This weekend was fantastic! Bryan and I were lucky enough to have both of our parents and my grandparents in Seattle for the weekend to have fun and tour around town and conclude the weekend with a party with friends and family celebrating what is now less than four weeks away! It was a whirlwind of a weekend and like usual it ended too fast but hey, we only have three weeks until we see them all again! I can live with that.
So Friday afternoon was when the whole Fam Damily arrived, although in phases which worked for Bryan and I. Bryan picked up his parents early afternoon and checked them into the shared hotel room at the Residence Inn in South Lake Union. I picked up our Honda Civic rental car in downtown and at the airport just two hours later to pick up the other four and we made our way to the hotel room. From then on we were nonstop, but in an enjoyable way. After catching up with one another we decided on getting dinner close to the hotel and made the short walk to Duke’s Chowder House right on the lake for dinner. There were fish and chips, crab cakes, clam chowder, salmon and plenty of other seafood brought to the table and was a great start to the weekend of food and conversation. We walked back to the hotel room and we said our good nights and headed home.
Saturday morning we split into two groups; boys and girls. The boys set out with Bryan to head up to Everett to take the Boeing Future of Flight tour at noon. They marveled at the monstrosity of Boeing and the manufacturing process and after their tour they headed to Diamond Knot Brewery in Mukilteo for a lunch of cook your own steak sandwich and beers before heading back to Seattle.
Meanwhile, the girls set out with me to do some shopping and fun in the city. Our first stop was Pikes Market of course. And boy was it a zoo!!! Despite the crowds we maneuvered our way through the market, buying some lavender products, sampling various delicacies at my favorite condiment and sauce store, sharing a humbow Chinese bun for a snack, sampling yogurt, peaches, cherries, chocolate covered cherries (many of these), and finally buying two beautiful bouquets with lilies for $10 each that we then lugged around all weekend for the couples shower. After the market we headed up Queen Anne to Kerry Park for views of the city. Little did we know that we would also catch the Running of the Bulls annual event through upper Queen Anne. All the runners (and bulls) congregate at Kerry Park to drink and the outfits and atmosphere was quite the entertainment. We headed to Bounty Kitchen for some great shared salads and a carafe of wine to rest our feet and get down to business with wedding details. After we got our fill we then explored the sidewalk sales for Queen Anne Days, got a cold brew coffee at El Diablo and then headed back to our house to meet up with the boys.
Back at our house we had two more visitors to make our group 10. Rachel and Max had arrived from Spokane along with the new baby, Quinn. It was my first time meeting Quinn and boy is she an angel. We caught up fairly quickly and then set out to catch the ferry to Bainbridge. We had a smooth ride out to the island with most the crew taking in the views from the back deck of the boat. Once ashore we made the quick drive to Poulsbo to catch our reservation at Tizley’s Europub. This worked out really well for dinner as we were able to share a couple of hot and soft pretzels for an appetizer before the ginormous family platters were placed in front of us. While we didn’t quite finish every single bite, we did pretty darn well getting as much of our fill as we could. We shared an apple strudle and some German chocolate cake amongst the table before packing up and heading back for the 9:45 pm ferry back to Seattle. Another smooth ride and a quick stop out to the front deck to catch the city lights as we got near. We dropped off the family at the hotel and made our way home with Rachel and Max for the night.
Sunday morning started slow moving for our house. We all got up about 9:30 am and Bryan prepared breakfast for all four of us of bacon, scrambled eggs, and banana bread. We got to talk and play with Quinn and then quickly it was time to get ready for the shower. It didn’t take us that long and we were on our way to the hotel to catch up with the family. We headed over to Eastlake Bar and Grill early for the girls to help get the party ready with awesome decorations, signs, and a few games. At 2 pm guests started to arrive and it was great to see each and everyone that was able to make it. The party really worked out well. We had the entire top deck and inside space that was the perfect size for our guest list of about 25 and the staff were so accommodating. The food and our own bar also worked out well. We had several appetizers picked out and wine and beer to order which guests could help themselves to.
The sun was fully out and felt amazing and about an hour in we started in on two short and sweet games. The first was hilarious with seven girls (and guys) seated in a row with Bryan blindfolded. Bryan had to feel each of our legs and then pick which one was his bride. Luckily for him he picked correctly! The next game was with Bryan and I back to back and each holding one of each others shoes. Marika drilled us with questions and we had to lift the person’s shoe who was the answer to her question. Very smart game and one that apparently Bryan and I were pretty good at. We broke out the cake that Polly generously got from her friend’s cake shop and we stayed and mingled for some time more. Marika and Randy were in for the long haul and even after we moved down to the Tiki Bar there were games of ping pong, more wine ordered, and lots more conversation. It was after 8 pm when we left Eastlake and headed back to the hotel. Bryan and I opened up our gifts in front of the family, we ordered some Pagliacci’s and then headed down to the hotel’s hot tub for a quick soak. Bryan and I said our goodnights to head home with flowers, food and gifts. Couldn’t ask for a better Sunday!
Monday morning I had to say my goodbyes to the Millers and then sadly take my parents and grandparents to the airport to catch their flight back to Michigan. Fortunately I get to see everyone again in 20 days so I could see them go.
Super thankful for such an awesome family! I’m glad that everyone had a good time and I’m glad that the shower came together in the end. In my mind it was perfect!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 