Written by hbrown on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Just got home yesterday from a little roadtrip to Spokane to visit with friends and then Suncadia. We had a blast in Spokane and Suncadia was a treat. Photo gallery and video clips below!
Written by pbrown on Monday, December 15th, 2008 ( Start discussion )
On Saturday we spent the afternoon at the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland. Charlotte was predictably overwhelmed by the whole thing, but she seemed to have a good time. Heidi and I spent most of our time wondering how so many people can fit into a space that seems so small. We only visited about 20 percent of the park (Main Street, Fantasyland, and Toon Town). Charlotte went on two rides with mixed reactions, and we got front row seats on Main Street for the Christmas parade. Another long day for the girl, but we all had a great time.
The weather Saturday was starting to turn, and the wind was really blowing!
The first ride Charlotte went on was King Arthur’s Carrousel. This ride was mostly selected for it’s relatively short line, and the fact that Charlotte has previous experience on Carrousels. She was kind of freaked out about the whole thing, but liked riding on a horse.
Our second ride for the day was on “its a small world” which was totally decked out for Christmas. Charlotte’s reaction to this one was definitely not fear, but she seemed totally overwhelmed by the sights and sounds. This ride is the subject of one of the most vivid Disneyland memories of my childhood, because the ride broke and our family got stuck inside for about 45 minutes. Fortunately that didn’t happen this time!
The biggest event of the day by far for Charlotte was getting to meet Minnie Mouse. Charlotte has never shown any interest in costumed characters (see Butch the Cougar, or Zoe from Sesame Street, or even Santa). Anyway, after checking out Toon Town for a while Minnie Mouse came walking by and setup shop for people to get in line to have their picture taken with her.
We got in line thinking that if Charlotte freaked out we’d just walk away. Instead, she was mesmerized by Minnie, and we got a couple of great pictures!
We ended the day with the “Christmas Fantasy” Parade. We got to Main Street about an hour and a half before the parade and managed to snag front row seats along the parade route. At one point during the build up they even had snow machines blow snow on the street!
Charlotte LOVED the parade. All the characters came by and she got to see them all from a safe distance. Santa ended the parade and we made a quick retreat to the car. Charlotte was asleep within 5 minutes of leaving the park, and she slept well as we got ready to fly home on Sunday. (Note the new plush Minnie with Charlotte!)
Written by pbrown on Monday, December 15th, 2008 ( Start discussion )
I had planned to update the blog more during the trip, but since our hotel had limited internet access I had to wait until we got home. The wedding was a great event, held at the Tivoli Terrace in Laguna Beach. Charlotte did a great job of staying up late, outlasting the four-year-old flower girl by a few hours. If the party is any indication, Jon and Erin are off to a tremendous future together. After staying for a few dances, we had to leave the reception with a very tired girl, so she could get her rest for her big next day at Disneyland.
The happy couple during toasts after the wedding.
Charlotte and “Nana” before the ceremony.
Written by pbrown on Friday, December 12th, 2008 ( Start discussion )
We left cooling Seattle on Thursday to travel to my brother Jon’s wedding in Californa. Charlotte was loving the whole air travel thing, and still managed to get a decent nap on the plane. We had one of the most pleasant and uneventful days of travel we’ve ever had together as a family as we flew into Orange County Airport. By the time the sun was going down we were soaking up the last few moments of daylight on the boardwalk at Laguna Beach, and enjoying the unique Chrismas dolphin lights. The wedding is Friday night, then on Saturday we’re going to go spend the day at Disneyland. Not too bad, considering the forecast for Seattle is for snow. Too bad we have to go back on Sunday. More pictures soon.
Written by pbrown on Sunday, April 20th, 2008 ( Start discussion )
One great thing about Beaches is that they are really family freindly. The staff goes out of their way to help with kids, and they have Sesame Street themed events all day. That last point led to Charlotte learning a new word this week: “Elmo“. 
Of course, Charlotte put her special spin on it… every character she saw was “Elmo”. Our favorite “Elmo” was a garbage can designed to look like a dolphin. The really funny part to us was that these garbage cans were all over the place, but the one called “Elmo” was the one by our room, and she started shouting “Elmo” whenever we got within 30 feet of it going either direction!
The only slight disappointment was the weather. It was plenty warm, but rained heavily on and off for three of the five days we were there. There was pretty significant flooding in the town next to the resort, but the only real effect on us was that we spent less time in the pool and more time on the deck.
