safe mode vs. help mode

Just when things were about to start settling down in Seattle, they got more interesting right around bed time. The safe in our room was accidentally closed by a pair of inquisitive hands and the combination forgotten just about the same time the numbers were pressed. When the safe kept giving us only four attempts at typing in a combination before going into a 15 minute security wait mode, we knew we were running out of time. We knew we needed help. Josh did the math and even if he stayed up all through the night (which he volunteered for ) he would never make it through the 9999 possible combinations needed to find the right one. So we prayed, tried a few sets of numbers that we thought were the ones...and finally I went down to the front desk to explain our situation. Thankfully, with these types of safes, the hotel was prepared, and was able to reset things and open back up the safe for us. A safe that was empty all along.

In some ways this is a bit of a metaphor for some of the things we have been having to deal with on our trip. As simplistic as it sounds, its best to deal with whatever comes our way as soon as possible. Whether it be a wrong turn that needs to be made right. An apology that is necessary not delayed through our pride. Asking others for help, or letting their input affect were we go, and what we do. These are all lessons. How can a safe do its job if its locked but the combination forgotten? Are we going to stay in “safe mode” and never take the risk necessary to resolve things? It really does not work, unless we work together. When one member of our family “team is missing” we all feel it. When things are resolved, we can all sleep with clear consciences – and so we did. With this in mind, we knew a new day of surprises awaited us! May their images will tell the story better then any more words.

-Joseph-

This was one of those surprises, a bobollini doughnut, that Isaiah was a bit unsure of wanting to taste...perhaps it was the sugar which felt as thick as sand, or it was the fact that it was as big as his head...

I did make it back to "pikes place" one las time, had a good chat with the temple guards, and walked away with some souvenirs to share with others back home

another nice stranger who said hello to us on the sidewalk, and after explaining where we were from, he mentioned we should see the "locks" before we leave town, and so we did and were blessed by another suprise...

no salmon were running that morning...but watching running water is still interesting for anyone of us 

this place was also a botanical garden, wand we walked through the Rhododendron, one of which was the white one below its called the "king George" and is the only "Rhodo" that is fragrant, other then in this garden, it is also extinct, so we did not pick any blooms  :)

 

after many years of enjoying her American Girl Dolls, Abigail was finally able  to enter an actual store...it seemed as colourful as the catalogue pages she had turned so many times, yet in this case it was all real and unfolding with each display,  in real life...Addy went home with an "up do" and me and the boys went to look for somewhere else to shop. (we also did not want Abby to feel rushed...)

walking into this place, I was greeted by many people wearing blue, one in particular laughed at my "5" joke, and ended up wanting to talk photo with me, and before I knew it he was giving me a link to his photo page...

the mountains kept getting a little closer, we had our second "cooler food" lunch as referenced below...and kept getting closer to our homeland

with out going into too much drama, the border crossing was smooth once we started moving again and  the cross boarder shopping locals stopped causing near accidents as they wedged back into our lane - not the welcome home I had expected, then again the flag we love turns into many "distortions" based on whichever way the wind blows and to what intensity we think it should be upheld.

much later that evening, we made it to the home of the Sittler family, and sat as long as we could around the kitchen table, with good friends, good food and fellowship