Hi, we are in Renton!

Hey folks, we made it! Yes, we got all packed up bright and early and were at the border by 830am. Only had to wait about 20 minutes, so that was good. Ariel was quite happy as she had her buddy Elmo with her. Ask me how many times we got to listen to his little song. Haha. Good thing we could drown it out with the radio.


Today was a fun day of outlet shopping. We stopped at 2 different outlets, and they were so different. The first one was completely dead! Not much there, so we continued on to the next one. The description online was not kidding when they said it was one of the best outlets. It was PACKED!

Ariel was really hungry at that point and wasn't in any mood to wait any longer so we went to the McDonald's for literally, fast food! Now, we know that McDonald's taste totally different here, and we don't have much luck with the beef (if you call it that) and so we decided to all stick to chicken. Ken also discovered that the ketchup at McDonald's was really gross too. It wasn't Heinz but their own brand, yuck. Just plain ugh!

While we were eating this older lady was cleaning tables and stuck up a conversation with the lady sitting next to us with her 2 kids. That's when it got funny. This is what we heard...

'Well, you should see those Canadians, they are coming down to shop a whole lot and boy to they know how to shop! They are so funny with the way they talk and you never know where they are gonna pop up.'

Of course I was dying to say, 'hey, hows it going eh?' I held back and just giggled to myself. I must admit, we are out this way in droves thanks to our dollar. In fact, I happened to notice that the majority of cars parked beside us all had Canadian plates. Hehe.

For me the big hit was the Carters store. I found 3 really cute dresses for Ariel. All were on sale, and super cute. Also found a great little sweater that she can wear over them. They will be so nice for the summer months. I found this experience more to be about exploring than anything else. I wanted to see the difference in the clothing and quality. Some places there was a very noticeable difference while others there was none... except in price. Crazy. I wish we had outlets in Canada.


While there, we came across a very cool artist, a Chinese lady who was making art using a person's name. Well, we were so amazed and enchanted with them, we had to get one for Ariel. She created it in front of our eyes. Beautiful, a wonderful keepsake.


Ariel was showing signs of needed a nap, so we decided it was a good time to drive, and she got to sleep in the car. By the time she woke up, we were at our next stop. We didn't stay long as we were all a little tired, and headed to check in to our hotel.

Ariel was really excited about staying somewhere new. Including her fun ride on the baggage cart...


...and finding the big mirror in our room.


Here is a little tour of our little home away from home.


Then we went to eat at the hotel's restaurant. I had a wonderful turkey dinner, Ken had ribs and Ariel had mac & cheese with some apple sauce for dessert. The waitress was very impressed with how much she ate for being such a little peanut. That's our girl!


After dinner, we went across the street to Wal-Mart to pick up some cereal and milk to have in the room. Now we are all hanging out in the room watching Bruce Almighty on tv while I type this.


Well, I want to take a bath to freshen up before bed, but first I want to give a congrats out to Jeff and Marie and their newest family member Eleanor. She joins her older twin sisters Moira and Kasia. Can't wait to meet her in person. Whee.