A Visit to Our Old Life

It was strange to visit Redmond, Washington.  We lived in Redmond for seven full years.  It was our last "home", and yet four years has passed since we left.  Our kids have grown up in this "temporary" period of our lives!  It was all so familiar and distant all at once.

We drove through our old neighborhood and past our old house.  The neighborhood that was so young when we lived there seemed so overgrown.  The trees and shrubbery seemed to have grown as fast as the kids.  We visited our old ward (congregation) and saw so many dear friends.  We were deeply influenced by the good people in that area.  We have so many good memories of those years.

We saw our dear friends, the Serafins, twice.  Ashley is one of my favorite people.  She is so quick to laugh, and is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.  Her home and lifestyle is so nurturing.  I always feel like I'm "home" when visiting her.

We met during a stake conference, both of us nursing our babies in the mother's room - her with her oldest, and me with Adele.  We soon discovered that she and her husband had just bought the house four houses down!  During that time I learned a new definition of healthy eating.  She inspired me to eat in a new way, and it was the beginning of a long road to really good food and nutrition.  Without fail, every time I visit, she feeds me something amazingly delicious, and she does it so effortlessly like whipping up a PB&J.  Seriously.  She is still my gold standard.  To me she is good at everything, and a never-ending resource for All Things.

Our kids grew up together and continue to be great friends.

 Nina, Adele and Ceci

Tennie and Sela

We arrived from our very long drive with a nail in our tire.  Nothing short of a miracle that it didn't go flat until we parked the car!  Zig jumped right to the task of changing it for us.  Given our weary state we were so grateful for his jumping to the task.

 Driving through town we saw this sock art on the trees in a park - super fun!

We stopped in PCC Natural Markets, my very favorite food place, to get groceries for our upcoming trip to the San Juan Islands.  It was like Christmas.  Fresh, local, organic produce ONLY!  I snapped a quick picture of Ceci in front of the colorful fruits but the picture is lousy and doesn't even come close to doing the place justice.  I am strangely and overwhelmingly charged by this market!  I wanted to stay and hang out and walk slowly up and down the isles but Geoff and the girls urged me on...

 A new Gluten-free bakery opened up in town called Flying Apron.  We sort of went nuts.  It was also on this trip that we discovered that most pizza places now have a gluten-free crust option.  We went nuts there too.

I'll post about the San Juan Islands next, but before heading South to California after the San Juans we gathered with a few of our good friends at the Serafin's again.  Lisa is one of those people who can make a dinner table look absolutely magical, and the food on the table is as good as a fancy and wholesome restaurant.  She has an enviable artistic touch.  And Wendy is so young at heart.  She is great friends with her teenagers and is always up to something really fun.  She puts on an annual Halloween party that would make Martha Stewart yearn for an invitation!  I love these ladies, and it was fun to see their families too. 

Me with Ashley, Lisa and Wendy