Honeymoon For Now

Last year at our wedding Dr. Trotta and Kathy gave us the weekend use of their home in Seattle as a wedding gift.  What a fabulous gift! And almost 1.5 years later we were finally able to do it! They just bought the home earlier last year and have spent almost every weekend over there renovating and furnishing it.  We tried coordinating a weekend they would be gone with a weekend we wouldn't have the girls/didn't have other plans.  So about 2 months ago we coordinated schedules and settled on this past weekend to go.  Of course plans changed at the very last minute but we still decided to go.  I'm so glad we did! 

Most evenings we are finally both home around 8:30 and when we do finally get home we are trying to get ready for the next day with class prep or packing lunches or grading (or sneaking in a guilty-pleasure episode of 'X Factor'). With both of our work schedules, kid schedules, and all the worries we have going on right now, it is easy to disconnect.  I think this weekend was really rejuvenating for our relationship and our individual peace of mind.

We didn't take a honeymoon, in fact, we both had to work the day after our wedding!  Definitely, do NOT recommend that to anyone.  I decided this would be sort of a "honeymoon for now."

As far as lodging, this was top notch!  Check out the view from their living room:

 

We did some site seeing and LOTS and LOTS of eating!  My idea of a perfect vacation and we had amazing Seattle weather, 50 degrees on Saturday and Sunday!

Friday night we wondered up and down Queen Anne and ate a salad at 5 Spot which rotates its decor around 5 different cities every 3 months.  This month it was Philadelphia and they had all kinds of cool paintings and Philly landmarks:

Saturday morning we went to Pike Street which I had never been to and walked around all morning with a cup of warm coffee in our hands (Shane had cocoa).

 The fruit and vegetable displays were gorgeous.  I saw fruits I had never heard of before - it was beautiful.

 I got to see the Fish Market and got a bowl of shrimp cocktail as a snack - YUM!

 They had HUGE bouquets of flowers for $10 - I couldn't believe how many flowers there were!

 We accidentally wandered past THE ORIGINAL Starbucks.  I had no idea it started so quaint!

Later Saturday afternoon we drove to his friend Ryan's house to say hi.  I had met Ryan a LONG time ago at OIT when him and Shane visited. Shane had a good time reconnecting with him, his wife, and new baby.  On the drive to Seattle I saw the shipyard which was incredible:

Perspective: look at all these railcars

Check out this boat

Railcars loading on a boat

= AMAZING

We were going to buy crab legs at Pike Street but decided against stinkin' up Tom & Kathy's house so we went out instead.  We ate at a cool restaurant on the water with a great view.  The bibs were every bit as cool as they look.

 Found my dream bus:

Sunday before we left Kathy told us to walk to a nearby bakery for fresh pastries and coffee.  What a perfect way to start a Sunday!

 I came home relaxed and 10 pounds heavier!

This picture was after MANY attempts to get our faces in the same shot as the Space Needle!

 Happy 'honeymoon for now' to us!

Isabella Writing

Isabella's writing is getting so good!

The more I'm around the girls the more natural it feels to do things a Mom would do in the evenings.  We have fallen into an evening routine and I find myself (suprisingly) liking to do the routine things I remember my Mom doing.  Simple things like packing Kennedy's lunch for school, helping with bathtime, reading bedtime stories, and giving lots of hugs. I know I'm the stepmom and that can sometimes come with negative connotations to kids.  Shane's girls have been as welcoming to me as any stepmom could ever ask. I'm SOOOOO lucky.

I talked with a patient a few weeks ago that was in his 30's and he had really great things to say about his stepmom and how he was really happy she was part of his life.  I can get fairly discouraged sometimes and his conversation really uplifted me. Of course, it is PRICELESS that Shane is so supportive of me.  He seems to sense when I need help finding my way or when he should let me find my own way and not say anything. He is an amazing hubby that way.    

But sometimes despite what Shane (or a random patient) says, sometimes it's just best to feel love from the girls.  Sometimes they do or say things that make me feel like they've really accepted me as part of their family and it touches my heart so much.

Isabella drew this the other night:

Isn't this the best looking family you ever saw?!  I didn't happen to see this picture until Shane put it up on the fridge.  This picture meant the world to me and came at just the right time.

Trick or Treat!

Barbie Cheerleader and the Spider Bride