A Whirlwind Weekend in Seattle

Last weekend I went down to Seattle because two of my most wonderful friends, Lauren and Megan, threw me a baby shower! As you will see, we had a great weekend!

I took Ann - my Alaska bestie - with me to get her out of Anchorage for awhile and I think it also made Andy feel a little better that I wasn't traveling alone.  On the flight down Ann said she'd never seen it rain in Seattle.  Well, I think the gods were listening because we landed in the middle of a torrential downpour.  It was raining harder than I've ever seen it rain in Seattle.  Thankfully, it got better as we headed towards town.

Rainbow!

 By the time we crested the hill on I-5 it was beautiful outside!

We mostly just hung out at Lauren and Garrett's the first night, and we even got Mexican food! (This is especially exciting because there is no good Mexican food in Alaska).  

On Saturday we had some errands to run for the shower.

First we went to Pike Place Market and picked out some beautiful flowers.  Being in Anchorage where late March definitely does NOT mean Spring, it felt really great to see all the colors of the season. Tulips everywhere! Ann was excited, as you can see.

So pretty.  I couldn't get enough of them.  I wanted to ship them all home with me.  There's Lauren and her sister, Michelle picking the perfect bouquets.

We also had lunch at the Market (Lowell's - yum!) and as we stepped out, Michelle spotted a treasure in the floor tiles:  

Mr. Dick, if that is your real name, you really should consider spelling out your middle name or just leaving the initial off altogether.  And yes, I understand how immature we are for loving this so much.

The flowers we picked were so pretty!

After lunch, it was time for pedicures!! When we landed I told Lauren all I wanted to do that weekend was get a pedicure.  She was way ahead of me and had already booked us appointments for Saturday afternoon!  She. Is. The. Best.  Meanwhile, Megan had made her way up from Portland and got to Seattle just in time to join us.

This is my first attempt to take a picture of our toes after the pedicures.  Something's in the way...

Much better!

Sunday was baby shower day!!  (I didn't have my camera, but many people were taking pictures.  These are all from my friend Michal, who is such a talented photographer!).  The baby shower was full of great food (I mean, really really great), great friends, and lots of "awwwwws" - just like it should be.

Here's Lauren making final preparations.  I love her house! She was an excellent hostess!

Ann and Megan.  These two are photogenic!  Who else looks this good in a candid picture!?

 I got so many adorable presents - these onesies are from Andy's mom.  We love them.

I was in shoes for most of the party, but then I ditched them.  Michal got this great picture of me barefoot and pregnant.

Rachel and Tessa! I've known Rachel since third grade and Tessa since high school.  Even though we've always been fairly far apart since we graduated, I love that we're all in each others' lives and get to share all the best events.  I love these girls!

Rachel brought her baby, Cooper.  Isn't he the sweetest?  He basically did this the whole time, or just sat on the floor and entertained himself.  I would like our little one to be just as easygoing, please!

Andy's mom was there and his dad stopped by to say hello for a minute.  It was so great to see them!

There were so many other people at the shower, but I didn't get pictures of them.  I know Michelle was taking lots of pictures and I think I got a picture with just about everyone to put in my baby book.  

The baby shower went by so fast.  It kind of felt like my wedding because by the end people were leaving and I didn't feel like I got to talk to any of them!   I need to start being a better phone person so I can actually catch up with all of my friends...

After everyone left, the weather made another change for the beautiful and so we ventured out to enjoy the afternoon.  Everyone said the cherry blossoms were in top form at UW, so we hopped over there to take some pictures and soak up some Spring.

Red Square...

Walking toward the fountain.  The pink cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

We wandered around campus and then headed to the quad.  There were approximately one million people there to look at the trees.

I had such a wonderful weekend celebrating with my best friends and family and having a little getaway before the baby comes.  I can't believe it's spring already (especially as I sit here looking at all the snow in the yard, but I know it's coming!).  This means we're getting closer and closer to the baby's arrival! She'll be here before we know it!