Jeff and I drove Edie north on Friday afternoon, meeting up with my Mom, Toby and Great Gramma (now known as GGBee since her middle name is the same as Edie's - Bee) for the "big swap". Edie had fallen asleep on the drive north, and woke mysteriously furious as we exited in Stanwood. It was hard to say goodbye with her so cranked, but I was able to give her a squeeze and a kiss in a moment of calm and then we drove away hoping not to unnecessarily drag out the goodbye. She apparently fell back asleep shortly after my Mom got back on the freeway. (frequent photo texts kept me happy throughout the weekend, including one of her conked out in my Mom's car shortly after saying goodbye)
Jeff and I then slogged through the worst traffic ever to arrive in Portland for dinner. Oddly, we decided against taking the camera to Portland - I guess if Edie's not in the photos, it's not worth it anymore?? My point is just that I have no photos to share with you of our weekend - but believe me that we had a really nice time. We stayed at Hotel Lucia, shopped The Pearl, walked up and down 23rd, hit up Pioneer Place, antiqued in Sellwood and ate some really great food. Oh, and slept until 10am TWO DAYS IN A ROW. Lindsey - we tried to hit up Voodoo but the line was around the block no matter what time we walked by! Those must be some donuts!
On Saturday, we had old fashioned cocktails at a tiny little club called Central, then walked to the Pearl and had a late night dinner at an old favorite - Andina. We had a bustly brunch at a fantastic deli called Kenny and Zukes and pretended to be hipsters at Clyde Common on Friday night; eating things like nettle pesto while sandwiched between dudes in their 20's with ironic beards and flannel shirts. I love Portland. I mean it. Every time I try to fall in love with Vancouver, I find myself missing the compactness, funkiness and walkability of Portland. There's also something nostalgic about Portland for Jeff and me - we've been going there (typically in the winter) for over 12 years and returning after over 2 years away was really fun. The drive can be a bit pesky, but the two night stay made it well worth it.
Edie apparently had the best weekend ever at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She was surrounded by admirers and had countless visits and play dates with family and friends in Bellingham. She slept well and only ever remembered Mom and Dad at night while happily talking herself to sleep with her stuffed animals before bed. At least that's what I'm told. I'm torn between hurt feelers and relief that my child is well adjusted enough to spend what ended up being 3 nights away from her parents in a state of contentment. I had a 9 hour day of work today so my parents agreed to keep Edie one more night and my Mom drove her home today while I was in meetings. It seemed easier than everyone driving an extra 2 hours yesterday to swap at a midpoint and then my Mom retracing her steps today to come care for E. And while it was logistically easier, I was so anxious to get home and squeeze her today that I gave myself a stomach ache. Wow did I miss that kid's face.
We bought her a new bath toy for being such a good girl while we were gone and she l-o-v-e-s it. Pictures of her playing with it in the tub soon....
2 comments:
We're glad you had a good time, Jill and Jeff. And we're glad you left Edie with Gma & Gpa B because then we got to see her for a bit on Sunday! I don't know if she already knew this phrase or if she picked it up from me but we saw a man (logger type guy) in a neighbor tree with a chainsaw and she kept repeating after me "it's amazing!" She is such great fun to hang around with!
So happy to hear you two had a great weekend in PDX! It is a great city, I agree. And, yes, those are some donuts. We waited in line for over an hour for them and it was worth it. Hopefully you will be able to pick some up next time.
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