sleepless in seattle

Richard asked for a family trip to Eastern Oregon for his birthday. I looked into it, and decided that 7 hours in a car with Ben each way was just not going to be fun for any of us. So I booked us round trip tickets on Amtrak to Seattle for a 3 night adventure.

We had a fun train ride, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way. Seattle was easy to get around without a car for the most part- the only tricky part was the distance between the train station and the hotel. Otherwise we took street cars, buses, the monorail, a ferry, and did lots of walking. All of these modes of transportation thrilled Owen.

On Saturday, we took the monorail to the Space Needle in time for our brunch reservations at the top. Owen was nervous that the elevator would go too fast, but ended up enjoying himself. We all loved the view from the top and had a great meal. We then went to the Children's Museum and Owen had a blast playing, especially in the grocery store and a bento box storefront.

Sunday we got to the dock just in time for a ferry to Bainbridge Island. It was a quick ride over, where we walked to lunch and then found some fantastic ice cream. After the ferry ride back, we walked around the waterfront through Pikes Place Market. Monday we used the hotel pool for the last time and headed back to the train station.

We lucked out with beautiful weather and all had a fun time. Owen spent the next week showing us the various places we visited on his Seattle map.

the big one

Richard turned 40 this year. Owen helped me make a chocolate/chocolate cake and a birthday crown for him. We had Thai dinner out, then came home for cake with the Muhlys. Owen was very excited about Richard's pile of gifts, and even kept the secret about what was in one of them (I only told him one of them since Owen's prone to spill the beans). A little scaled down from his 30th birthday celebration- Las Vegas and skydiving- but we had a nice time.

tokyo

Richard got the opportunity to travel to Tokyo to visit with a supplier. We drove him up to the airport on a Saturday. We all had lunch and waved goodbye as he got through security. Richard sent us picture updates from his trip. He had a good week, enjoying the train system and several memorable meals.

He brought back snacks for all of us, a desk clock for me, a truck for Owen, and a frog for Ben, that may have a slight resemblance...

august

It's time for some real camera updates for August- it's been cell phone pictures up till now.

August has kept the McManus clan very busy. Just after Owen's birthday, Richard took a week long trip to Tokyo. Then he returned to celebrate his 40th birthday at home then with a weekend trip to Seattle. Last weekend we did our first family "camping" trip (or overnight in a tent, call it what you will).

Owen's spent August enjoying his birthday gifts (and we will get you a thank you note- they are in process!!). He has also been enjoying swimming lessons- he can now do successful bobs and back floats.

Ben has gotten both his lower and upper front two teeth, so we now have a baby chomper. Watch your fingers! He's getting more mobile, still perfecting crawling but definitely getting close. He gets onto all fours, but then tries to get to a stand. He has a 2-4% hit rate in grabbing Cheerios, and didn't choke on the few that made it to his mouth.

Anyway, the next few posts are dedicated to catching up with August!

or not

five hours of wiggles

back on amtrak

four tired folks headed home

on the ferry

The kind without wings

kids museum

lunch over seattle

Ben had a liquid lunch

space needle

Which is not a rocket

lounge car

here comes the train

heading to seattle

By train!

Richard turns 40!

Farmer Richard at Owen and his garden plot at HP on his birthday

Owen turns 4!

Owen turned four years old last Monday. On his actual birthday, he brought treats to school to share, and we picked him up early so he could open gifts and get some time to play with them. Aunt Susie joined us for spaghetti and meatballs, followed by more cupcakes (and still no candles).

We are still working our way through playing with his presents and having fun with each of them.

Owen at 4 (according to him):

Favorite color- purple

favorite animal- sea lion

favorite brother- Ben

favorite word to say- Rappohannock River

favorite place to visit- Vermont and Virginia

favorite state- Oregon

favorite day- all the days

favorite tree- Christmas tree

favorite number- 100

favorite food- meatballs ad spaghetti

what do you want to be when you grow up- nothing (further explained- he wants to stay home and play)

beavers or ducks- beavers

orange or green- orange

Owen at 4 (according to me):

is a curious, silly, tall, strong, handsome, stubborn, focused, and smart little boy. And a joy for his mom and dad.

how to get a cool birthday present

Richard and I both saw a Playmobil airplane at the toy store that we knew Owen would love. And we both decided not to get it for his birthday because we are tired of playing airport EVERYDAY. We were hoping that this would be the year of Hot Wheels to mix it up a bit.

Owen has always been a little different with gifts, in that he usually doesn't want them, at least at first. He has never asked for anything- not a toy or something at the grocery store- it makes him easy to run errands with.

So this year when we asked him what he wanted for his birthday, we were surprised when he picked out something very specific- a huge Thomas the Tank Engine railway set from a catalog he's had on his bookshelf for 2 years. Owen has a Geo Trax set that fills a room in our basement, and he hasn't been interested in Thomas for over a year, AND Thomas stuff is crazy expensive, so there was no way we were going to buy it for him.

We told him that he already had Geo Trax and he said "I have an idea, lets have both!" We told him there wasn't room for both and he said "I have an idea, lets put away the Geo Trax to make room for Thomas!" We told him that we would talk about it and he had huge alligator tears, reminding us that this was "the only thing I've ever wanted!" (which is true...).

I told him one morning on the way to school that the Thomas set was too expensive. He replied, "I have an idea, why don't you go to work and make money, and then you can buy me Thomas!" That afternoon when Richard picked him up, Owen asked him, "Dad, does mom make a lot of money at work?"

That weekend, Richard and Owen went to the toy store. Owen saw the Playmobil airplane and it was love at first sight. Guess what Owen got for his birthday?