...and we're back home and feeling better. When our flight arrived in Seattle last Friday night, I was pretty worried that we had made the wrong decision--trying to travel for Christmas despite still being sick. I felt worse overall, and both Drew's and my ears were hurting and extremely plugged up from the flights. It was frustrating trying to communicate with one another and others with our limited hearing, but after many exchanges (during which we received quite a few stares), we were able to speak loudly enough and ask people to repeat themselves enough to get 1) our rental car, 2) checked into our hotel, and 3) to a pharmacy for Sudafed to help relieve the congestion in our ears (and my sinuses).

It was a long night, and I was up every couple of hours trying to relieve the pain and pressure with hot washcloths, steam from the shower, etc. Luckily, we both felt significantly better in the morning, and after double-checking Snoqualmie Pass conditions over the phone with Blaise and Nicole, we checked out of the hotel room early to get on the road to Yakima.

The drive through the mountains was a little sketchy, and during much of it we were driving 30 mph or less. On the other side of the mountains, the snow eased up, and we were able to finish off the drive easily. We arrived at Blaise and Nicole's house around lunch time, to the excited squeals of our nephews Alex and Conor. What a wonderful welcome! The next few days would be spent playing with them, relaxing, eating way too much, and just enjoying time with family.

I'll fill in more details and post an album of the pictures we took soon. Though it was difficult to say good-bye to my family, we are happy to be home with the girls. Shhh...don't tell anyone, but after they got their baths yesterday after getting home from the kennel, we let them sleep with us in bed last night.

-Em

Update: I posted pictures. Just click on the first one under "Recent Photos" on the left to scroll through the Christmas 2007 album. As always, I wish we would've taken more.