Birthday Surprise

Melissa surprised her hubby by taking him on an adventure crossing state lines. We went to the Tacoma/Seattle area to visit my big brother, Sean. We enjoyed their hospitality for a total of 4 days. We enjoyed several adventures, ranging from travelling to the big city, to coloring pictures around the island in the kitchen. Sean's better half cooked us some gormet-grade meals, for which we were very grateful. Sean's kids, Avery, Tobin, and Tenley were a hoot. Avery was everything princess, and even has a hidden talent of dancing to spanish music (imagine a 5 year old, dressed in a ballet outfit, with oversized bead necklaces strung about her neck, hands on hips, shaking from side to side . . very cute). Tenley was a little jokester, who loved to play little games with her Uncle Aaron while travelling in the car. We especially enjoyed her bright smile! Tobin is a man's-man, a rough-and-tumble type. He looks exactly like his father. Here is a brief outline of some highlights of our 4-day adventure:

We arrived on October 24th. Sean and Avery met us at the airport, and drove us to his home, which is situated in a beautiful area full of pine trees and open spaces. That night we celebrated my birthday(my 30th birthday . . I'm old now). Melissa, Sean, and Melissa and I went to an outstanding restaurant to gorge ourselves on seafood of the highest caliber.

On day number two, we took the ferry over to Seattle, and enjoyed walking around the town, including a visit to the infamous "Pikes Market", an outdoor market famous for flinging fishes. Melissa (my wife) bought herself an extremely large apple which she could use for a second noggin should the need arise.

On day number three, we took a stroll down to the beach to brave some very cold winds for a moment while we hunted for seashells. Ethan was loving the great hunt, and actually ended up with a live crab living inside of one of the seashells we collected. He was our guest for a few hours before we found a new home for him in a roadside inlet.

On day number four, Sean drove us back to the airport, where Melissa took this great picture of the peninsula where the Sean Baxter Homestead is located. In the picture you can faintly see a bridge leading from Tacoma (on your left) to the Gig Harbor area.