warmer color, the front closet now serves as a bedroom closet on the other side of the wall and the railing/banister opens the space up. Same ceiling fan- crazy, huh?
AFTER: This was taken from a different angle, but you can see we made the most of the old arches. It took us forever to figure out what to do with this space. Can't see it here, but we eliminated the 'closet' and opened up the wall to the stairs. Added wainscot details and some accent lighting. Sarah hates this pic because it shows Garrett's lame excuse for a coffee table- but we're happy to report that it has since been broken (Isaac fell through it- somehow unharmed and we'll save that story for another post) and a new one is on the shopping list.
BEFORE: Ok, the kitchen. What do you do with this layout? This was one of our first projects because we litterally had to eat! That dark thing is an appliance, called a sink [a totally mobile, metal unit]- yep it was totally bought at Montgomery Ward (if you don't know what that is, ask your parents). It sucked using it even temporarily because it had no garbage disposal. We figured a different layout was in order. We had a stainless steel fridge delivered the next day- it was SO out of place! But we worked around her, got her some friends and made it just a bit nicer.
AFTER: We aren't too impressed with the 'build-a-bear' cabinets, but they sure are easy on the eyes. Don't be fooled, the kitchen only looked this clean from this angle. All the counter 'junk' is hidden behind the fridge! This new layout give the kitchen way more flexibility and size as well as provide the adjacent bedroom with a larger closet- I love a good win/win. Sarah demanded that she get credit for the idea to go with the U-shaped layout!
