The real reason we were in Seattle was to celebrate my grandmother’s 88th birthday. And what better excuse for a family reunion? We came from near and far - San Diego, the Bay Area, Sacramento, New York, and Seattle - to honor my mom’s mom. This amazing woman has 3 children, 7 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren, and that doesn’t even include significant others! It’s always been important to her to have everyone together, which makes these gatherings extra special. Just look how much fun it was to take some family photos!

Jack was not interested in a family photo.

He just wanted to play!

Finally, a (almost) successful family photo.

Mother and her 3 children.

Grandmother and 6 of 7 grandchildren.

Great-grandmother and great-grandchildren. (This was the best we could do, since the kids kept running away!)

Suffering from jetlag, I woke up on Saturday morning bright and early. So while Matthew slept in, I took a solo journey back to Pike Place Market. The produce vendors laid everything out like a rainbow of colors. It was simply beautiful. I walked around and ogled all sorts of goodies on my morning stroll. Unfortunately I was headed for brunch at my aunt’s house in a couple hours, so I had to refrain from tasting everything at the market. Next time!

(with a name like that, I HAD to buy a couple of these!)

Woohoo! Freedom! (runaway crawfish)

I missed my good friend Pete’s wedding in June, so I was excited to have dinner with him and his new wife, Sue. Pete and I worked together in SF and have been good friends for years, and he moved back to Seattle a couple years ago. They chose Wild Ginger, a very popular Asian-fusion restaurant in downtown, conveniently near our hotel. It was fun to catch up and hear about life in Seattle.