Thank you for indulging our dozens of photos. We truly couldn’t have asked for a better vacation. We rested. We played. We explored. We laughed. We read. We ate (a lot). David has always joked that he didn’t want to take me to visit Seattle because I’d never want to come home. Now I can see why. It’s an incredible place, and I was constantly surprised by the friendliness of people. It’s easy to walk or take the bus. There are charming front-yard vegetable gardens on every block and in some of the parks. You can compost every food item (including meat and oils) and the city will come collect it…

Annie took lots of great photos with her camera this week, and shared them with me. She’s been so wonderful with Judah and Amie, who think she is the coolest person ever. They’ve read books, had adventures, watched movies, painted fingernails, done crafts, and played soccer. She and Amie even had afternoon tea at the American Girl doll store today and picked out a puppy for Amie’s Samantha doll. Thanks Annie for loving our kiddos!

Yesterday morning David and I caught the bus to the center of downtown for breakfast at Pike Place, the sprawling fish/farmer’s market right on the water. It was still a little drizzly, but crowds gather early even on a weekday, an endless push of people from all over the world snapping iPhone photos of the fish tossing and the original Starbucks coffee shop. David and I poked around the stalls, admired the rows and rows of fresh fruit and flowers, and ate way too much food. Sourdough cinnamon rolls, smoked salmon eggs benedict at Lowell’s Restaurant (we highly recommend), a chocolate macaron, and cups of fresh honey-sweetened greek yogurt. Later on we walked down…