Thursday, August 2, 2012

Hotels with Kids and Remlinger Farms!

When picking a hotel for our family, we consider a few things....  One - There must be a pool.  That gives us something fun to do in the evening (without leaving) and properly wears the boys out so they can go to bed wiped out.  Two - They must have good wifi.  We put the boys to bed a bit earlier than we are ever ready and we watch shows on the internet with earphones so as not to keep them up.  Three - they must have a good breakfast and lots and lots of coffee.  We don't want to have to go out first thing in the morning - so all must be in-house.  And our hotel  - Holiday Inn in Issaquah - was perfect.  Big, comfy rooms (even a pillow menu) and a very cool dolphin-shaped pool.  In the short time we were there, the boys swam three times.  Poor Brian, but they loved getting to play with him.  
Everyone came swimming that night - and the kiddos all had fun in the pool until they were turning a bit purple and headed in for bed.  We knew it had been a long day and the next day would be longer, so we put the boys to bed in hopes they'd wake up somewhat rested.
The next morning the boys were sporting some awesome hair as we waited for the pool to open.
Both kiddos were in goofy moods after our delicious breakfast (and the boys ate free!) and were excited to get into the pool one more time.
There was a cool little courtyard with some fun landscaping that apparently made a great concert stage and we were treated with quite the concert.  As was anyone else whose room happened to be next to the pool.
The boys' swimming skills have totally taken off.  Both of them can swim independently now, though Lucas needs rescuing every now and then.  He really enjoys doing bobs though - and thinks they are the greatest "trick" ever.
Next it was off to Remlinger Farms in Carnation.  Such a cool place- perfect for our boys right now.
Lots of little rides and even a cool pedal car track.  In which I earned my keep by pushing Lucas the whole way - several times.
They had a cool steam train that took us all around the park - and even through a dark tunnel - which the boys thoroughly enjoyed.
I love getting to do rides, but most of these were sized for just the little guys-  including this mini-ferris wheel.
There were a couple I got to go on - again and again.  My favorite was the spinning barrels.  I took Ethan on and spun as fast as I could.  He was laughing so hard and kept banging his head - he couldn't keep it up.  I was exhausted by the end of it, but will treasure that memory with him.  We all loved the pumpkins  - up down and around.
There was a giant petting zoo, and a hay jump that the boys had a lot of fun in- until they realized they could not get all the hay off of them.
I enjoyed throwing the boys into the hay jump.  Very therapeutic.
The pony rides were a hit with Ethan and Lucas but not so much with Cole.  He refused.  Lucas was happy to take his place in line and loved his pony Peaches.
Ethan was a fabulous older cousin and took Cole on several rides with him.  The canoe float was a neat one - though Cole was most excited about the floating ducks.
They also had an old school bus and fire truck that Lucas LOVED playing around in.  He was a hoot - acting out entire scenes for us.  I love his imagination.
As the park closed, we headed to the market for some ice cream before we left.  I got Cole a chocolate cone and he learned that while chocolate makes a giant mess, it truly is better.  We said our goodbyes after playing for a bit and headed out.
We decided to stop for dinner along the way and agreed that Remlinger Farms would definitely be a "go again" destination for us.  So much to do and for a very reasonable price!  What a weekend!  We were all worn out and easily went straight to bed, though I sure was missing those fancy pillows!

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