Celebrating 5 years!

For our 5th Anniversary Josh and I spent a weekend away, in Seattle.
Actually our 1st weekend away from the boys in 5 years!
February 11th - Day 1: Leave for Seattle via ride-share. It was my 1st time and I had a good experience. Although I would have loved to get some sleep on the way up, we learned several interesting things from our driver. ---She dropped us off directly at Seattle's Port, to pick up our new ride, a 2004 Ford Explorer fresh from the Hawaiian islands. Joshed bought it from the FBI and it only has 35,000 miles. Even after shipping, he still got a great deal. ---After we picked up the car, we had a little maintenance done and Josh installed the stereo/GPS system.

Once the stereo was installed, we checked into our hotel, the Sheridan Seattle.

A special thank you to Norman, for our accommodations!

Beautiful place! Our room was gorgeous!

The stocked fridge and goodie basket were really the only negative! Not cool to put chips, candy and drinks in my room to taunt me, when they are all an outrageously-priced additional charge. Seriously, who would pay $4 for a candy bar? ---I told Josh if he didn't take me to a store to get some candy, then he might have to pay for it. ;)

The view from our room. We went out and explored the city for a little while, then had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Their Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake is divine! We had our left-overs boxed up and gave it to a bum on the street, who was actually thankful for it. We ended up seeing him eating it while walking down the street. To end our first night, we headed up to the 35th floor, and relaxed in the hot tub. Where we met another couple, who were celebrating their 11th anniversary.y 1

Day 2 - We spent the 1st half of the day walking the streets and shopping downtown. Windy windy day...we had to buy ourselves hats. We also enjoyed a little PF Chang's too. I love their crab won tons.

After lunch, we rode the Monorail over to the Experience Music Project. Which may have been really cool, had all the exhibits been open. They did have some neat things, but not enough to make it worth the entrance fee.

The hurricane of 600 guitars was pretty cool though. ---For dinner we had reservations at Ruth Chris and the food was great. Loved it all, except the mashed potatoes. Ruth Chris in Portland definitely has Seattle beat for a more intimate atmosphere. Maybe it was due to Valentine's weekend, but it just seemed so crowded and loud. ---After dinner we walked over to the theater and watched The Green Hornet. Funny movie! Very entertaining. Josh and I both laughed a lot.

---Next stop, we headed over to Elliot Bay marina to Palisade's restaurant for dessert. Thanks Kistine for the recommendation! They really do have an amazing atmosphere and fabulous dessert! We'll definitely dine there again! From the rustic timbers, to the salt water pond, the piano playing above the bar, and the incredible view of the marina and the Seattle skyline, this place is worth the visit.

Our waitress was sweet enough to take our picture for us.

After dessert, it was almost 11pm, and we decided to surprise my friend Jessica at her work. We had planned to see her the next morning, but we just didn't want to wait. It was so much fun! I can't remember the last time I surprised someone, but I loved it! Jessica is a dear friend of mine from high school and it's been awhile since we've seen each other. Seeing Jess was awesome! She and I always have so much fun together and she can always make me laugh! Love you Jess!

Day 3 - We met Jess down at Pike Place Market. We strolled through the market and Josh took photos. This is one of my favorite pictures Josh took downtown.

...And here are just some of the many scenic pictures Josh took of Seattle.

We all went to brunch at Bacco Bistro and all ordered orange juice and it was amazing! Fresh squeezed, then blended. Best we ever had! And our breakfast was good too.

After breakfast we drove along Alki Beach. A beautiful drive.

On our drive up to Seattle, the woman we ride-shared with, told us about Thornewood Castle and some history behind it. --- Thornewood Castle is known as "The House that love built." In 1907, Chester Thorne purchased a 400-year-old Elizabethan manor in England and had it dismantled and shipped, brick by brick from England to be included in the building of Thornewood. It was a gift for his bride, Anna. ---We were told you would never know Thornewood castle was there and that you can't just show up without reservations. Which are both true statements. We stopped by on our way home hoping to see this mysterious castle and the picture below is the closest we could get. Thornewood Castle is inside of a barb-wire protected, gated neighborhood. And I don't even think many of the locals know it's there.

---Here are Jess and I just before we separated for the drive home.

We had a great weekend! A huge thank you to Mom and Dad for watching our boys while we were away!

February 16th, 2010

Our 5th Wedding Anniversary!
Since our trip to Seattle was our big celebration, we kept our actual anniversary low-key.

Josh brought home a beautiful bouquet of flowers and took me out to my favorite place for dessert, Papa Haydn's.

Happy Anniversary Joshua! We've experienced so much in the past five years, and I hope the years ahead will be filled with much love and happiness! I love you!