As cold as it is in the Pacific Northwest right now, I’m definitely wishing we could have some of that Jamaican weather back… when we arrived at Sea-Tac the temperature was 34 degrees and we were all still in shorts! Fortunately we didn’t have to spend too much time outside.
We go back to our regular lives tomorrow, but for now, one last evening relaxing as a family and remembering what a great time we had in the land of “No Problem, Mon.”
Written by pbrown on Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 ( Start discussion )
It was a long day of traveling, but we’ve finally arrived home. After waking up early and eating one last delicious breakfast at the hotel, we drove to Whittier to spend a little time with my Grandpa Bill. This is actually the second time Charlotte has met her last living Great-Grandpa, but every time is precious. Too quickly, we had to hop back in the car for the drive to LAX. We got through security painlessly enough, and after a quick lunch we were on the plane headed back to Seattle. Charlotte napped on the plane for about an hour, but for the last part of the flight we could tell she was done with vacations for a while. Home now, and doing all the things you have to do on return from being gone. It was a great trip!
Written by pbrown on Saturday, September 22nd, 2007 ( Start discussion )
(Click on pictures for bigger views!)
After a few days of fun and shopping in LA, it was time to get down to business and see our beloved Cougar football team take on the hated Trojans of USC. The morning arrived cool and damp with some pretty heavy rain showers, but we hoped things would get nicer as we got closer to game time. We hung out around the hotel in the morning, then got to the LA Memorial Coliseum about 2. We met briefly with my younger brother Jon, who is a student at nearby Biola University. After that, we hit the WSU Alumni party where we connected with a couple of guys that I work with in Seattle, Curt and Paul.
Walking from the party to the stadium, I noticed something about USC fans: they’re like the Borg. They realize you’re team is no threat so they just completely ignore you. I guess it’s better then being spit on…
We finally got inside the stadium about 4:45, and the game started quicky after. The Cougs gave it a good fight in the first quarter, but clearly the Trojans are from another football planet, and they killed us pretty quickly. It rained a little during the first half, but not too bad. Charlotte was pretty tired as the game ended, so we hurried back to the hotel to get her back to bed and pack.
Tomorrow we fly back to Seattle, but first we’re going to go visit Grandpa Bill, Charlotte’s Great-Grandpa!
Written by pbrown on Friday, September 21st, 2007 ( Start discussion )
(Click on pictures for bigger views!)
After a great breakfast at the hotel and a morning nap for the girl, we started day three with a visit to Hollywood Blvd and the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Heidi enjoyed seeing Julie Andrews’ handprints, and Charlotte checked out Donald Duck’s footprints. We walked up and down the Walk of Fame for a few blocks and saw the stars of lots of celebrities.
Next we went over to Universal City Walk, and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. I’m 99% sure that we got the same table next to the Nancy Wilson lyrics for “Barracuda” that we sat in 10 years ago, which was the last time we came to L.A. for a Coug game. I guess if we get within two seconds of winning tomorrow, I’ll probably be pretty happy.
After lunch we cruised over to the Beverly Center for more shopping. Heidi had heard about a store called H&M that is coming to Seattle soon. She was able to get a preview here in LA, and I think you could safely say she’s pretty excited to be getting one in our area code soon.
After a drive back to Santa Monica and dinner, it was bath time and down to bed. Time to dream of a Cougar victory tomorrow!
Written by pbrown on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 ( Start discussion )
Hello from a surprisingly beautiful Santa Monica. Everyone on TV has been saying the weather is going to be awful, but today was just about perfect. A clear blue sky as far as the eye can see! 
(Click on pictures for bigger views!)
We started the morning with a walk down the Santa Monica Pier. Charlotte enjoyed chasing birds around, while we enjoyed the amazing views of massive sand beaches that were virtually empty of people. 
After enjoying the Pier, we walked over the the Third Street Promenade to do some shopping. Heidi got to spend some time at her favorite store in the world, Zara. Charlotte and I know not to even try to keep up with mom when she’s at a place like that, so we sat outside and enjoyed the street scene.
View Larger Map
Later in the day, we drove up Pico Blvd. to the Fox Studio lot (Google map above), the national home to FSN and Fox Sports. We didn’t go on the lot, but I was happy to say I’ve at least seen it with my own two eyes. 
We ended the day by driving up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu to eat dinner at a great place called Duke’s. This picture was the view we had from our table. A great meal, and a great view! Thanks to Dave Rees for recommending the place!
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