HELLO,SEATTLE

We decided to venture out for Memorial Day weekend, and found ourselves looking for cities we could easily fly to, and had never visited. After scouring the East coast, and not finding anything affordable, we decided that Seattle would be a fun place to see. We were not disappointed! Our hotel was located right on Lake Union, in walking distance to not only major city sights (Space Needle, Mo Pop Museum, Chuhily Garden & Glass, Pacific Science Center), but great on the water eateries and a beautiful park. We were spoiled with amazing weather, and took full advantage the entire time. We walked everywhere, ate outside, and enjoyed a fun harbor cruise. We used the Seattle City Pass, which we highly recommend, for all of our sight-seeing. One of the highlights was seeing the Chinese Terracotta Warrior Exhibit at the Science Center. WOW! That was a major bucket list item for the both of us, and so fascinating. Even Grant was impressed by these ancient artifacts. We also strolled Pikes Place Market, and may other iconic Seattle landmarks. We had the best weekend, just the three of us, enjoying and exploring a new city. Seattle, you stole our hearts! 

CAVALLO POINT: THE LODGE AT THE GOLDEN GATE

For Derek's birthday weekend, we decided to use a generous gift and stay in Sausalito, the quaint historic town on the north side of the Golden Gate in San Francisco. We were able to stay at Cavallo Point, a beautiful resort that was formerly military housing and barracks during WWI, and WWII. We had a beautiful view of the bridge on Friday, before the fog rolled in Saturday. We dined at the resort restaurant, walked to the water, spent time in the luxurious spa, and just enjoyed doing nothing for about 24 hours. Grant was a joy to bring along, and received a lot of fun attention from fellow guests. He smiled, cooed, and loved being outside on the balcony, on walks, and eating on the porch of the restaurant with a beautiful view and cool breeze. It was a wonderful time as a family, and we can't wait to go back and enjoy more of what the beautiful city has to offer.

FRESNO ZOO & OAKLAND ZOO VISITS

Last week, Grant and I enjoyed two fun days at different Zoo's in our area. We first made the drive down to Fresno, so I could see my sweet cousin Brittany and her darling girls, who were visiting from North Carolina. Brittany and I were college roommates, and it had been too many years since we had seen each other; I hadn't even met her two cute girls! We spent the morning at the Fresno Zoo, and had the best time looking at the animals and feeding the giraffes! After, we had a BBQ at my Aunt Cheryl's house with a lot of my Tatum family that lives in Fresno (my grandmother, aunts, and cousins). This past Saturday, Derek and I ventured to the Oakland Zoo for the morning! It's a short hour drive from our house, and was a fun and relaxing way to spend the morning. They recently had baby baboons born, and they were hilarious to watch climb, jump, and play tag. Grant loved being outside, and rolling around in his stroller both days. It was a great week, with beautiful weather on both of our Zoo days!