GIRL TRIP 2009 SEATTLE

Beware: this post is longer than all last month's posts put together.

This was the 3rd annual Girl's Trip. We had one sister-in-law missing and one new sister-in-law in attendance.

Day 1 Shopping in Bellevue & dinner at Melting Pot. It was my first and probably last trip (too expensive) to the Melting Pot. We ate just cheese and chocolate. It was SOOOOOO good.

Emily' friend Ashley (yes, two Ashleys) joined us for dinner.

Day 2 Seattle Temple

Mom, Katie, Jamie, Ashley, Leigh. Emily didn't make it to this one.

Pikes Food Tour and shopping. This was the highlight of the trip. We had the most wonderful smoked salmon I'd ever tasted, really good mint (leaves) gelato, truffle oil, antipasto, really good doughnuts, cheese, and THE BEST clam chowder in the world. I've had a lot of clam chowder back in my New England days but nothing compared to that chowder at Pike's.

Listening to our guide tell us Pike's Place ghost stories. The lineup goes: Katie, Me (I know the shoes are really clownish) Leigh, Ashley, Emily, Xiao Ru a.k.a Shampoo (not really a blood relative but we all love her like a sister. She lives in Seattle and was with us for a couple of outings.)

Canoeing at University of Washington. We had some close calls on tipping canoes but everyone made it safe and dry back to shore. "Look there's a beaver!" (it turned out to be a dog). We rode through tons of lily pads. It was beautiful and relaxing even though Ashely had a hard time using her paddle correctly (ha ha ha).

This is Dane. He's our...uh...long lost sister I guess you could say. Actually, he's a friend of Emily's and helped us get to a few places that we otherwise wouldn't have found.


Panera Bread Sandwiches for dinner and a lot of chatting afterward. I haven't been to Panera for almost two years. I've missed that place.

Day 3 Church

We actually had two bathrooms but it was just nicer to congregate in 1.

Primitive Lunch--Emily had a friend make all this really good food (the sandwiches were fabulous) for lunch. We picked it up at Xiao Ru's where it was waiting and brought it to the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. Unfortunately we didn't think of utensils or water until we sat down and started eating. It was pretty funny and messy. Mom, for some strange reason had a spoon in her purse, which we used to serve the Bean and Corn salad and I had my gelato spoon which came in handy for the cutting of avocados.

Bellevue Botannical Gardens
Ashley didn't want to pose alone so I told her to pretend like Andy was there.
GAMES--not all the sisters participated in this activity (you know who you are). My longest lasting friend I keep in touch with regularly "the other Emily" drove at least 60 minutes (round trip) to come play games and eat candy with us. What a pal! She's one of those friends that even if you haven't seen her for several years you just pick up right where you left off.

Monks at St. Marks--They say they're not really monks but they dress and sing just like them. It was beautiful when they broke off into parts. I kept hoping they'd break out O Come Emanuel, guess it wasn't the right season for that.

Day 4 Memorial Day: Breakfast at Panera again. I had no idea that place has such good breakfast. We finished the trip up at NorthShore Learning.

Most of us felt like this by the end:

Things to remember:

• Emily is an awesome planner of trips. Hopefully she'll be able to plan all future trips.



• Getting two rooms next to each other works out really well. It might be necessary to get certain sisters their own rooms.



• I get really giggly and silly around my sisters



• Always carry at least one utensil in your purse



• Boy's and other non sister friends must pre-qualify to be part of a girl's trip



• Mom will always wake up early to exercise with me no matter how many hours of sleep she lacks.



• After a few days together its easy to get crabby--"just be nice" I need to remind myself.