A lovely time!

Mom, Cathy and Bryan flew out and spent a week with us from Sept 3-9. I had such a wonderful time with them, and I am so glad they came out for the trip! I can't wait until they can come again!
I wish I'd posted details of their trip sooner, but alas, my laziness defeats me.

We spent the week leading up to their arrival in a cleaning frenzy. They flew in on Saturday afternoon, and I met them at the airport. We spent the afternoon/evening touring Redmond and the Microsoft campus. Mom stayed at our place and Cathy and Bryan stayed in the cat-free rental unit that our complex makes available to visiting guests.

Sunday morning we got up and piled in the car for our trip to Vancouver, Canada. This was my first ever trip to our northern neighbors, and I was super excited to check it out! We had a lot of fun wandering up and down Robson Street and we took a boat tour in the bay. The morning started off cloudy and dreary, but it cleared up into a gorgeous day! We ended our day with dinner in an authentic fast food Chinese restaurant.

On Monday, Cathy, Mom and I drove out to North Bend to meet our cousin Kym. Kym is my 3rd cousin, once removed on my mom's side. We were put into contact with each other thru another cousin, Robert. Kym is such a sweet person, and I am so excited to have family out here! I look forward to spending lots more time with her as we research our family tree. While we girls were hanging out, the Bri/yans hung out at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. Around sunset we all piled back into the car and drove out to Snoqualmie Falls. WOW! They are amazing! That evening we dined at Calabria - an Italian restaurant in downtown Kirkland. Yum!

Tuesday took Brian back to work, but I took Tuesday and Wednesday off to hang with the fam. :) Cathy, Bryan, Mom and I drove up to beautiful Mt. Rainier. Such a lovely drive and so many amazing views!!!

On Wednesday, we toured Seattle. We started at Pike Place market which was a big hit with everyone! Cathy kept telling me that I'd better appreciate having the market so close by. :) Then we headed over to Lake Union to catch our boat tour of Lakes Union and Washington. We had PERFECT weather which made the boat tour all the more lovely. From there, we drove over to the Space Needle. Cathy, Bryan and I took the trip to the top while Mom kept her feet planned firmly on terra firma. :) We saw some breathtaking views of the city and the mountains, and it was well worth going! We also lucked out by going during the week. Once we came back down to earth (HAR!), we jumped on the monorail and rode it back downtown.
An hour or so later, we met Brian at the ferry docks and boarded a ferry to Bainbridge Island. The key thing to note here is that we boarded just before sunset, so that we could see/experience this. And this. It was AMAZING!!

On Thursday I had to go back to work, so Cathy, Bryan and Mom went back to Seattle and had a blast at the market. :) For dinner that evening, we found a yummy restaurant in Issaquah called Lombardis Neighborhood Italian. Delish!

Sadly, Friday came far to quickly, and before I knew it, I was shedding tears and saying goodbye to everyone at the airport. I hate goodbyes. :( But I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing everyone again in November!!!