seattle.

This summer our family of four is taking our first ever Genuine Vacation. By that I mean, it’s not connected to an event or fund-raising or a conference or any other trip. Nope. This time we made our plans and talked to David’s aunts and cousin, and chose our dates, and bought plane tickets for Seattle. Just because we wanted to.

David’s dad’s sisters, Cathy and Pat, live here on the same street in Ballard, a neighborhood in downtown Seattle. Cathy’s daughter Annie is 15. They’ve made a whole lot of trips to the East Coast over the years to see the Gentino clan, and we’ve always wanted to come to hang out with them (David’s last time here was in middle school).

So on Tuesday evening we got on a plane in Charlotte, touched down, raced through the Atlanta airport, and boarded another plane for Seattle. The only thing I have to say about our trip was how incredibly easy it was after certain other trips we’ve taken. The kids walked through the airport on their own and carried their own backpacks and actually slept during the five-hour flight. In short, they were amazing.

And now we’re here, thousands of miles from work and requests and normal demands of life and I feel like my head’s beginning to clear. We powered through our jet lag yesterday and are adapting to Seattle time and finding lots of adventures. My phone’s turned off and aside from this blog I’m stearing clear of the internet in favor of chatting with our family or curling up in the adirondack chair on the porch with a good long novel and a cup of tea, listening to the patter of rain on the vines and leaves all around me.

Lots of photos to come, but here’s Annie and Amie in Annie’s flower girl dress from our wedding 10 year ago. I love that Amie is the age Annie was when we got married, and also I have no idea where the time went.