While Daddy was away at a weekend debate tournament, Tess and I had our own little adventure in Seattle! We spent the long weekend up there, along with my dear friend
Danielle and her fiance, Cory. Interestingly, Dani and I both have an aunt/uncle/cousins in the Seattle area -- who live less than 3 miles from each other and actually even know each other. (We've been friends for about 7 years but just discovered this about a year ago!) So, thanks to a fantastic deal on airfare from Alaska Airlines, we were able to take a trip together that included visiting our respective families.
We arrived Thursday morning and spent the day adventuring around Bellevue and Mercer Island and visiting the PrideStaff office in Tukwila. We also took a very fun and much-anticipated trip to the Glassybaby store -- this was super exciting for me, since I am a proud owner of 3 Glassybabys but had never been to any of their retail locations. (Most of you are probably wondering, "What the heck is '
Glassybaby'?" They're beautiful, one-of-a-kind votive candle holders made ONLY in Seattle. Sales proceeds benefit various nonprofits.) On Thursday night we had dinner with our good friend David Brown, who we've known for years through PrideStaff. Danielle's fiance, Cory, joined us on Friday morning and we spent the day doing "touristy" stuff downtown (Pike Place, Space Needle, etc.). On Friday evening Dani and I parted ways to spend time with our families. I was so grateful that my cousin Heather drove all the way from Spokane, with her 2 1/2 year old daughter Gabby, so that she could spend the weekend at her parents' house with me and Tess. On Saturday, Heather and I did some shopping and joined up with Danielle and her Aunt Tiff for some wine tasting (in the snow!). Tess and I spent Saturday evening enjoying a lovely dinner at Dani's aunt and uncle's house, where I got to meet
Barcelona's lead singer, Brian Fennell, and his lovely fiance, Marion. On Sunday, Danielle, Cory and I visited
Crossroads Bible Church in Bellevue, where Dani's uncle is the worship and media pastor. (Also, her uncle --
Timothy James Meaney -- is also pretty big in Christian music circles, for those of you who are interested.) We spent Sunday afternoon hanging out at the Meaney's house, watching football (that fantastic 49er's playoff game!) and watching the snow fall. Little did we know that our flight out on Sunday evening was just in time for a record-breaking snowstorm in the Seattle area!
And now a word about traveling by plane with a 5-month old baby, without her Daddy... Our little Tess did SO great! She is SO inquisitive that looking around kept her pretty preoccupied during the short flight. Everyone on the plane fell in love with her, of course. She was not fussy and was just talkative enough to be super cute. Having Danielle with me was a HUGE help -- I can't imagine taking my first trip with a baby ALONE! I had been really nervous about all the logistics of traveling with a baby (from what to pack to what I should carry on the plane to how to deal with sleeping away from home) and all my worry was for nothing. Have baby, will travel! It turns out that people are much more kind and understanding and helpful when you've got an adorable kiddo with you than they are otherwise. Although I have to admit, even with the fantastic help, spending 4 days as a "single parent" -- especially away from home and all of our usual baby "stuff"-- was pretty exhausting. We had a wonderful time but were so glad to be home!
Below is a slide show of my pics from the trip. Next up for Tess is a trip to Dallas over Spring Break, to meet her "Uncle" Randy and "Aunt" Lindsey.
Bon voyage!
That's right, little Miss Tess is definitely racking up the skymiles! (Well, not technically, since she has yet to have a real ticket!) This past weekend we traveled to Phoenix together, and I was just amazed at how cooperative she is on the plane (so far) and how familiar it feels (already) to do our "airport routine" (getting checked in, going through security, boarding, etc.). Thankfully we have yet to have any airplane disasters, although I am not naive enough to think that flying with her will ALWAYS be this easy. Right now her extremely high cute factor really works in her favor; people don't have time to get irritated about the noises she makes because they all think she's so adorable. Here's a summary of her travel so far this year....
