Doggett Reunion in the rain...

Once upon a time, a very long time ago we moved to West Virginia for the first year of residency. I don't talk about it very often because it gives me PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) when I reflect back on living in a place that I couldn't have imagined. I honestly had no idea in my Utah bubble brain that places like that existed in America.  They deep fried their bologna sandwiches. They call the carts, "buggies" in an accent that you have to train yourself to understand. We literally lived in the middle of absolute nowhere in a house the size of a hamster cage. We drove away with a moving truck on Liv's 10th day of being alive. It was all very awesome as you can imagine. Me, with raging post birth hormones and emotions still using an ice pack with a 10 day old screeching baby moving away from my dream job, every friend, family member and thing I knew and loved.  Let us not dwell on the negative because there was one bright shining star of redemption that lived right across the street.... The Doggett family.

When I met Tara she was 7 months pregnant and they were living in their own hamster cage with Casey in his third year of residency.  I honestly feel like meeting Tara was like meeting a helicopter during the Titanic.  Their boys were Liv's protectors and her very first friends on Earth.

 When Casey graduated and they moved back to Washington, there was clearly no point in staying in West Virginia so we transferred to Denver (also a modern day miracle and evidence that Heavenly Father knew I would shrivel up like a social barnacle and die in that "wild and wonderful" place) and we promised that we would get together someday when we both didn't qualify for WIC and live in a crazy town.  Well, that prophecy came true.  There was a medical conference in Seattle and it was a no brainer. An epic reunion was in order.  It was so funny to go from this:

 To This:

 Liv and Arianna who could barely sit up when we last saw her were now both capable of talking like an adult and throwing a great tantrum.  It was so fun to see Elliot, Levi and Arianna again.  Grace obviously had no recognition of anybody but she was thrilled to be there just the same. We loved every minute of being in Spokane and then heading to Seattle.

We stayed in downtown Seattle and could walk to the Space needle and anywhere we wanted to be. We rode the monerail, went to Pikes market, ate heavenly Thai food, went to the childrens science center and saw as many sights as you can see when you have 5 kids under 5.

 (Liv was really into reading her map the whole walk over to the science center.

 Being at Pikes market did not inhibit Grace from having a fabulous tantrum right on the floor.

 We rode a ferris wheel over the pier and it was just as delightful as it sounded. Liv was thrilled.

 I was completely mesmerized by the human statues.

We soaked up every second in the rain. Touching sea anemones. Authentic pizzarias. More cultural diversity than Liv has seen in her whole lifetime. Umbrellas. Laughing. Eating Chocolate molten lava cake in the hotel lounge. Levi asking if the homeless man was real. Chipotle. Swimming in an lukewarm pool for hours. Butterfly pavilon.

Grace had some very clean sleeping quarters.

We absolutely loved Seattle. But even more than that we love the Doggett family.  You know you are real friends when years can pass and it feels like you just hung out an hour ago when you see them. This may have been the first reunion but it will not be the last.