Ketchikan was one of my favorite days, even though it was rainy and a little cold. We went to see Totem Pole Park, and then we went to the salmon stream and were awed by the way the salmon battle their way upstream. After we sampled some delicious salmon in a fish store on the way back to the boat.
We spent the day at sea. The kids had fun at kids club, and there was a fair like activity for the kids in the middle of the day that we all attended. They had face painting, cookie decorating, glitter tattoos, a clay boat-forming contest, and a dance party.
Today we woke up at the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown Hotel and had a nice breakfast. Then we went to take the kids to a show like the Soren show that was in New York, but when we got there, the soonest available showtime was too late for us given the cruise boarding time. Lily used her amazing influencing skills to get our money back even though the company we bought the tickets from typically does not give refunds.
While we were running around town attempting to see a show, Swathi was giving a virtual lecture from the hotel room. She said it went very well! When she was finished, Clark, Sruthi, Mani, Soren and Meera picked her up from the hotel and we all met up at the boarding place for the cruise.
Lily had a mini-panic attack because she realized at the last second she didn’t have any of the emails, texts or communications that she was told she would get as the time got closer to the cruise. She did confirm that she booked and got a confirmation number, and we did pay, but she was very concerned because we got so few communications after we bought it. She called Princess Cruise Lines and learned that they have three separate systems. And in two of the systems we were registered and good to go. But someone forgot to check a box to get us registered in their third system which was for communications.
At the end of the day, everything went fine when we checked in at the cruise ship. We said our goodbyes to Clark and Swathi who were so nice to help transport us to Vancouver, and boarded the boat (after security, customs, bag checking etc). We were all excited to be on the boat, but especially Lily, who booked everything and carried the heaviest burden of making sure nothing went awry. Thank you again Lily for booking this amazing experience.
Even though the first half of our day was a bit stressful and anticlimactic (not getting to see the show, having to battle for a refund, and I didn’t even mention the broken elevators at the hotel which caused us and many others problems), the second half of the day was completely magical.
Once on the boat we had delicious food. The kids were all so excited and loved exploring the boat together. We looked out over the ocean from the deck as we pulled off and enjoyed the incredible scenery. After lunch, we all went swimming, and then I snuck in a workout. Then we showered and got dinner. We saw a whale while eating and we continued to enjoy the wonderful food. The kids had non-stop fun being together, and we were quite the group! Ammon had fun announcing on elevators, “sorry, we have a big family!”. After dinner, we dropped the kids off at the kid zone, and then Lily, Sruthi and I sat out on the deck with blankets, and watched “Ticket to Paradise’ on the big screen. It was a wonderful movie, and I loved cuddling with Lily. We picked up the kids at 10PM, then everyone went to bed and now I’m blogging. What a day!
Recently, Lily has been falling in love with Tacoma and the Pacific Northwest. She’s been going on walks at Point Defiance, and the beauty has astounded her, and she’s been wanting to take me on the walk. Today we woke up at 5:20 and went. Despite my zombie-like state from fatigue and work stress, I truly loved walking with Lily through that beautiful area. It was a complete gift and respite given the pressures I have been facing.
Then I had a normal work day, and Lily worked on packing up for the cruise. I wrapped up around 3:30, and we were all out by about 4:30. The plan was for us to pick up Swathi from work, and then she would drive with us to Vancouver, and drive our car back to Seattle the next day.
On the way to pick up Swathi, Lydia, Lily, and I had an intense discussion/argument about Lydia getting a phone as well as her harp practice. It left us all a little sore, but we had a productive and more peaceful conversation on the topic the next day that felt like progress to me.
After picking up Swathi, we had a delicious dinner at a local Washington sea food chain called Ivar’s. I LOVED their clam chowder.
When we arrived at our Hilton in Vancouver, we all went to bed.
Today was a good day. We’ve continued to eat Mani’s amazing food:
Also, I’ve been melting down from stress at work, but Clark and I had a fast run that was over 4 miles and at a 7:33 pace. It had a lot of hills and really made us work. We loved it!
While I was working and running, Lily was giving the kids an awesome day. I think she took all six kids to the park and ice-cream, and then dropped off everyone except Lydia and Clarissa, whom she took the Washington State Museum and Chihuli bridge.
In the evening, we had a wonderful dinner that Clark made.
