trip to seattle

last weekend we took our first trip to seattle since having sonja. we were planning to be in seattle for just the day on sunday, to celebrate sarah's birthday, but we woke up saturday morning and decided to make more of a weekend of it. we set a few plans in motion, packed up and drove straight to the zoo.

we met tyler's brother jon and our nephew bjorn for an amazing crisp afternoon of wandering the zoo. we don't get to see bjorn too often, so we all enjoyed his company, especially riley. for as little as these two actually get to hang out it, they definitely know they are cousins. they always have so much fun playing together and it always warms my heart. we all ventured back to my mom's house for some more playing and chatting.

sunday we met our friends brian & erin for brunch at portage bay cafe downtown (YUM!), did some quick shopping downtown and spent the rest of the afternoon/evening at my mom's house getting ready for sarah's birthday dinner.

sunday was my baby sister sarah's EIGHTEENTH birthday. i was 12 when she was born, so not only do i remember the day/moment my mom told us she was pregnant, i vividly remember the night sarah was born, as well as the next day when i saw her for the first time. i will admit when you are 12 and in 7th grade it is seen as slightly odd that your mom is having a baby and you are a bit embarrassed. my sister martha and i cried when my mom told us - but only because she had been so sick we thought she was telling us she had cancer and was dying (true story). and then there was my brother andrew who was equally upset, but only because it meant he wouldn't get the new jordans he had been wanting. but anyway, it wasn't love at first sight (sorry sarah!) because also when you are 12 and you see a tiny baby who is pink and squishy you do not think she is adorable. i remember all of our reaction as being the same, "she looks like an alien, ewww". my poor mother! however, it did not take long for all of us kids to fall hard and fast for our little baby sister. we were all in love. i spent a good portion of my middle and high school years helping with the feeding, diapering and caring of sarah. she was like our little baby doll and all our friends LOVED coming over to play with her. i also spent countless nights and moments singing this song to her (well all but a few of the verses).

all this to say, sarah has a special place in my heart because i kinda feel like she's one of my own :) she has grown into a beautiful, intelligent and focused individual. she is funny, talented and so sweet. she is in the midst of finishing her senior year of soccer, applying for colleges and dreaming up what she wants to do in life. what an incredible place to be: on the brink of so many opportunities and adventures. happy 18th sarah...we love you.

oh, and did i forget to mention that we listed our house when i was 38 weeks pregnant? yeah, talk about crazy. so anybody out there want to buy a super cute 900 sq foot house? you would really alleviate my stress level.