Christmas in Seattle

We got back last night from our week-long trip to Seattle to visit my family for the holidays… I still get overwhelmed by how beautiful the city and mountains are every time we go home. Being back in Seattle also makes me realize how done-up most Utah women are all the time. I miss everyone wearing fleeces with slightly frizzy hair! Our trip consisted of:

- The first time Mitch has been able to fly with Emerson and me. MUCH easier when you have two people. Usually I have that energetic little guy climbing all over me in one seat. He did great on the flights as always and still laughs when we go over huge bumps of turbulence. Worst part of the flight to Seattle—when the flight attendant spilled someone’s Coke all over me, and then simply said, “I can give you some club soda to get that out.” Rude! Actually, could you give me some money to pay for a new outfit as my shirt and pants were covered? I should have told him I was pregnant and the caffeine seeping through my shirt could make me miscarry.

- Spending 3 days in the city at my parent’s place in West Seattle. Their house has great views of Puget Sound, so we get to go to bed and wakeup looking out at the water and Olympic Mtns.

- Spending the rest of the trip at their new house on Whidbey Island, one of the most gorgeous places on earth. Driving up their dirt road still makes me excited. Being at their house is like being in the middle of the country (it really reminds me of Vermont) but it’s just a short ferry ride away from the city.

- No cell phone service in the country! I didn’t use my phone for a week. Though I have a lot of calls to make this week, it was bliss for our trip. I was able to read two books.

- Visiting with family and eating a great mix of comfort and healthy food. My parents are health nuts but splurge a little when we’re home, so we never come back feeling too over-fed (as we probably would have if we had Christmas here).

- Emerson’s joy at ripping open everyone’s presents on Christmas morning. I think he was more interested in tearing the paper than his actual gifts.

- The spruce tree that my parents bought for Emerson and are planting on their land—Emerson’s tree as my dad calls it.

- Only throwing up 3 times in one week—my nausea really subsides when I’m too busy to think about it. Downside, I threw up 9 times today. 9.

Other highlights of our trip:

Lunching with my best friend from high school downtown. Mitch and I always have so much fun with Erin, and Emerson loved climbing all over her. We talked about her upcoming wedding, our families, and reminisced about spending the night at each other’s houses every weekend in high school! We met when we were 9 and instantly became friends… wish we could see each other more.

Shopping downtown with my handsome guys. Emerson was getting us stopped by people all over, as they told us how cute he is. I’d have to agree.

Visiting my dad at his office. His assistants were loving Emerson and chasing him around the office. Babies get so much more attention outside of Utah.

Hanging out on Whidbey… we visited the Whidbey Pies Café at Greenbank Farm twice. Two times to subside our pie cravings. Aren’t Dad and Tommie the cutest?

Christmas day.

E’s new train whistle and slide whistle. He walked around blowing those things all weekend.

Emerson and his tree. I could eat this kid up—he is so handsome!

We had a great trip, but decided my parents will need to start coming to visit us in the future. It will be a bit harder for us to travel with two kids. We’ll be sad to not visit the northwest as much but after packing mounds and mounds of things for just Emerson on this trip, I can’t imagine doubling that.