I just love a road trip!  Lots of great conversations in the car and plenty to do when we got to Seattle.  I really enjoyed getting to know Ali’s mom Patti and to see the interactions between the two of them.  Thursday night Ali did a book signing.  It was on the north side of Seattle, and wanting to avoid traffic, we got up there in the mid-afternoon.  As there was a mall right there we decided to take advantage of that.  I think Ali and I have more in common when it comes to our love of shopping than we do with scrapbooking!  Definitely some cute styles in right now, and the little girls’ clothes  — I practically had to run out of the mall to keep from buying everything (as if Alice even needs one more thing!).  We had dinner at 4:30.  It’s interesting to see who is at a restaurant at that time on a weekday.  A few couples with infants, a grandparents taking their 10 yr old granddaughter out for her birthday (loved seeing the huge hugs she gave them after receiving her gift), love birds and a few older couples.

Ali gave a little talk at the book signing and then had a Q&A session.  One woman asked Ali, “Where will you be in 5 years?” 

She and I kept coming back to that question all weekend.  Where do you think you’ll be in 5 years?  It’s hard to project that far.  5 years ago I was pregnant with my first, was working on my PhD and scrapbooking was a small little hobby I indulged in on occassion.  I NEVER thought I would be where I am today.  I hope in 5 years to be doing something very much along the same lines.  I hope there is another little one in the picture and I hope we are still a happy little family.  Beyond that, who knows.  I do believe in the power of putting down goals and how the very act of writing them can reinforce the motivation to achieve those goals.  However, I tend not to be such a deliberate person.  But, I have been reflecting on the 5 year plan ever since that question was raised.

Scott had a good time with the kids and handled everything beautifully as he always does (other than forgetting that Alice gets picked up from school at 12:30 not 1:00!)  That was another big topic of conversations between Patti, Ali and I, husbands of our generation being much more involved in the lives of their children than our fathers ever were.  I think not only are we as mothers fortunate to have their involvement but our husbands are luckier too.  I think of all those little moments that Scott is there to be a part of that he might have missed had he not been an involved father. 

Scott shared one Alice quote that took place while we were gone.  They were heading out for dinner and she said, “I am ready to rock and roll!”  Then when it was time to leave the restaurant she emphatically  stated, “I am NOT ready to rock and roll!” followed by a temper tantrum.  No idea where she picked that up from…

Hope your weekend was good too!