A Surprise Trip to Seattle!

In October we received news that Philip's Grandma had passed away.  We had known she was failing, but the news is always a bit of a surprise when it comes.  We had planned for Philip alone to attend the services, but a door unexpectedly opened for the whole family to be able to go and so, on 36 hours notice, we planned a 10 day trip to the Seattle area.  I was really nervous about traveling with Eliana, especially since our flights both ways included layovers, but it went much more smoothly than I anticipated.  Traveling with that many people does take a lot of bags, though!

Philip's Grandma passed right before her birthday, so we went ahead and celebrated anyway! Her first birthday in Heaven.

One cold morning we visited the Tacoma waterfront near where Philip grew up. So pretty!

Grandma's memorial service was beautiful and full of stories of people whose lives she had touched by her selfless service and love of others.  Both she and Grandpa were life-changers for many.

The four cousins - not often together anymore!

All the second cousins except Eliana, who was totally uncooperative!

 And the whole family.  This is the only occasion we had all been together.  It was really special to have parts of several day to just be together and get to know each other more.

The burial took place in the rain, typical Seattle weather, but we are grateful to know that the Son is always shining where Grandma is forever. 

Since we stayed in the area for over a week, we were able to do some "touristy things."  Here's Eliana checking out the sea urchins at the Seattle Aquarium.

Philip and the boys took on Mt. Rainier it's all it's cold, snowy glory!

We visited Point Defiance Zoo.  Best thing about it - multiple indoor exhibits since it was cool and rainy outside.  Eliana especially loved the monkeys!

Another day we hit Seattle, visiting the Pike Place Market, Seattle Pacific (where it all began one fateful weekend!), Sunny Teriyaki (I LOVE teriyaki and cannot understand why we don't have it NOVA.  I was determined to introduce the boys to it and now they understand why!)

 Nothing like visiting the Locks in the rain.  It was still pretty neat to see and a place I'd never been.

 Our dear friends hosted us the entire visit.  Laura and I have been sharing life since 1995 and are an invaluable part of us.  Visiting with her was a huge bright spot in my fall!

Between us, eight kiddos.  They had a blast together.  Not pictured are their two cats who Eliana couldn't get enough of!

 The iconic Space Needle.  We didn't go up it, but did visit the Pacific Science Center, which sits right beneath it.

On our last day, we tried to go to Mt. St. Helens, but a mudslide closed a road (unbeknownst to us until we tried to take it!) and we wound up rerouting to Mt. Rainier.  The hike was a little more than I had personally planned on due to the snow and slippery trail conditions, but we survived it...and some people enjoyed it.  Here we are at the top of the trial at Van Trump Park. 

 The Happy Hikers

Someone wet her pants due to her parents failure to change her in an appropriate time frame and had to travel down the mountain wrapped in my scarf and Joshua's sweatshirt, but nonetheless, she chattered and sang the whole way down!

A view of the mountain from the drive in.

15 Years

We made it. Our 15th anniversary has felt like a huge milestone for a long time and it's finally arrived. In some ways, this year has been the hardest, but I'm seeing that sometimes pain brings the most growth and positive change. Meanwhile, we keep pressing on, recognizing the good things, being grateful for all the blessing that has come from 15 years of marriage. The longer we're married the more grateful I am for every year we have together and every bond of memory we share. 

Love you, Philip! Here's to the next 15! <3 span=""> 

One of the boys asked if I could make a collage of anniversary photos from all the years.  Here is the result.  Bonus points to anyone who can correctly identify all the years, lol.

NYC or Bust!

For years my brother and sister and I have been talking about doing a sibling trip, but it's never worked out...until this month!  We decided to go to NYC, a city I have never really visited.  My goals for the weekend: drink some good coffee, eat some really good food, sit somewhere pretty and see a couple of cool things. My brother, trip planner extraordinaire, said these were attainable goals. :)

Day 1 we drove up from VA, arriving by lunch time when we checked in our with overly aggressive AirBnB hostess. Our experience with her was really the one downer of the weekend.  Oh well.

After finally escaping her long-winded tour of her tiny apartment, we headed south to Central Park for lunch.  The food and view were a bit disappointing, but we were glad to be there anyway.  Next we took the subway a few stops south and walked the High Line.  It was cool, but super crowded, so we bailed on that and headed for a snack.  I can't remember what these amazing french pastries are called, but they are meringues filled with delicious flavors!  So decadent!

                                         

Next we headed for the Staten Island Ferry.  My parents lived on Staten Island back in the early 70's so we wanted to take the ferry for familial reasons, as well as to get some views of Lady Liberty without taking a special tour.  It was a great choice and we really enjoyed the ride and the "drive by."  We also got an amazing view of the NY skyline.  I never expected to "fall in love" with the city that never sleeps, but I have to say that she really captured my heart!

                                         

Lady Liberty at sunset.  Beautiful!!

After the ferry ride, it was getting darker and later, but we really wanted to walk at least partway across the Brooklyn Bridge before dinner.  We were not the only people with this idea.  It was crazy crowded, but we did get some great views despite all the people!

Manhatten at sunset.

Onward we dashed to Little Italy where we found, not surprisingly, delicious food!  Sooo good!  Followed by amazing Italian desserts.  Hooray!

From here we really did have to dash as we had tickets for Top of the Rock.  We barely made it in time (actually, we were late, but there's a buffer!).  The views were so fantastic.  Loved it! And it's really quite something how close to the very top of the building you can get!

Day 2 started in basically the best way possible (that is, after escaping our crazy AirBnB) with bagels, cream cheese and coffee.  A-MAY-zing!

Since it was raining, we next hit the Met.  We only had about two hours, which is definitely not enough for an in-depth viewing of anything, but it was still very enjoyable and I'd love to go back sometime.  A few of the exhibits were a bit underwhelming, but we were quite tickled by this glass-covered taxidermied deer...

Next was a hunt for real NY pizza.  We finally found what we were looking for.  SOoo yummy!

Next goal: walk a LONG way through Central Park.  We succeeded.  It was a much better experience than our little view of the Park from the day before.  We saw all kinds of famous and quintessential things.  Such fun, but our feet were definitely done by the end!

The one place that was on my "must do" list that we hadn't been was Ground Zero.  The older I get, the more 9/11 effects me each year.  I think it's because I can relate more and more to the parents who lost children and children who lost parents and the spouses who lost their partner.  I was surprised at how emotional I was at our visit, but I am really glad we went.

We were out of time.  Homeward we went.  Great weekend...great memories!  Hope to go back!