We are home! Well, I am home. Will is back on the west coast for another business trip this week, and we all got super jealous when he face-timed us last night from downtown Disney. But our little getaway is over and I'm finally recapping! Funny story. I planned to post this Monday morning -- and then Will had to wake up at 4am to catch his flight, and we had an extra roommate who woke up with him, and I remembered I'm running my parent's business while they're out of town this week and Monday is the busiest day, and we had to go to the grocery store, and I had some work of my own to get done (more on that later!), and oh yeah I had two children to feed/love one/play with/bathe/generally take care of, and then blogging quickly found itself at the bottom of the to-do list.
HUGE kudos to all of you working mamas -- it is NO joke! Answering a business call and trying to sound professional with a crying toddler who just wants to be held is not for the faint of heart!
But alas, we are making it work and Daddy will be home soon. Praise the Lord for hump day!
Back to Seattle. I took a million pictures, so I have created collages for each of our days.
Day 1: We said goodbye to our babies (did I mention we were gone for 5 days, and the longest I'd ever been away from either of them before this was a weekend?). Yeah, that. I did enjoy the quiet flight though and devoured Shauna Niequist's Bread and Wine. I finished it on the way home and highly recommend it! Once we arrived and got all checked in to our hotel, we wandered down to Pike Place Market. It was starting to close up for the day so it wasn't as bustling but still enjoyable. We ate dinner at the Athenian which is where Tom Hanks filmed a scene in Sleepless in Seattle! He sat on the front stool on the left; they have a little plaque on the bar. We hit up Pie Bar for dessert and then (Will) got coffee at the new Starbucks Reserve.
Day 2: Will had business in Portland so I tagged along and spent the day with one of my besties, Brettni, and her family who just moved back there 2 months ago! She played tour guide and took me to some really fun places around town! We also met up with a new friend, Catrina, who I've known via the internet for a while but never had the chance to meet! She sells the cutest handmade headbands, bows, and hair clippies in her Etsy shop that Liesl has been spotted sporting! On the way home, we took an incredibly out of the way but oh so worth it detour to Mt. St. Helen's. It was an amazing sight to see!
Day 3: Will had business in Spokane, so I stayed behind and explored Seattle solo. I spent most of the day at Pike Place Market listening to the street performers, tasting delicious food, and taking in the sights (and smells). I watched the guys at Pike Place Fish Market throw a fish, ate the "world's best mac and cheese" at Beecher's, found the gum wall, and got coffee at the very first Starbucks! Later, Will met me back in Seattle for dinner at a delicious little hole in the wall Italian place.
Day 4: On Thursday, Will was finished with the business part of the trip, so we got all touristy and hopped on a ferry for Bainbridge Island. But first I had my very first crumpet, and oh my word, it will not be my last. I'm telling you, the food in Seattle is incredible. We spent a couple hours wandering around Bainbridge, grabbed ice cream for lunch (because, vacation) and then saw the best Seattle skyline views on the way back. When we got back we checked into our new historical hotel for our last night. I wanted to take a picture of our beautiful room, and that's when I realized I'd LEFT MY PHONE ON THE FERRY. I panicked while Will turned on the find my phone app, and luckily it was still at the ferry station. Someone had turned it in to the lost and found, and I will forever be grateful to them! After that, we grabbed dinner and wandered around Pioneer Square. We also took one of the famous Underground Tours and learned some cool facts about Seattle's seedy past.
Day5: Listen, I mentioned before that this was the longest I'd ever been away from the kids, and by day 5 I was really feeling it. I had a minor meltdown and Will even offered to just take us to the airport that morning (our flight wasn't until 5pm), but I got a grip and we enjoyed our last day together. I just learned my lesson that at this season of life, for me, 5 days is about 1 day too long. I think I'm better suited for long weekends right now. But anyway! We enjoyed the views from the Space Needle that morning and then spent the afternoon driving to a few touristy spots that we couldn't get to by foot from where we were staying. We saw the Fremont Troll, the Edith Macefield house which local's call the "Up" house from the Pixar movie (which sadly is likely being torn down soon), and the Waiting for the Interurban statue, which that day the people were dressed in leis.
After all that and a quick lunch, we headed to the airport and made it home to our babies by midnight. Then we were up and at 'em for Liam's t-ball game the next morning and back to real life. It was nice and needed for me and Will to get away and have some time alone just the two of us, but there's no place like home!
