Reason #7

Portland
Is that a mountain off in the distance? I'm not really sure...

Seattle
Waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy more mountain for your moolah.

Reason #6

Jeanne is an auntie. Speaking as an aunt myself, I know that it is one of the great joys and privilages a single girl can experience. I mean, you get to have all the fun of having kids in your life that you love with your whole heart, but when they act up or get bratty, you can just send 'em home to mom. You can take them out and spoil them and get them hyped up on sugar and buy them noisy toys and then drop them off at home! Seriously, though, the relationships I have with my niece and 2 nephews are some of the most treasured in my life. When I moved to Portland, I started missing out on all of the little things. I mean, I made it home for their birthdays (usually) and holidays, but I missed all of the day-to-day stuff. Now that I'm back up here, I see them all the time. For example, my niece (who is now 12! and in the 7th grade) had a track meet last Thursday. I went to watch her compete, and then we went out to Cold Stone. Then on Tuesday night, she came over and had popcorn and watched cartoons with me. She's also been coming out to volunteer at the place where I work. We make it a point to hang out at leas once a week, and she even initiates it a lot of the time. Last Saturday, I took her and my nephew out shopping for Mother's Day. It's just so great!

Jeanne's niece lives in Oak Harbor. The equation is pretty simple: Portland=futher from her niece; Seattle = closer to her niece. She's almost 2 now, but she'll be 12 in the blink of an eye. So, reason #6 that Jeanne should get her little Auntie Fanny up here is that missing out on the loves of your life growing up is LAME. Come on, Jeanne. We'd be the coolest pair of Aunts you ever saw... group trips to the zoo, the waterfront, ice cream... you know it would be great!