The West Seattle windup
The last part of our trip was full of new and fun experiences. Kim (Sheri's college friend) and Mannie and Lucas were great hosts and we enjoyed getting to explore their new community. One day, we went to a local rocky beach and Lucas showed Lucy how to find creatures under the rocks. Lucy was very excited to hold baby crabs in her hands.

The next day, we went to the aquarium on the waterfront in Seattle. Lucy enjoyed seeing seals, otters, jellyfish, seahorses, and all sorts of fishies. But her favorite, without a doubt, was the very cool touch tank that held many sea urchins and star fish. Throughout the morning, she kept saying, "more starfishes!" She now owns a stuffed animal starfish that she likes to snuggle with when she's sleeping. Move over, night night bear...

We're now back home in Omaha, recovering from our fantastic trip. It was great to see where all these friends and family live, and to realize that it's easy to just pick up where we left off. Saying goodbye to each family along the way was sad for Sheri and Nathan, but just plain confusing for Lucy. This morning, Lucy woke up and said, "Where Lucas go? Where Mannie go? Where Kim go?" Later on, when we talked about going to the park after her nap, she said, "and Lucas be there!" She took everything in stride during our 10 day trip--we could not have asked for a happier and more flexible traveling toddler.

We decided to have a lazy day at home to recover and readjust to central time before heading back to school and work on Wednesday. We had a great time, but it's always nice to be home.