grandma jan's fall visit

i can't believe this was my mom's 5th visit out here since we moved. i'm so glad we get to see her every few months between her coming here and us going to minneapolis. we've done most of the "touristy" (and non-touristy) activities in seattle with her, so i'm always feeling like i need to come up with new and exciting things to do when she's here. not that it really matters, it's just nice to be together. i was especially thankful for her presence and help this time because thatcher was gone for most of her visit for a work conference in colorado. we did a lot of "every day" stuff with her and it was perfect. 

highlights of this visit:

- my mom got to see azalea's new 1st grade classroom and meet her teacher. she also got to see ashford at his swim lesson at the ballard pool.

- thatcher and i got short (and funny) date night. our venue? whole foods to pick up food for his work trip and to have a little dessert together. i tried mochi for the first time - it was good! romance is not dead! hehe

- my mom got to see ashford's preschool at the coworking space (and the space itself) and meet his teacher. my mom and i even snuck away for a couple hours to the uvillage outdoor mall by ourselves after i did my work for the day :)

- eating out a bunch: the hi life, the ram (meh, would not recommend that one), pagliacci pizza, and the athenian.

- nightly happy hour/appetizers with my mom on our patio while the kids watched their shows inside ;) the weather was gorgeous for the first half of her stay, but then turned more cool and rainy. 

- a trip to the ballard library and mighty o donuts, and to see music at the locks.

- a trip to pike place market where we saw the new addition to the market that opened in june and had a delicious lunch overlooking the water. 

 

i have to share a cute story about our lunch. we went to "the athenian" which is in the market. we got there around 11:30 and ashford had been saying he wanted pancakes (he had them there before). we didn't see them on the menu so we asked the waitress and she said "i'm sorry, we don't serve them after 11am". ashford looked at me with tears starting to fill his eyes and didn't say anything. i said "it's ok, we'll find you something else yummy" and the waitress says "look at that face! i'll go ask the cooks if they will make pancakes for him". she came back and said "they are happy to make him pancakes." ashford was so sweet and i was proud of him for not melting down about it. i thought it was really great service on the restaurant's part too :)

- my mom played lots and lots of board/card games with the kids. she also showed them how to play solitaire on her phone and they are addicted now. ha!

- my mom brought azalea 4 new dresses that she found at a second hand store in minneapolis. one of them looked so familiar to me and i quickly remembered that azalea had one that was the same print when she was a toddler. i looked through old pictures on our computer and found the proof from 2012. i took her picture in the new one, just for fun. man, time flies! 

- azalea started a new gymnastics session on monday (her second time taking it at the community center). she loves it and claims it's her favorite of all the activities she has tried. i'm interested to see if she will continue with it as she gets older. 

- i got a night out with my friends vanessa and martine. we went to a scottish bar called "macleods" on ballard avenue. it was my first time there and it was so nice to get that break and hang out with them. 

we were all sad to see her go this morning. we are hoping to come back to minneapolis for a week around christmas time, but we don't have anything booked. feels like we were just there, but i'm sure it'll come fast! time flies!