Seattle odds and ends

Here's Cora the Explorer - sorry, couldn't resist that one! Too easy!

We picked up this Dora suitcase the night before our trip, and our little traveler couldn't have been more proud of it. It's garish. Obnoxious. Cheaply made. But as soon as Cora saw it in Toys R Us, she "loved" it. As it was the only small rolling suitcase we could find that evening, we had no other option. She packed and repacked it several times, all by herself.

Aunt Patty turned Alison's old bedroom into Cora's room, and Cora firmly adopted it as her own. She slept in a real big-girl bed - a twin size - for the first time, with lots of cozy covers and sheets.
Thankfully, Bill and Patty have saved lots of toys, so Cora had books, Duplos, Hotwheels, and trains and track to occupy her. She was excited to show Alison, her boyfriend Tyler and his family "her room and her toys" when they came over for dinner.
Here, she is asleep holding a tucked-in Woody, which belonged to my cousin William, during a nap. But when we returned home, she decided she still doesn't like the Woody she was given for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa.

No visit with Aunt Patty would be complete without some kid-assisted baking! Here, she and Alison involve Cora and a friend, Jenna, with cupcake baking.

Uncle Bill bonding with Violet... who did great on the trip! She got a little squirmy on the airplane, but not bad at all. She was generally happy in Seabeck, and slept pretty well in a travel playpen at night and during naps.
Cora's first firepit! We had promised Cora a fire and marshmallows, so even though it was late when we got back from Mt. Rainier, Uncle Bill gathered the kindling. Another great memory was had, complete with shooting stars in the bright night sky.

On our way home Wednesday, Cora the Explorer traveled by foot, car, boat, airplane and train! (The train was a terminal connection system at the airport.) She loved the ferry, and had fun feeding the seagulls. That's what brought out the huge smile you see above.

Violet enjoying the wind and sun... I had a similar photo taken with Cora on her five-month-old trip to Seattle, so I wanted to recreate that moment. For more on that trip, you can click here and read the posts from July 7-11.