Vacation Begins, July 3

We tried to be completely packed and ready as we went to bed July 2nd.  We were getting up early to get dressed, brush teeth and meet the taxi taking us to the airport.  Getting ready for this trip was so odd just because it has been a really long time since we have gone on a big trip without also moving.  Every time I have packed the big suitcases for the 6 years, I was trying to optimize space and weight to minimize what I had to ship separately.  It was a strange for all of us to try and pack light to allow for more room on the return trip.  Return trip--we bought round trip tickets!

The girls wanted to wear flip flops, but have warm feet, so I let them wear my toe socks.  Big hit! Emirates was the nicest airline I have been on.  The individual screens and selections help the 14+ hours pass less painfully.  We hardly slept on the plane.  Probably a good thing because we had an easier than expected adjustment when we got to Seattle.

Starry ceiling to mimic nighttime, but don't open the windows.  The sun never set on our way over the north pole. 

We landed and made it into Seattle, picked up a rental car and found the hotel.  The first order of business then was to buy SIM cards so we could use our phones in the states.  That was the hardest part for the kids to stay awake.  I think they all dropped off for a few minutes during that long wait.  On recommendation we went to T-Mobile and our phones worked great in Seattle.  Unfortuneately, the coverage was HORRIBLE  everywhere else.  I switched to AT&T the second day in Bountiful, but because Matt had less time left, he was stuck with rotten T-Mobile the whole visit.  

Then they woke up as we walked around and found ourselves down at Pike Place Market.  We had an early dinner at upstairs at Lowell's over looking the Sound and then went back to the hotel to crash.