Although we flew up to Seattle to attend my grandfather’s memorial and burial services, we were able to do some fun things that I am excited to share with you on the blog today.
Saturday (5.18.19) was consumed with my grandpa’s memorial service and getting to bed at a reasonable hour in hopes that our internal clocks would reset and we could fully embrace the Pacific Time Zone.
Sunday (5.19.19) we got up and went to visit a recent church plant that Church of the Highlands supports through their ARC program. We were excited to attend and happened to pass by our favorite local bagel shop, so we stopped to grab a yummy breakfast before getting back on the freeway.
The church was so welcoming and we loved everyone we met with! Even though the church is only 15-months-old, we loved the feel and heart they have for Seattle.
On the way back we made an impromptu decision to go to the top of the space needle. Touristy, huh!? 😛 We got to enjoy the new glass floors they put in (which was so cool but trippy at the same time) and the gorgeous view from the deck. Gorgeous.
FaceTiming the girls from the top 🙂 “Rylie! Look at all the water.” -Aaron
Hungry, we went to Dick’s Drive-In which is a delicious and inexpensive burger place. I’m talking burgers for $1.50. Yeah!
This taste-of-Seattle was a great way to end the afternoon before dropping Aaron and my mom off at the house and jetting over to see a good friend of mine for dinner.
Rebekah and I had such sweet conversation about a variety of topics and literally closed the restaurant down (we actually stayed after closing because we were so absorbed in our conversation we didn’t pick up on any of the clues that they were closing hahaha :P). We took our party elsewhere and hung out for an additional few hours and laughed a lot together.
Monday (5.20.19) we had a slow morning which was wonderful after such an active weekend. Aaron and I took our time getting ready and then decided to go to our favorite breakfast place, Black Bear Diner, where we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and gripping conversation.
We are suckers for their biscuits + gravy and French toast.
Following breakfast we drove around town, viewing previous houses we had lived in including our very first place. Eventually we ended up meeting my dad for lunch where we had great conversation sharing new job opportunities and stories from the farm.
From there we went back to the house to chill before going to Tyler & Daniella’s house for dinner. Tyler was Aaron’s best man in our wedding and their family has been dear friends of ours despite the distance. We deeply enjoyed hanging out with them, playing with their kids, eating pizza and watching the NBA Finals.
Tuesday (5.21.19) had an earlier start than the previous day because we met with the pastor the church we visited on Sunday for breakfast. Pastor Aaron shared his story and heart for the city of Seattle, which we absolutely loved! Being apart of the ARC church planting family (which we are very familiar with because of Highlands College and being apart of Church of the Highland for a few years) we had great fodder for questions and conversation points.
From there Aaron and I split and he went to hang out with Tyler while I went to the zoo with my aunt, cousin and her two children. It was fun to hang out with them and see the Northwest Zoo.
By mid-afternoon Aaron and I had met up and began the long trek to the Gig Harbor area, which unfortunately, meant sitting in heavy traffic. It took us around 2 hours to arrive at Kevin & Michaela’s house, but we had plenty of time to check out their recent home purchase, play with their sweet fur babies and eat a delicious homemade meal that Michaela threw together. Michaela and I have been close friend’s for over a decade, so she was saddened to hear that my grandpa had passed since she had so many great interactions with him throughout our growing up years. She was out of town for his memorial, so Aaron and I were quick to share the details of the event.
Exhausted from the day, we headed out shortly after 9pm and drove another 30 minutes to my dad’s house where we stayed the night.
Wednesday (5.22.19) morning kicked off with a quick bowl of cereal before I tackled a project that was long overdue – going through boxes of old things that belonged to me. My dad had a dozen boxes with my name on it for me to go through, and I’m proud to say what started as 12 boxes was narrowed down to 2. The rest was tossed.
However, I did find some things that are now in my bedroom in Alabama and a good handful of things brought us all laughter.
A couple hours later I was done and we were ready for lunch. The 3 of us went to a local Mexican restaurant before heading over to my grandma’s house to say hello. We helped her read some cards and organize some notes that guests had written at the memorial service a few days prior before heading out to get ready for our dinner plans.
We visited a restaurant that had recently opened with my mom’s family and enjoyed good conversation. The atmosphere of the restaurant was unique and we enjoyed dining in a cabana, finding secret hallways through doors disguised as walls and playing pool.
From there, we took the 2 1/2 hour drive down to Portland to see my brother’s new apartment and stay the night. Since graduating in August with his bachelors, he’s decided to pursue his masters at an out of state college and has recently relocated there to prepare for the Fall quarter. We got in late so it was fun to be able to see his place in better light the next morning (5.23.19) and enjoy a belated Mother’s Day honoring our mom. We had Black Bear Diner (again ;)) and then drove to see his college campus and walk around Powell’s Books – a multi-story bookstore with a large diversity of literature.
Not long after we said our “see ya”s and embarked on the 4 1/2 ish hour drive back to Seattle. When we arrived, Aaron and I went back to Tyler & Daniella’s house. Daniella was out of town on a business trip but the boys really wanted to play basketball. I offered to hang out at their house while the kids were in bed so they could go play together. They enjoyed their basketball date and I enjoyed my date alone so it was a win-win for everyone!
Friday (5.24.19) was another early to rise morning so I could take a shower and prepare for the burial service.
After the service and lunch with my family, I said “see you next time” and went to hang out with Michaela. We went shopping, went to “our place” (A.K.A – froyo) and wrapped it up with some tater-tots from Taco Time.
Our last evening in town was spent sitting around a table with the family I nannied for as a teenager, enjoying conversation with the teenagers I once knew as toddlers and soaking up all the wisdom I could from their mom who I admire.
We finalized our night by sitting on suitcases to prepare for our early departure the following morning.
Saturday (5.25.19) came too quickly. I guess that happens when your alarm goes off at 3:45am. With great force, I got out of bed, brushed my teeth and we loaded the car to go to the airport. We arrived around the time we wanted to, hugged my mom and walked into the international airport.
Exhausted and ready to be home, we endured (I use that word lightly. Our flights really were not that bad) our 2 flights home before embracing our kiddos.
The remainder of our Saturday was spent chilling at home and quietly praying that the kid’s would go to bed easily so we could crash ourselves. In our comfy bed. With our comfy pillows. Because that’s one of the best parts about returning home, right!? 😉
And as has become tradition it seems, here is a vlog of our trip up to Seattle –