Thusly Concluding
Friday
As the elevator doors opened I was greeted by my kids screaming my name and rushing to hug my neck. Anna did that sort of laugh/cry you do when you’re really happy and Oliver screamed, his little voice cracking, “we’re a family!” My poor wife, although happy to be here, looked exhausted.
After collecting their luggage we made our way to the car. With me leading the pack and the others in tow, we reached the parking garage. Shayla suddenly bursted into laughter; her laughter brought on by the 62 degree temperature.
On the drive back to Seattle Shayla told me of an encounter she had on the plane. It’s quite remarkable actually. I’m going to let her tell the story which is forthcoming.
After we reached our temporary home and unloaded the luggage we headed out to Fremont, a neighborhood in North/Central Seattle, to eat at Shayla’s (and now apparently Anna’s) favorite restaurant, Blue C Sushi. On the walk back to the car the kids, who were poorly dressed for the climate, wrapped themselves in their “keys”, or blankets to the layman, and walked around all bundled up. Our day ended shortly thereafter.
The kids slept fine all night.
Saturday
Saturday morning we headed to Northgate Mall to get the kids some warmer clothes, as well as some odds and ends from our friendly neighborhood Target. This is the first two-story Target I’ve ever been in and it started on the 5th floor. To our chagrin, Target is now only carrying summer clothes and are not carrying anything warm, although it is still in the 60s here most of the time. We found Anna a hoodie but couldn’t find anything for Ollie yet, but we’re still looking. Thanks to the Vergara’s for the hoodie! Also, Anna and Ollie were able to get a toy with one of their giftcards, so thanks Brewsters! Anna got a “Jesse” doll and Ollie got another Woody.
After a disco nap we took the kids to a local park to burn some energy. They played hard and Anna met a new friend, Piper. Piper came up to Anna and asked, “Do you want to play with me?” After playing a while I overheard Anna ask, “Do you live in Seattle, too?” Piper responded, “Yep, Seattle, Washington.” Shayla and I ROFL’d ;) ( <-- Shayla hates this).
We concluded with a dinner at Snoose Junction, a local Pizza place that’s super kid friendly.
All in all, the kids were champs and I’m super proud of them. They walked close to 2 miles and only complained toward the end with Ollie whining, “Hold you!” Shayla was a champ as well. I know it’s a big adjustment going from little to no walking to walking good distances daily, but I’ll let Shayla talk about that.
Once again, the kids were out like a light and slept silently through the night.
Sunday
This morning Anna woke me by kissing my forehead.
After my morning shower I received my belated homemade father’s day card from Anna. It was wonderful.
After a brief fight over who gets to sing the girl chipmunk part of “All the single ladies”, we got the perpetrators dressed and headed to the closest IKEA to buy a few things. We got Anna a new bed (Ollie’s is coming with the movers), and both a new mattress. We also got me a desk, a table and chairs and some odds and ends. Due to car space I’ll be picking the stuff up tomorrow after we go sign our lease. We are moving into our new place tomorrow, sans our furniture. Don’t worry, this is what we want to do. We still have time to stay where we are but would rather finally be in our own place. Of course, we are incredibly grateful to my parents and Daniel for giving us a place to stay during this transition, it has been so long since we’ve been amongst ourselves, amongst our own things. Furthermore, Shayla is anxious to start nesting.
The kids will have their beds and Shayla and I are borrowing a mattress. Our stuff should be up here within a week. The holdup is that they are waiting for trucks coming through heading in our direction. I was told a truck should be heading toward us early this week. We’ll see. At least we have everything we need while we are awaiting our other things.
After returning from IKEA, and following a brief rest, we took the kids to Greenwood Park, our new neighborhood park and right down the street from our new residence. Our friend, Jason, and his son, Trevor, met us at the park and met the kids for the first time. I know Jason from work and he is a good friend to both of us.
After playing at the park, we went with Jason to get some Chinese food in our new area. The kids took well to Jason. In fact, the kids have acclimated very well. Shayla has also taken to the city pretty quick, after a shakey first day or so.
All in all it has been a good first few days. Things are going very well, the weather is nice, we are all in good spirits and excited about our new home.
Thus concludes our first weekend, as a family, in Seattle.
