Here we are in Portland, OR. Our hotel was right in the middle of the city. 
After walking a bit and riding on the light rail that Portland has, we finally made it to our hotel!! My mom was very excited.
The hotel we stayed in was very colorful. I have never seen so many different patterns in one room. The lobby was great and Lulu found a chaise lounge that I wish I could take home with me.
Here is my mom and dad. They had the best time being with their family.
After we checked into the hotel we went and had lunch at a darling little deli.
Then we headed back to the hotel and found our rooms. We first went up to my parents room.......actually it was more like the size of a small condo. They had the top floor suite. It was so nice because it had a dining room and living room, so we all could hang out together. That evening we ordered dinner and ate in their suite. Lulu loved their bed!
I love this picture of Mark and Levi. Looking out the window at down town Portland. 
Here is Lulu running around my parents hotel suite. And Todd's checking out the price of the hotel goodies. I think a candy bar was like $4.00 and a bottle of water was about the same. Thankfully we brought our own goodies.
Then after spending some time in my parents room our room was ready and we got to go relax. We tried to give the kids a nap but they were just too excited to sleep. Our room was darling and the colors were so fun. And it was great becasue we were right next door to my parents. 
Here is Levi enjoying the big fluffy bed.
Lulu got the bed next to the window. She had a blast climbing and jumping around.
Behind the beds was a little nook where the curtains went. So Mark and Lulu of course had fun playing and acting goofy.
Mark and Levi relaxing.
Lulu had fun exploring all the drawers and all the little nooks and crannies.
Then we heard a knock on the door. The bell boy brought us our very own goldfish to enjoy while we were staying there. The fish's name was Phil and Lulu loved having a pet while on vacation.
Then just a bit later the same bell boy came back and brought Lulu her very own bathrobe. It was leopard print.....too cute. She was having so much fun and we hadn't even left our room yet.
After an afternoon of relaxing and doing our own things we all met in the lobby before dinner.
Sister and brother picture.........Todd is older then me by 21 months.
Here is Uncle Todd and Aunt Stephanie with Lulu. 
In the evenings this hotel has paints and canvases out for their guests to paint with. This was so fun because Lulu got to paint her very own original piece of art and bring it home. 
Here's her final painting. Just beautiful! We asked her what she painted and she said it was the city. 
After a long day and a nice dinner we headed back to our room and put the kids down. We made a little bed for Levi on the floor. Again, have you ever seen so many patterns at once? It looks really busy but it actually was very nice looking.
Lulu fell asleep while looking out the window onto down town Portland. What a view!
You can see my mom's pictures on her blog here.
Rise and Shine! It's time to catch the train to Portland. We woke the kids up really early because we were heading to Portland on vacation. As a Christmas gift to my mom, my dad surprised her with a trip to Portland on the Amtrak. My mom started crying when my dad told her that her children and her grandchildren were coming too. So we have been planning and getting excited for this trip since December. 
We decided to park the car at a park-n-ride and ride the bus to the train station in down town Seattle. Here we are with my mom waiting for our bus around 6am. 
Here is Mark and my dad sitting on the bus. We rode on an "express" bus that has a bendy middle section because it's so long. So that's where we all sat.....right on the bendy part. The fun part about sitting on the bendy section is that when the bus turns a corner my dad turns first then Mark's seat followed. Ahhh the simple pleasures in life.....getting to sit on the bendy seat.
Here is Grandma and Lulu snuggling together and keeping warm.
We made it to the train with plenty of time to spare. Here we are boarding. Lulu was so thrilled to be on a real Choo Choo Train. 
Here is Lulu with Papa and Grandma. We had seats that faced each other. 
Levi had fun sitting with Grandma. He enjoyed his first train ride.
Then we decided to go get a table in the diner car. My brother Todd and his wife Stephanie were going to be joining us on the train. We had about an hour ride before they would get on. Here is my mom and Lulu enjoying the ride.
Mark and my dad sat across from us and enjoyed talking. Two guys who love to talk.
Lulu enjoying her breakfast that Grandma made for her.
Levi slept on me a good portion of the trip. I just love my front carrier. Both Lulu and Levi have had some of thier best naps on me in this carrier. 
Here we are going under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. This is the famous Galloping Gertie that collapsed in 1940, click 
Once the train made it to Tacoma my brother and his wife got on. Now the whole family was together and our trip officially started!!
Here is Aunt Stephanie with Levi and you can see Papa and Lulu in the background sitting with Uncle Todd.
Here is a view of how we all sat in the diner car. We would all swap and trade spots and talk with each other. Lulu loved being able to walk around.
Here is Grandma doing one of her most favorite things. 
Here is Papa doing one of his most favorite things too....no not playing chess but spending time with his family.
Lulu spent some time playing on her own too. She was playing with a stir stick and Papa's cell phone.
About 3 1/2 hours later we made it to Portland. Here we are in front of our train. 
