"We're going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo..."

How about you, you, you?

You can come too, too, too,

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

Some kids songs just get stuck in your head and there's no getting rid of them - even after you take them to the zoo!  This last weekend was originally planned as a trip to the zoo and then on down to my sister's place for some fun with the cousins.  But it quickly ballooned into a tour of several of Seattle's tourist attractions when Ryan's boss mentioned the CityPass (a very economical way to see 6 of the more popular ticketed attractions in Seattle).   The great thing about the CityPass attractions?  They are super kid friendly. 

First order of business?  Take a boat ride.

Here are a few of the ships we were amazed at.  Upper left - a huge Coast Guard icebreaker in dry dock dwarfing a Washington State Ferry (which are pretty big themselves).  Upper right - a couple new fishing vessels.  Bottom:  an empty ship waiting to haul Grandpa Larry's grain.  At least that's what Lane said when the guide informed us it hauls wheat. 

We're ready to order up one of these for our little town, a fun indoor activity center:

The kids had a ball at the Pacific Science Center.  We had a hard time convincing Morgan to leave the water station.

Lane was more interested in touching the animals in the tide pool.

And Logan was impressed with the reclining stroller.

The Space Needle was another hit.  Although Morgan's ears didn't agree with the quick trip up/down the elevator!  Even though it was a rainy day, it's still pretty neat to look down on everything.

We finished Day 1 at a restaurant with my Auntie 'Ree.  We enjoyed having her help us celebrate Daddy's 35th birthday.

Day 2 - A trip down to the Aquarium on the waterfront while we waited for Auntie Laurie and her kids to arrive.

The octopus (top of the tank) didn't look quite like books depict them! 

A walk along the waterfront.  Thankfully it wasn't quite as rainy.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the event we'd been looking forward to for several months:  The Woodland Park Zoo.  And what a great zoo it was!

A few of our favorite animals.  We were really impressed with all the different animals.  We spent several hours there and didn't get to a good portion of it. 

Gorillas have really big hands.

 Three goofy cousins.

A ride on the carousel was a welcome diversion.

Ummm...where are we?!

Day 3:

We took advantage of the sun showing itself and headed out to the beach.  However, the wind was quite brisk so it really wasn't that warm.  The kids played in the sand and blew bubbles for a while before and we headed back...

so that Lane could get some batting practice in...

and the girls could have their tea party!

And one last picture because it makes me chuckle:

Did you know that puzzles require cool shades to complete?

Thanks for everything, Lance and Laurie!