We've been caught by the COVID

Late 2021, a new COVID strain developed.  Good news, it was relatively mild with much lower hospitalization rates.  Bad news, it was extremely contagious.  Brent and I felt like, although we are all vaccinated, it was a matter of time before we got COVID.

Sure enough, mid January Brent wasn't feeling well.  First test was negative, but after 4 more days, he tested again and tested positive.  By then, me and the two younger kids were home with sore throats and congestion too.  I frantically ran to find a COVID test (they were impossible to find) for the rest of us.  Sure enough, we were all positive.

Emma didn't have any symptoms, but decided to test herself anyway (she had a friend bring over an extra test) which resulted in a positive.

At this point, positive tests mean quarantine for 5 days (thing had changed drastically from the 14+ day quarantine last year).  So, we hunkered down for some quiet family time.  

The tricky thing, is that Sydney had her show coming up in 5 days.  If she had a positive test, she would be forced to miss the show and possibly send other cast members into quarantine.  She wasn't showing any symptoms.  So, we decided to not test her and hope she didn't develop symptoms.  We filled her with every supplement, vitamin, essential oil we could.  She wasn't home much (thanks to rehearsals) and didn't end up getting sick.

Thankfully, she was able to perform! Brent was sick for about 2 weeks.  But, the rest of us were feeling fine after the 5 days, so life went back to normal. 

Jackman Reunion: Seattle Style

"Let's go to Seattle in December", said Denise.

"That sounds like a great idea, I'm sure it will be so pleasant that time of year," said all the rest of us.

This is what we ended up with

This snow and ice stayed on the ground the entire week.  This is very unusual for Seattle, so they didn't handle it well.  Streets were never plowed, nearly everything was closed, and our whole trip had to be adjusted.

We did still try to get out and do as much as possible.  This included a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island where we walked and walked looking for somewhere we could do inside to warm up.

Grateful the ferry was enclosed! 
 

The lighting on the boat made for a great photo of this hottie!

Don't let these smiles fool you.  Everyone's toes were frozen by this point!

The next day, we drove into downtown Seattle (a fairly nerve-wracking experience) to do some sight seeing.  Our boat cruise was delayed an hour (thanks to the snow), so we desparately searched fro an open shop and bought wahatever we needed to be able to say inside and wamr up. lol 

The ship was warm, and had some great views.

We also headed to the Pike Place Market to see 80% of the shops closed.  

But, thankfully the "gum wall" doesn't close for weather  Gross!!

The space needle was our last stop, which would've been more fun without the malfunctioning elevator that left us waiting in line for an extra hour.  Thankfully, the line was indoors and we could wait in warmth.

See the glass floor?  It rotated which was really cool.

We finally decided to embrace the closures and spent the third day having family time at the hotel.  Mandatory games and puzzles in the lobby and a movie in the afternoon.

We were able to go to the Aquarium

And the Chulily Glass Garden

The Museum of Pop Culture was a favorite for the teens.  Taylor was amazed by the Harry Potter memorabilia.

Despite the closures and frozen feet, we were able to have a really good time.  I am so grateful for this wonderful family I married into years ago.  They are keepers!