Yesterday, somewhere on I-5 around Mt St Helens there was a battle between me, Michael, Rita and Dr. Seuss ("Hop on Pop" specifically...we were reading it in the car and everyone was too tired and grumpy to read). We were Day 8 into our vacation - driving to the airport and ready to go home. I was wondering why no one told me that 8 days and 7 nights *may* be too ambitious for our first family vacation?

I think I almost went nuts the number of stops we had to make in public restrooms. Especially when we had to find them on short notice after Rita said she didn't need to go 10 minutes earlier when it was convenient.

OK, so really this is all slightly less dramatic than the story of Rita almost pitching Oleg over the side of Mt. Rainier. (Oh wait, it did almost happen like that.) Our vacation was a good one, just kind of long for our family of three who really enjoy being at home and chilling out with their dog and cat on their family room sofa and four laptops.

On Wednesday we made it to Seattle and spent a couple of hours at the Seattle Center. We got there by the monorail and rode a few rides at the amusement park. Rita LOVES rollercoasters. (Lucky for me because Michael loves them as well.) We also checked out the big water feature (promising to come back on Friday with swimsuits ON but in the end that promise was forgotten). We then walked over to the Olympic Sculpture Park and then down to one of the piers for dinner. It was great being outside and walking around in the sunny warm weather.

On Thurday we were lucky enough to meet up with Lisa, Derek and Oleg. With them, we had lunch, toured around Pike Place Market and the Aquarium. We also tried to burn off some toddler/7-year old energy with a stroll along with pier. In the evening, we met with our friends e and Tim (and their twin girls from Ekat) for dinner at Ivar's.

Friday was a quiet day for us ... The whole week Rita was battling a nasty cough that seemed to be getting better (remedy: mint tea) so we didn't want to push things. We ended our trip in Kirkland at e and Tim's place for some playground fun, dinner and girls slumber party.

And then, the drive back and battle with Dr. Seuss. (I am laughing now as a silly thing like reading Dr. Seuss got me so unbelievably annoyed.)

It was interesting for us to be out of our comfort zone, our normal routine. Overall, Rita did really really well. Every new place we went, she did her fair share of exploration but I think it was reasonable. One of my favorite moments was wrestling her out of the corner of Elle's dining room. There was a toddler exercise bike next to a display of glassware and other shiny glass objects and Rita was not cooperating.

Rita did try to manhandle every young child she came upon but luckily all parents were fine with her geniune attempts to be friendly and a helper to the young ones. Like cats and small dogs, she loves to pick up younger children and play with them. I think she would make a good older sister.

I also loved how she engaged in conversation with our friends and participated in all of our activities and meals. She tried new foods like mussels. I got fat eating too many french fries, and pastries at Piroshky Piroshky. Yep, I've decided on this trip that I need to get more exercise, eat better and manage my time more wisely.

We'll see how that goes.