After 6 hours of fuss-free flying, Em, Aaron and Zola touched down in Seattle and started up a whirlwind pre-Christmas visit. Pa Ma Ma Anna May put up our little family in her condo in Auburn (very comfortably) and we had a great time at a surprise (ish) party for Aaron's 35th birthday - great turnout from everybody from family like Mark and Cecil Pearson (thanks for the Trader Joe's gift bag, man I miss that store) and Kerry and her boys to original Ayock Crew members, Dan, Ced and Ed Honesberger. Also got to meet the littlest Obermiller, Forest - at just 7 weeks old - what a cutie.Unfortunately, Shannon and Dan's 24 hour bug kept us from really catching up and enjoying a joint family outing to the Aquarium, but A, E & Z stuck to the agenda and really enjoyed their trip to Seattle's newly revamped, premium fishtank. Z really dug the fish! Her pounding on the glass in the underwater dome actually called a number of different denizens of the deep to her window, where she cooed and smiled - her underwater themed baby junglegym must have inspired her interest!
We then had a fish-themed meal at Anthony's Home Port down at the Des Moines Marina, where Uncle Don and Robert Viles (up from San Diego and San Louis Obispo respectively) got to meet Z for the first time while treating us all to a fantastic meal. Z was immediately fascinated by Robert!
Then it was down to Olympia to watch Laurel Viles perform in the nutcracker - she was one of the toy soldiers and did an excellent job!! After the show, Pa Ma Ma took us all out to dinner where we exchanged gifts and had a wonderful time.
The next day it was back to the airport and a long flight home. Unfortunately, this side of plane tickets didn't turn out to be quite so smooth. At this point I'd like to issue a blanket apology to any travelers seated within earshot (and by that I mean the entire plane) especially on the Seattle-Chicago leg.
All-in-all a fantastic trip, and one we'll look forward to making again.
We then had a special Christmas celebration with our own little family, with great food, a beautiful tree, and nice gifts (Dad's looking forward to picking up running again now that Mom gave him a jogging stroller!) .
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and here's to a fantastic 2008!
Love,
Aaron, Emily and Zola Grace
