2 years in seattle

i will have a weekend recap tomorrow or wednesday, but today is our 2 year seattle-versary! our second year flew by even faster than the first. it was another fun year of exploring and new routines, but with more of a settled feel to it than last year. i have to admit, i kind of miss the newness of our first months here when we were so eager to get out and explore every opportunity we got. i guess that's life though, you just get into routines with work and school and forget to mix things up :) 

here are some highlights of our second year here: 

we explored new areas of the pnw including deception pass, whidbey island, and anacortes:

we tried some new activities like ice skating in shoreline, walking the battery tunnel, and the seattle ferris wheel: 

we traveled to portland (x2), and vancouver once: 

we had lots of friends and family visit: 

we took a trip to seattle children's hospital after azalea split the back of her head open: 

azalea started kindergarten and she has had an amazing year (3 more weeks to go!). i could write a novel about how much i love her teacher and her school! 

we had lots of holiday fun and survived our second christmas away from family: 

we saw our first (two) seattle snowfalls and azalea had two snow days from school. this winter was way different than last year. much colder and wetter. it was actually the wettest winter on record since 1895. thanks mother nature! 

people always ask me if seattle feels like home now and the answer is yes and no. minneapolis will always be our real home and we still plan to come back, but seattle is a damn awesome place to live. the mountains, the sound, our vibrant neighborhood, the friends we've made - i appreciate this opportunity every day! i know when we are old, i will look back on this period of our lives with nothing but fondness. what a gift!