Being the Bowens: Old and New

We got home from a visit to Seattle late Tuesday night. We had a wonderful trip, but it was good to get back to "normal", whatever that means! We didn't do a whole lot of visiting or sightseeing; we focused on hanging out with family, which was great. All of us were together, including my brother and sister in law from Alaska, and my sister and brother in law and nieces who live in the area. My niece, Gloria, was born Christmas day and was discharged from the NICU after just nine days! We got to visit her there and also celebrate her homecoming, which was awesome! Other trip highlights included a whirlwind trip with Joe and Andrea to far northeastern WA to see our grandparents (it's so hard to see them getting so old) who are not in very good health, Blake went snowshoeing with my dad, my mom took my sister in I to see Les Mis, which was outstanding, and Blake and I had a date-day to the Museum of Flight and a local seafood establishment. We also visited a good friend who dates back to That Summer when Blake and I met (I was hired to fill in while she was on maternity leave!) and my dear friend and mentor who recently relocated to a lovely West Seattle home. Rory was astounded at the rain and Bash progressed in his walking abilities. Both kiddos went on special ice cream outings with their Grampa and enjoyed special treats and attention from Gramma!