What's Kept Us Busy?

Right after we returned from our sad trip east, my sister and her hubby arrived, and we had a fun time keeping them busy. Here they are, relaxing in our daughter's backyard and enjoying some nice weather.

We've tried to take them to Mount St. Helens on previous visits, and it's always been snowed in.  This time the weather was only cloudy with some intermitent rain but we decided to brave it and go.  This is about as much as we saw of the famous mountain, but there's lots to see/do in the Johnston Visitor Center, and we were surprised to also see kids from Tyee Middle School (where our kids attended) there on a field trip. Did you get to go to a volcano when you were in junior high???

The next day since the weather was still gloomy, we went for tea at the Panama Hotel of The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet fame. If you've not read the book, you've missed a great read!

The weather cleared up toward the end of the week, and we enjoyed a great meal at the Space Needle.  We couldn't see the mountains, but the rest of the views from way up high were stunning. We weren't crazy about the distortion from photographer's wide angle lens, but hey!  It was free!

We didn't take any cameras to the Bellevue Botanical Garden the next day but were amazed at how much it had changed since our last visit: lots more parking, a new education center, and a very fun suspension bridge.  We wanted to stay longer but were short on time, and  now they're back home in Minnesota, or rather spending the summer at their cabin in the North Country. How come fun visits go by so quickly?