Ali's mini vacation...

to Seattle was so great! I didn't realize how much I needed a little "get away" until I was there enjoying only having Ella to worry about and doing whatever else I wanted!!

warning...this is a long post. Since this is basically my "journal"...I am documenting the entire trip.

My flight was at 12:20 in Denver, so I had to leave around 8am from Sidney to get there in time. Remember...it is a 2.5 HOUR drive to the airport. I thought I left in plenty of time, but then had to stop and feed Ella along the way. I started to get nervous about arriving on time, but I did...about 45 minutes early and I only had 1 bag to check. Ella and I boarded the plane and settled into our seat, luckily the plane was only 60% full and we had "family boarding" so we had our pick of location. I was hoping Ella would sleep the whole flight but she only napped for about 45 minutes, which is better than nothing. She did great with the air pressure though I do wish that she took a pacifier for such occasions...her finger sucking was hard to "manage". We landed a bit early, picked up our bags and headed to stores in South Center to SHOP!!!! I was practically drooling at all that was before me...so many options and not enough time and never enough money for all the wants a woman NEEDS!! Our first stop was JoAnn Fabrics and it was a humongous store! I think we were there for over 2 hours. We bought so much fabric, it was fun! Ella came home with a beautiful new fleece blanket from her Nana! Then on to Tuesday Morning...a great store and they have fabulous prices. My mom was looking for items to redecorate her beautiful home with, afterall they just finished a big remodel and need a few new things. She did find some great things and then we were off to dinner. It was my parents 32nd anniversary...but my sister and I had my Mom...instead of her being with my Dad. Sorry Dad! We went to the Olive Garden and it was so yummy! By this time it was about 8pm and we still had more shopping to do and had to meet up with Darci's hubby to pick up her daughter before we headed back to my parents house for the night. We did sneak in a quick stop to Target...LOVE THAT STORE! I think we were in bed by midnight...maybe.

Thursday was a busy day decorating and more shopping. I did go and work out with my Mom at CURVES in the morning. It was fun to see where she goes and meet some of her "CURVES friends:". I found the most amazing deals at the Factory Outlet Mall. My mom offered to watch the kids so Darci and I went shopping, solo. That in and of itself was a treat. My best finds were at GAP...new jeans (love the CURVY LOW RISE) which I desperately needed. I'll just say that I brought 1 pair of jeans with me on the trip that I didn't want to bring home. It was a great self-esteem shopping experience...I was able to purchase 2 pairs of jeans,TWO sizes smaller than the pair I was wearing...and I don't care if they vanity size...my vanity needs all the help it can get!! I like to think that the working out is finally working...I felt like dancing! My next great find was the red pair (the red is a much deeper color than the picture implies) of pumps at BASS. The sticker price was $79.99 and I only paid $18.00 for them! YAHOO!!!! Of course I found a few things for Ella at Gymboree and The Children's Place. The Children's Place had great deals from $.99 to $2.99...and not only that...we had a coupon for an additional 15% off your purchase. I did hit the brand new Target in Denver on the way home from the airport and found the brown pair of pumps and a great dress.

Here are just a few of my favorite finds...

Friday we did a little more decorating then headed to Monroe to my sister's house to hang out. It was their 8th anniversary, which I crashed again. Sorry guys! We had a good dinner and hung out for a while. My dad came by after work and it was fun to watch the kids interact together. My parents headed out and I stayed the night. We decorated her house some...and I started to fade fast! I went to bed, had a long night with Ella but survived.

Saturday morning we went to Cassidy's indoor soccer game at their YMCA. I'll tell you what, it was funny to watch a bunch of 3 & 4 year olds playing soccer! Cassidy kicked the ball once and had fun smiling at her cheering fans while trying to run at the same time. There were a few close call collisions. Darci and I then fed the kids lunch, put the 2 youngsters down for a nap so Elan could watch them and headed out just the 2 of us, again, to get mani-pedi's (manicures & pedicures). HEAVEN!!!! We hardly talked at all, for some reason we wanted to just sit, read a magazine uninterrupted and relax! It was great and I left with pretty fingers & toes. I wanted to get a picture...but forgot, DARN! We went to Fred Meyer on our way home, found some great deals, again! I purchased a few pieces of jewelry and felt rejuvenated! I headed back to my parents house which is only 45 minutes away. We stayed up watching a little t.v., making Ella a blanket and visiting. Being the oldest of 5 kids, there has always been other siblings in the house when visiting. This trip was the first time that everyone is gone, it was so weird and quiet!
Sunday was church and I went to Stake Conference with my parents. It was great to see so many people I hadn't seen in YEARS! Most of them couldn't believe I had FOUR children, and finally a girl! Darci, Elan & kids came back to North Bend and stayed all afternoon and into the evening. It was time to say goodbye to them, I hate that! There were a few tears and lots of hugs and kisses to Ali from Cassidy and Myles. At least I know we'll see them in a few months! I had to ask my mom for her SPACE SAVER bags to pack up all my things. I came with one suitcase and ended up filling that plus a big duffle bag! Afterall...I did find a lot of great deals and Pa (my dad) sent back great goodies back for the boys.

I had a fantastic trip. It was awesome to spend so much time with my parents, and my sister & her family. I wish I could have stayed longer...but I knew I had to get home to all my boys! I miss the Northwest, the mountains, the green everywhere and the rain. Yes, I do miss the rain! Can you believe I saw people mowing their lawns! Ours is so brown and ugly right now! And did I mention I miss the mountains. I do not miss the humidity, however! My hair seemed much frizzier than normal. The mountain in the picture below is called Mount Si and it is beautiful. I was able to see that mountain that close every day growing up!

If you care to see more pictures from my trip, feel free to visit my SEATTLE TRIP album.

Mount Si -view from my parents back yard

Cousins: Myles, Ella & Cassidy

Ella and her reflection

Darci, ME, mom

sisters and their girls

Pa, Nana & Ella (7:15am)

Ella barely waking up on the plane home