Top Floor, Shopping, Gingerbread Display and the Marathon

This past weekend we had the chance to continue our Holiday tradition of spending a weekend downtown. This year's trip was a bit sooner than previous years, but that turned out to be great for a number of reasons. First, it was the only weekend available :-). Second, it was a bit warmer than later in December..in fact we rarely wore our coats this weekend. Third, we had the opportunity to see some things that we don't normally see.

We arrived downtown around Noon and checked in to the Sheraton. First question was "Do you want a lower floor or a higher floor?" Without hesitation, Maddie burst out "Higher Higher". So we got a high floor...in fact the highest floor...in the new tower! Great view looking North. After dropping our stuff off, we headed out (and would not return until after 9pm.) We worked our way though downtown, a number of shops, the Market, etc. Had lunch at Cheesecake Factory, got mini-donuts at the market, and watched the tree lighting at Pike Place. We headed back toward Westlake for a ride on the Carousel before going for a carriage ride. These two are the kids favorite part of the weekend, hands down. After watching it snow in Pacific Place, we headed to Nordstrom's cafe for dinner. Finally made it back to the hotel around 9 and we were tired. The kids a little bit more energy, but not much.

The next day we got up early to watch for our friends Leighellen and Sharman run in the Seattle Marathon. Since we were downtown early this year it worked out great to cheer them on. We were at mile marker 1, so early in the race. Everyone was at a great pace and enjoying the mild morning weather. We saw LE first, then Sharman later. It was REALLY cool to see 12,000 people running through the streets. After the race, we grabbed coffee, breakfast, another carousel ride and some more shopping. We wrapped things up about 3pm and headed home. Within about 5 minutes, the girls were fast asleep in the car. I had told Steph that it would only take 10 min.

Thanks to Mom and Dad Jensen for watching Josie over the weekend. I guess she had a little run in with a pack of Raccoons! Kenzie want to know all about it since she is very very very interested/concerned about raccoons. We had a great time. Congrats to LE and Sharman on a great accomplishment. Below is a little slide show of the weekend. Keep an eye out for the Gingerbread creations. This is an annual thing they do at the Sheraton and the creations are always very cool...This year's theme was Superheros. Happy December!