Unfortunately we had a late flight getting into Seattle but we were up bright and early the next day. We ventured into downtown Seattle to finish up our Christmas shopping and had every intention of walking around downtown and looking at all of the lights but that didn't work out so well. We did get to see a lot of the downtown REI, Pacific Place, and the big Nordstrom but with so many people it was hard to get a lot done! It was fun to see Seattle decorated for the holidays, I had not seen the big tree lit up in years! After our trip to Seattle we packed up some dinner and went over to Grandma and Granddads to introduce them to their Great-Granddaughter! It was such a fun visit! Vivi was being a happy little girl and was so excited to meet her Great-Grandparents.
Wednesday Jeff and Trey got up early and hiked Poo Poo Point while mom, Vivi and I went to Target. Trey was a little bit surprised at how steep the hike was up Tiger Mountain but got a great workout! Later that night we drove out to Carnation to visit with Mattie and Ross in their cute new house! We had a great time visiting and would have loved to stay longer but Vivi was just too tired!
Christmas Eve was a fun day for all of us! We went up to Snoqualmie Pass to show Trey around Hyak and where we used to have our cabin growing up. We saw where part of the mountain had washed away some houses and knocked down the ski lift! It looks so different now! Kathi and Ricky were kind enough to let us crash at their cabin while we took some family pictures out in the snow! This was the first time that Vivi had really seen snow since she was born besides the one morning when it was kind of snowing in Fort Worth. She didn't really think much of it, and was not too thrilled about the cold, even when she was all bundled up in her snowsuit! She sure did look cute! Later that night we continued on to Shanghai Gardens, our favorite Chinese food restaurant in downtown Issaquah. This is one of our Christmas traditions that we derived from the movie the Christmas Story. We have been going out for Chinese food for as long as I can remember, and it was so fun to introduce this tradition to Trey!
Christmas morning Trey, Vivi and I all woke up early so we could make the 8 am Mass at Mary Queen of Peace. It was such a gorgeous day! It was so cold outside that a beautiful frost formed all over. The sky was clear and blue and the sun glistened off all of the tiny ice crystals on the ground and in the trees! What a gorgeous day to celebrate Jesus' birth! Christmas morning Mass was beautiful and we made it back home just as everyone else was waking up for the day! Vivi fell asleep in her car seat on the drive back home so we decided to open our stockings while she was still asleep. She got lots of fun toys and cute clothes but at this age doesn't understand the concept. I can just imagine how fun next year will be!!! After opening all of our Christmas loot mom started breakfast of Dutch Babies and sausage. What a feast! I always love Christmas morning breakfast and am going to try to make Dutch Babies some other time this year.
Later in the afternoon on Christmas we got all dressed up and went over to Grandma and Granddads for Christmas dinner. Everyone was anticipating meeting Vivi and we all had so much fun playing with her and passing her around. It is a good thing that she is such a social girl because she was such a good sport visiting with all of those people!
Trey left on Saturday after we just hung out all morning. He had quite the stressful experience getting back to Fort Worth but eventually got on a flight home at midnight. His bags were not so lucky and got lost in transit. We received them a week later.
Sunday was my last full day in Seattle and Vivi and I took the opportunity to visit with friends around town. We had a great time visiting with Jaclyn, Brody, Johnny, and Stella. The kids were so excited to see baby Vivi and it was so good to see Jaclyn and Brody after so long! We also went down to Lake Sammamish to visit with Carmen and Mimi. It was a jam packed day, but it was so good to see some great friends!
Before we knew it Monday had arrived and I was not ready to head back to Fort Worth. I felt like we still had so much to do and so many people we wanted to see, but that is always the way I feel when I leave around the holidays. We spent the last part of our trip to Seattle over at Grandma and Granddad's taking pictures with everyone and spending time by the lake. It was such a fun morning and Jeff took some wonderful pictures of everyone! Here are some snapshots from our trip. Enjoy!!!
