I went to help.....

Tosha and Austen move in.  But you have heard the saying about the plans of mice and men, things didn't actually go the way that it was planned.

When Tosha was here in December, we talked about me coming to Seattle on Martin Luther King weekend or President's weekend to help them get settled and let them have a date night or two.  At that time, they were expecting their stuff around January 11.  Tosha said that maybe President's Day would be best so they could be somewhat settled and she and Austen could enjoy getting away from it all.  I started making those plans and was watching flight prices, etc.  I was actually having a little trouble with a couple of work item things already set for the Friday before President's weekend as well that I had to resolve before booking flights.  I had already blocked off the Friday, January 12th as a day off and I just kept that as I always have things to do on my day off.

Then at the beginning of the year, Tosha texted and said that it was getting crazy with two little boys in an empty house and that if possible, she would like my help with the boys during their moving in time.  I immediately started looking for flights for Martin Luther King weekend, but the prices had gone up significantly, especially for my preferred days of travel from Thursday evening to Monday night.  Finally about a week before the trip, I thought to check for an early morning flight on Friday morning and finally was able to arrange the trip within a somewhat reasonable price (if you consider only having a 'personal item' being free on a flight reasonable.  Frontier chargers around $40 for a carry-on or $35 for a checked bag for each leg of the trip which was two legs on the way to Seattle. And if you want a seat assignment prior to boarding the plane, it is another $5 to $15 depending on the seat. I did manage to pack everything into a small backpack and then bought toothpaste, toothbrush, etc. in Seattle.)

Then a couple of days before I was to leave, Tosha text me and told me that their stuff had not arrived in time to be moved in on Thursday and wondered if I wanted to wait for a later trip.  Gary and I texted back and forth and decided that I would go ahead and go.  It would give Tosha and Austen a bit of a break and we could sightsee and have fun without worrying about unpacking.

So Friday morning at 3:15 a.m., I got up to get ready and head to the airport to catch my 5:15 a.m. flight to Denver and then the second part to Seattle.  The flight to Denver was uneventful, but somewhere on the flight or between gates 34 and 36 in Denver, including a bathroom stop, I lost my drivers license.  I realized it about 20 minutes before I was to get on my Seattle flight.  I rushed back to the original gate to see if it was found on the plane--No--and then headed to the Frontier counter, who gave me a piece of paper with the Frontier Lost and Found number, then I ran back to catch my flight.  After all, I didn't need a drivers license right then since I was already inside security.  I would just need it on Monday to get back to Salt Lake.

Once on the plane, after I caught my breath, I realized that I could just have Gary send my passport by express and I could get it by Monday, even though it was a holiday.  So I relaxed, read my book, and took a nap--the joys of traveling by yourself (mainly without children.)

I got off the plane and sent Gary a text, telling my problem and asking him to send my passport.  (Don't remind Gary how much this cost or how much trouble it was to do!)

Tosha and Austen and the boys picked me up and we headed off to their home.  One slight problem---they live on an Air Force base and to get on, you need to have ID---which now I did not.  It looked like I might be spending my stay in a hotel which was not the plan.  Gary thought to send me a picture of the passport and that worked.  The guard accepted it and allowed me on the base, but cautioned that other guards might not allow that so if I left base, I might not get on again.  We were relieved to make it on base.  Austen tried to get permission to use the photo of the passport, but no luck, so I remained on base for the entire stay until my passport arrived on Monday morning, then we headed out for lunch at the Spaghetti Factory and a nice drive up to Gig Harbor, before I had to head to the airport in the late afternoon.

So for three days, I played with Niki and Cooper and talked to Tosha and Austen....in their home with no furniture, paper plates and cups, some toys and books, and one pan. I sat on the floor, playing and singing and dancing with Niki and Cooper, reading books, and sending Tosha and Austen out to shop without them, see a couple of movies, and enjoy some adult time without two little boys.  It wasn't the plan for the trip...but it was pretty perfect for me.  I don't see Niki and Cooper much, but we were pretty attached to each other after that weekend.  Three days of grandmother time is pretty rare and I loved it.

Tosha and I did take the boys to check out every park on the Air Force base so that Austen could have some quiet to sleep for awhile.

These are from the Carter Lake park which is in walking distance of their home.

Western Washington--gorgeous trees and moss everywhere.....

 Tosha and Cooper on the big swing....

Cater Lake with ducks and geese...

That is one cute little boy......

These geese flew over head and then circled and landed in the lake.  It is amazing to watch the ducks and geese land on the water.

The geese decided to check out if Niki had any food for them but no luck, we didn't bring any seed.

This was in the back yard of their new home.  They have their own big pine tree there.

Niki and I played soccer for about 30 minutes one late afternoon while Cooper took his nap and Tosha and Austen ran some errands and saw a movie.

The skies were definately blue at some times during my stay, although there were some periods of clouds as well.  No real rain while I was there.  Tosha had commented how early the sun went down that far north on the earth.  The sun was setting around 4:30 or so when I was there.

Niki loves the book "Don't Push My Button."  We read it several times while I was there.  Parts of it he started to learn and would say the words as we turned the page.  It was so funny.   You really should read it with him when you have a chance.

The only other piece of civilization that they have is a washer and dryer, bought in part with their Christmas money from Grandma Hall.  They were so grateful.

My passport arrived and we headed off base.  This is Cooper trying the bread at the Spaghetti Factory.

Heading over a bridge out to Gig Harbor....

There are places so beautiful that you wonder why everyone doesn't live there--look at the trees and gorgeous waterfront.  That would be great to wake up to every morning......

It wasn't until Monday when we were driving around Gig Harbor that I saw this mountain for the first time this trip.  Austen said I could have seen it from the base, but I didn't know to look for it and where to look for it.  This is Mt. Rainier.  This is my mountain.  It is 14114' tall, the highest point of the Pacific Cascades and the highest peak in Washington state.  For those of you who don't know, I grew up in Eastern Washington (where the ground is like sand, the average waterfall is 7.67 inches a year, and sage brush and tumbleweeds are the only natural growing plants.)  However, you learn to be very proud of this beautiful mountain.  You learn about it in school in history and geography.  We camped near by on one trip that I can recall and saw it on a few other trips as we were heading to Seattle and back.

Having lived long  in Utah where mountain tops, one right after another, line the eastern skyline, it is striking to see one mountain top shoot from the ground and stand alone in the east.

I am getting old, I guess, because memories of my childhood flooded my mind and I got teary-eyed, looking at this beautiful mountain one more time. I look forward to more trips when we can explore the area more including making a trip to this mountain.

 After leaving the Gig Harbor area, we stopped at one more park where Tosha, Niki and I played at the park while Cooper and Austen napped in the car.

 

Then off to the airport---here was some art work over the train which took me out to the Alaska Airline flight-non-stop to Salt Lake.

And home again where Gary was waiting at 10:45 p.m.

No, it wasn't the helpful trip that I had envisioned where Tosha and Austen would get all settled while I played with the kids and helped unpack here and there nor was it a sightseeing trip, but again, it was perfect grandmother time with two little people (and their parents) who I adore and it doesn't get much better than that.