Now it can be told: I came home Thursday night, and by Friday afternoon, Pamela and I were on an airplane out to Seattle: Bella and Isaac are in the capable hands of Grandma and Grandpa with a full fridge of food and a weekend of activities ahead for them.
The goal of this visit: To surprise my friend Paul on his 40th birthday. This was craftily arranged by his wife Melissa (no, the OTHER Paul and Melissa, the Seattle ones, not the St Louis Park ones). So we landed, got our rental, got stuck in traffic for a while, got to the Hotel and checked in. We're staying at the Heathman Hotel in Kirkland, with a view of the lake, a block from a marina, in a fabulous room. We got a suite with a feather bed, which was insanely comfy. But back to the surprise:
We headed over to Paul's house when we got word he had arrived home and was taking a shower. We snuck in and parked ourselves on the living room couch, got scotch (me) and champagne (the ladies), and patiently waited for Paul as he took the longest shower ever known to humanity. The surprise was just the two of us, not a big party. When he came down (dressed, yes) he stood in the threshold completely stunned, and it took him over 10 minutes to figure out it was not a hallucination.
We had a great dinner with the family (Madeline 11 and Mia 9 were in the mix, and they were VERY proud of themselves for having kept the secret). Paul grilled Ribeyes and opened a treasured wine which he graciously shared. Madeline brought out her guitar and played us a few songs - she's been playing 3 months now, and has a true love for the instrument. She is also a horse rider, so we promised to get her in touch with Lilli....
This AM we slept in, and are just now waiting for the call - we'll be going into Seattle with P+M for a touristy day, then back to the Heathman for more adventures... more as it develops. It's a gorgeous day here - already in the 60s with blue skies. I can see the mountains in the distance!
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