greetings from seattle

well we're here in seattle and we have had a blast! we head home tomorrow already, and i can't believe that the week has gone by so fast. we have done a lot in the last few days (so much that we might need a vacation to recover from our vacation).

we headed out at about 7:30 on monday morning and it was a beautiful drive. we got a new GPS before we left and we are so glad we did...it makes the drive so much better when you aren't worried about navigating. we got to a little town about 100 miles out of seattle (called ellensburg) monday night and decided to call it quits and go the rest of the way the next day. so we got up tuesday morning and drove the rest of the two hours to seattle...and that was the prettiest part of the drive...i couldn't believe how pretty and green everything was!

we got into town and our handy GPS took us right to our hotel. we pulled into the garage and a valet guy came up to our car and we told him that we didn't need valet and he told us that was all they offered! so he stood there as we tried to get everything out of the car. there were cars waiting behind us so we felt super rushed...it was like this guy was kicking us out of our own car! so we got what we needed and josh tipped the guy (which i think is crap that tipping this guy is mandtory because we didn't even want his service) and we checked in and were informed that we would be charged 20 bucks per night for parking!! we were a little miffed and kinda stunned about it all. we headed up to our room (which was nice but kinda small), and this was our view from the window!we were super excited because that is where we would be seeing the game later that night. so we got settled into our room and then decided to walk around and see what we could see.

we walked down our little street and there were all kinds of cute little shops and cafes...super fun. we somehow made our way all the way down to the piers. it was chilly and a little drizzly but it was so pretty. we decided to walk through the aquarium since we were down there. it was very cool to see all of the sea life that are native to seattle. after the aquarium we walked all the way back to the hotel to rest up a little bit before the game. while we were getting ready we heard a blaring guitar solo of the national anthem coming from the stadium accross the street...and we realized that it was mike mcready warming up for the beginning of the game (i know thats not exciting to most of you...but we were very excited about it because this is one of josh's favorite guitarists ever and he was right across the street)! so we went over the the stadium when they opened the gates and i couldn't believe how pretty the field was! this was the view from our seats...we were so excited about how close we were sitting. we hung around and ate ball park hot dogs and fries while we waited for the game to start. it was a great game but it was FREEZING! i had never been to a ball game so i didn't know that i would need warmer clothes....we could see our breath once the sun went down....i didn't think that i was gonna make it through the whole game but my sweet hubby bought me a mariners blanket from a little gift stand so that i could stop shivering (and complaining).

the next day we got up and took our time getting ready (i love not having to hurry) and walked up to pikes place to shop around and meet up with halee and dave (thanks you guys....love ya!) for lunch and to hang out for the afternoon. we walked around pikes and since it was our anniversary josh bought me a gerbera daisy (the flower used at our wedding) from a little street vedor and i carried it around all day (he's so cute and thoughtful) (yes i realize that its not a flattering picture of me). after lunch at a fun little restaraunt overlooking the water, and wandering around pikes we headed over to the EMP (experience music project...very cool) and the space needle. then we walked over to this beautiful fountain behind the space needle and hung out in the sunshine for a bit.

we decided it was time to head back to the hotel so we took the monorail to the mall and then walked what seemed like a million blocks back to our "home". we decided that since it was our anniversary, we would order room service (overpriced...but so fun) and snuggle while we watched tv and enjoyed our room.

we got up this morning and drove to the woodland park zoo and saw some great animals (including a baby gorilla), but we didn't get any pictures because the zoo was overrun by millions of little kids on field trips...after tripping over kids and being annoyed by how hyper all of them were (yes we are hoping that our child isn't that loud and annoying) we decided it was time to head out. we parked the car back at the hotel and walked back down to the pier for a boat ride out onto the bay and it was beautiful! we got off the boat and walked back to pikes again to see the rest of the market and then just kinda wandered around the city and found a cute little sandwhich place to eat, and then walked all the way back to the hotel.

now here we are, and we are just relaxing and resting our feet for the rest of the night (maybe we will take advantage of our rooftop hottub...don't worry...i'll just dip my feet).

we had a blast this week...and i can definatley feel the extra pressure on my feet. we are sad to be leaving tomorrow, but we are excited to get home and have the weekend to recoup.

oh...and i have been asked for some belly shots...so i'll get them for you all when i get home...i'm growing...thats for sure!