Today Lily drove to Point Defiance Park to take a walk, and shortly into her walk she realized it was one of the most beautiful places she’d ever seen, and she cut her walk short, hustled back to the car, went back to the house and loaded all the kids (including Soren and Mira) in the car so she could take them. They spent the morning seeing the forest and the incredible beach. At the beach, there were kids digging for jelly fish. Ammon called them, “his crew” and he was so excited at their discoveries. Soon they gave him a shovel and Ammon got to dig too. It was so much fun for everyone! They even played jump-rope with the kelp!
https://youtube.com/shorts/mXlxhlhSV0A
After that, Lily dropped off Soren and Mira and took our kids to meet up with Julie and her family at Olympia National Park. They had a great time, pictures below!
Then Lily, Lydia and Clarissa went to ice-cream/dinner with Julie and her kids while Clark took Ammon, Soren, Mary and Mira to a park.
I arrived back from Dalles tired and stressed, but happy to see everyone. We sure have loved our visit so far!
Today I was in Dallas for a Healthcare Leadership offsite. Highlights were being with amazing people, getting some pseudo-cowboy boots and a belt as a gift, and having dinner at the Cowboy Club with the leaders in my region.
In Tacoma, Lily took the kids on a great outing to Point Defiance. There were fun slides and beautiful nature for them to enjoy.
The kids had a lot of fun playing back at the house. Here are two videos.
Also, the kids had fun cooking and baking back at the house. They made ginger carrot soup, avocado toast and birthday cupcakes.
Lily went to Seattle today for her in-person appointment to get her Passport for our upcoming trip to Canada. I woke up at 4:40 to pack and leave for Dallas for a work leadership conference. The security line was so insane that I missed my flight. One lady, who also missed her flight, said she was two hours early. I was an hour and ten minutes early, and that clearly was not enough.
Lily was battling Seattle logistics of her own. Traffic moved very slowly and there was a semi-truck riding her so closely that it was seriously stressing her out. I felt bad for her, but I also couldn’t help, but chuckle a bit at her colorful language. It really only comes out to that degree in traffic, and it makes me laugh.
Lily got her passport without a hitch, and I made it to Dallas just fine. I enjoyed practicing principles from How to Win Friends and Influence People which we have all been listening to and I learned a ton about my Uber drivers. I felt very tired today, but I’m hoping for more energy tomorrow. I did have a great time eating BBQ with my fellow managers, and I also got a nice weights workout to put that protein to work.
When Lily arrived, she had a great time being with family, and Clark made hand-made pasta for everyone. We’ve also been admiring their beautiful piano which one of Swathi’s patients gave to her. Here is Soren playing, I assume with his teacher. He’s doing really well!
Today we woke up, had Mani’s delicious food for breakfast, and went to Bonney lake. Lily read a bunch of warnings about how cold the water was (even warnings that you could get shock from the cold) so she didn’t bring her swim-suit. That was really sad, because the water was amazing and warm. The kids and I swam, but I’m hoping Lily makes it back while I’m in Dallas, so she can enjoy the water also:
Back at that house, Clarissa enjoyed the hammock and we’ve all been enjoying the amazing view.
Then Clark, Swathi, Soren and Mira arrived and we all had so much fun visiting them. The kids disappeared and played for hours, and the grown-ups had fun chatting. It was great to hear about their trip to Croatia and Switzerland which they were just arriving from. I also got to go on a run with Clark which was a highlight of the entire day for me. Another major highlight was playing Wingspan with Lily and Clark after a delicious dinners. We’ve been having such a good time!
Today we woke up at the Holiday Inn, had breakfast and then hit the road. Before leaving, we caught a view of the gorgeous fields in Pendleton Oregon.
Around 3:00 we made it to Mt. Rainier. We were blown away by the view of Mt Rainier, and we were also stunned by the wildflowers. We wandered through the paradise area trails, and I think it was the most spectacular display of wildflowers that I have seen in my life. We had an incredible time. Lily says it is her new favorite National Park. It’d have to think about it, but it’s certainly up there for me, maybe top 5. It was an incredible visit.
Afterwards, we drove to Clark and Swathi’s. They hadn’t arrived home yet with Meera and Soren (they were still traveling back from a Croatia/Switzerland trip), but Mani was there and she fed us a delicious authentic Indian dinner.