We slept in.

Had a breakfast of homemade buttermilk pancakes.

We got dressed and headed out for an adventure filled day in the city.

On our way into Seattle, we stopped by the Tacoma Dome and picked up tickets for Monster Jam, an event involving big trucks, dirt, and mud (I think).  We are taking the boys there next weekend as a surprise so, shhhh, don’t tell them.

We popped into Ikea to pick up a few items and had some lunch.

On the drive from Ikea to Seattle, the light bulb came on that it was New Years Eve and as such there was a very good chance parking near the Space Needle would be either a total mess, very expensive, or both.

We almost aborted on our plans but decided to forge ahead.

We scored street parking less than a block away from the Seattle Center and ended up paying a whopping $6.

First stop – the Pacific Science Center where we found  out that on Pluto the combined weight of Husband and the boys would be 22.9 pounds.  A nice piece of trivia to pull out and impress the neighbors with.  I declined to step on a scale so public.

Next we crossed the center under the looming presence of the Space Needle to checkout the winter train and village display in the Armory.  Our timing was perfect as it was open for novice train engineers.  Both boys got to drive the train.  I think Husband wanted to also, but he did not ask if he could.

We ate pizza and had some mild stress as we realized we would not finish our meal and get back to our car before our parking expired.

Our parking expired.  We did not get a ticket.

Last stop of the evening was the Bellevue Botanical Gardens Garden d’Lights festival, a display of over 1/2 a million lights.  We walked through the display twice.

On the walk back to the car, Carter’s very loose tooth finally detached, leaving a cute gaping hole in his mouth.  This was Carter’s second tooth to come out.  I was in charge of holding onto his tooth for the entire car ride home, a lofty responsibility indeed.

We put on our pajamas, and watched Stuart Little, the movie.

With one hour and forty-five left of 2013 there was no way the boys were giving up and going to bed even though I strongly hinted at it.

So…Husband started the movie The Goonies.  I was worried it would be way to scary for the boys, and there were parts that made Carter hide his head under the blanket, but overall they loved it.  On a side note, I  had forgotten how much bad language the movie had and I cringed at every “hell” and “shit” that was dropped but the boys didn’t seem to notice.

As fireworks burst in the sky and drunken people sang and hugged one another, the boys voted to keep watching as the The Goonies searched for One Eyed Willy.

We tucked Carter’s tooth under his pillow, gave them kisses, and went to bed where we waited until we were sure they were asleep so the Tooth Fairy could visit.

This morning Carter was thrilled to find a one of a kind painting from our Tooth Fairy.  He has not yet thought to look under his pillow where he will find a gold one dollar coin.

The last day of 2013 has come and gone leaving a new year laid out before us, a new year with adventures and memories yet to be explored and created.

A very Happy New Year to you all!