This morning there was a message on our phone from one of our house managers informing us that there would be an outing to Sailing Heritage.  Since we have been at the house we have seen that these outing take place on a somewhat frequent manner but we have never had the opportunity to take advantage of it.  So, I made the executive decision to sign us up for it even though we were not exactly sure what it was we would be doing.  When Mike and the boys came back upstairs from having breakfast I told Mike about the plans I had made.  He was excited, however he had wanted to visit his mom today.  We managed to make a plan that included both.  Mike and the boys would head to Everett to see Emily and I would stay back here at the house to do some much needed cleaning, laundry, phone calls, bill paying and planing of Aidan's birthday party.
Although I really wanted to go with Mike and the boys, I have to admit that having the room to myself was nice.  There was no TV, no wrestling.  Just quiet.  Of course things did not go completely as I had planned.  I only managed to get half way down my list of to dos before the family arrived back at the house. 
The boys day consisted of going up to see Grammy, having banana pancakes with her, going to a movie and then stopping at a card store.  I wasn't there, but I could imagine that Grammy must of been all smiles about the day.  She loves when she is feeling well enough to be out and about and to spoil her grandkids. 
As soon as the boys got back we were in a rush to get ourselves fed and downstairs by 5:50 to catch the van.  Somehow we managed it and we were in the van and off with three ladies from the house to Lake Union. 
We were all so excited as we were walking down the pier to see what our boat would look like.  Then there it was, this large sailboat waiting for just us.  On board was the Captain and three crew members, all volunteers. Of course the first thing Aidan and Sage wanted to do was to go into the bottom of the boat to explore and then all over deck.  It was around 7:30 by the time we left dock with perfect weather.  Not too hot and not too cold.  We headed off towards Lake Washington where we were told that the Captain would put the sails up.  To get there though we got to go under two draw bridges.  The first being the Roosevelt Bridge and the next being the Mountlake Bridge.  Of course the boys loved it, and I have to admit, so did Mike and I.  Not long after we were out on Lake Washington and the sails were being ready to set.



It was amazing to us how different the world looks from the water and how absolutely calm we felt out there.  It helped that we were surrounded by amazing people.  The boys were waited on hand and foot.  One of the crew, Cathy, was constantly making sure that the boys had everything they needed. Whether that was drinks, or snacks, or tours. 
The best part came as we began to head back to Lake Union.  By this time it is around 9:15 and the sun has almost completely set.  The view was beyond amazing.  As we come into Lake Union we can see all of downtown Seattle lit up and the Space Needle standing proudly in the foreground.  What an experience we had.  A new adventure, new friends and a new joy of being on the water.  Mike and I agreed, of all of the things we have been lucky enough to do since we have been here in Seattle, this was by far the very best. 
Thank you Ronald McDonald House and thank you to Schooner Mallory Todd and her whole crew.

Tanya