And now – the long awaited presentation of Ashley & Kennedy Sunshine tour to Seattle.Â
For those unfamiliar with the whole Rae of Sunshine thing:Â
That has been my daughter’s nickname – Ashley Rae of Sunshine – since she was a little girl, because of her absolutely sunny personality.  Her daughter Kennedy bears the same middle name, and that same sunny streak. So now you know.
I picked Ashley and Kennedy up from the airport early Thursday afternoon (10/11) and had my first “aaaaaahhhh” moment as we were walking along the skybridge to my car.  Kennedy was pulling her little princess suitcase behind her, and out of the blue she turned to me and said, “I love you, Grandma Alli”   And that set the tone for the rest of the wonderful mother-daugher-granddaughter bonding trip : )
The traffic is the only drawback to living here, and I try to avoid making extra trips downtown if I can avoid them. So while already out, we headed straight downtown to the Pacific Science Center to look at giant bubble machines, dinasaurs and other cool stuff.    That night we met up at Cosi for dinner with my brother Jeston, his lovely bride Eve, and cousin Emily.  Of course we topped it off with Smores.
Day 2: The zoo.  Kennedy wanted to see the animals, so after lunch we headed off to the zoo. We hoped it might solidify her Halloween costume choice, since to this point every time we asked she wanted to be something different.   The weather was lovely and the zoo not very crowded. I took lots of great photos, but you can’t see them. The flash card has errors and the only photo I was able to salvage from the day is this lovely gorilla family portrait.  Â
Costume choices? Giraffe, dog, bunny, rabbit or fireman.
You might be wondering how kitty handled visitors. No? Well I’ll tell you anyway. He adored Ashley – took right to her and was often curled up in her arms. Kennedy, on the otherhand, was a cause for great alarm.  Run away! Run away!
Day 3: The Park.  First we browsed Country Village shopping center (very cute) that was having a harvest festival, had lunch a local cafe, where Kennedy entertained us with songs and overall cuteness.  I wish I could remember all the funny things she said – she really kept us in stitches.
Then it was off to the park to feed the ducks, play on the swings, make friends on the playground and pose for more pictures.   All in all, a lovely day.  And aren’t my babies beautiful??
I’ll have to stop for now, because today is my LEAST favorite day of the entire year – the day when I must set my clock forward and lose an hour of sleep.   But be sure to come back – you want to miss the exciting conclusion of this high estrogen adventure!
OK, I take it back – it isn’t my least favorite day of the year. I was confused – tonight I get to sleep an additional hour! But that’s only if I actually go to bed now – and so I will 🙂
you had me going for a minute there :o)
Yes your babies are very beautiful:o)
I’m so happy to see these pictures and read about the visit. I see you had a marvelous time.
Beautiful! Both pictures and ladies, I’m so glad you are blogging now and I can keep up with your life. Ashley you are so precious.
Oh how fun. It’s great to see my vacation layed out on the screen. We had such a marvelous time- thank you for blogging about it 🙂
We will have to do that again… soon! And thanks, Michelle. Your family is also very precious!
Kennedy and Ashley are totally beautiful!! I would read a book of cute things Kennedy says- she is so funny.
Love to all!
Both your ‘little girls’ are gorgeous and so sweet. I’m so glad they got to visit you and do all that fun stuff! You have been a busy girl throught October and your readers are loving all your pics.
How fun! Kennedy is absolutely adorable. This makes me want to have a daughter!
Both girls are such a joy to be around.
I like the story of Kennedy very sweetly announcing that various people have big butts. 🙂
Oh yes, Kristin- the innocence of youth. Kids will say whatever is on their mind, such as: “She has a big butt, you have a medium butt, and I have a small butt, huh mom?” and of course asking a man who was fixing something at our house “What do you have in your belly? Is it a baby?” (while I try to talk loudly over her or cover her mouth so the man doesn’t hear…). Luckily most people think it’s more cute than offensive. 🙂
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLEY!
I nearly have tears rolling down my cheeks laughing at the memory of Kennedy’s several butt comments. It started with, “grandma, you have a big butt.” (Why, yes I do! Thank you for noticing :)) And later, “Look, that lady has a big butt like you, grandma.” And of course the “I have a small butt, huh?” because Kennedy realized that, compared to her, nearly all butts are big 🙂
I was also very fond of this funny thing she would do, in a very mock-crying voice “We cry all day!”
It started when she was whining’crying, and I started doing it with her, over the top, so she could see how silly it sounded. Pretty soon she was into the game as she cried, “everybody sad, we cry all day!”
And I loved when she would role-play with her toys… such funny dialogue… and the songs she would make up.
Basically, I adored having her around.
Ashley, you were adorable too but in a different way 🙂
I loved the beautiful pictures and reading about your visit….3 beautiful ladies