Another Day to Go Out and Play...

We met some of our good friends from Georgia, Royce and Katie and ate breakfast at the Black Diamond Bakery. They have the best food, and all their homemade breads are amazing!!

I managed to get out without buying one of every kind to bring home.

My favorite is their cinnamon bread, Yummy Cinnamon toast.

This was a neat site on the way out to Black Diamond... an Eagle landing in his nest.


Well he looked real from the road... still pretty cool!!
I want one of these for the entrance into my estate... what do you think Jim?


Lynn's favorite place to shop for shoes... Nordstrom!
Adam is now our favorite shoe guy in Seattle, he had such a fun personality!
Who knew shopping for shoes could be so much fun, we bonded and by the time
we left, he was giving out hugs! We have that affect on people ~ feel the Love!!


I had never been to Cheesecake Factory ~ so Lynn took us for dinner.
Sadly the food wasn't really anything to write home about.... and they were so slow serving us, that we ran out of time to get a piece of cheesecake.
The one's they walked by with every 2 1/2 seconds looked amazing, so I may have to go back for the cheesecake some day.

ANNUAL KITE DAY 2007!!!!

My Sis n Law's family get together for Kite Day every year at Fort Casey, and we were so fortunate to be in town and get to go.

Now there are a few rules my brother clued us in on for kite day...
1) No crying on kite day
2) Eat and be happy on kite day
3) Everyone flyes a kite on kite day

I LOVE KITE DAY!!!


1st Pack up the food...

"the chocolate cake rides up front with me...

It was a long ride to Fort Casey... but the sites on Whidbey Island
were neat to see.

Brother is the master at getting all the kites up in the air...

Kite day is not without it's troubles...

But it is all worth while...

The 9ft Delta kite was my favorite... stellar!!

The lighthouse at Fort Casey...

Brother Ralph and his wife Panda... both keepers.

Oh a kite flying we will go... 15 in the air at one time.

Jacob finally gets the dragon in the air...

Even Buni had fun at kite day...

Okay, it didn't seem dangerous at the time, but this picture

makes it seem like there were stings everywhere... oh yeah there not strings, there lines!

Gotta get the terminology right on kite day.

On the way home we stoped for a kodak moment on the bridge at Deception Pass...

This is not for the squimish!!

Wilma can you get out a little farther on the bridge? No,

this is good....

It was beautiful, and a good time was had by all...

I love the City...

Did I mention I loved the City... I got some quick shots from the car going to the stadium on Friday.

I love this City!!

If you use your imagination ~ this is accross the street from Pioneer Station... okay I was on the wrong side of the car... now I have to go back to the City to get better pictures.

I love the details on the buildings and all the flowers.

And they are not all square buildings either...

The traffic I could leave...

The Smith Tower is one of my favorites... it was bette when Ivar got to fly his company flag from it... the big fish.

Eeeeewwwwww! the new Four Seasons... the view from here is magnifisent!!
and they will have million dollar 600 sq ft condos to purchase on the top two
floors.

This view is actually from the top of the stadium... I love the ferries!


This is where Sis works!

More hustle and bustle...

Trip to Seattle...

We were up early Friday morning and out of the house at 5am to the airport. It was the most quiet ride I have ever taken. Jacob was fast asleep in the back seat, and while Jim is a man of few words, they are even fewer at 5am. But he was a good sport about it. And it gave me time to imagine the dip, followed by the long smushy kiss goodbye I might get at the airport from him.

So yeah anyway after my peck goodbye, we found our friends Steve and Michael checking in... they were going to Seattle on the same flight to see the Mariners Game, the same game we had tickets to. I was fun to have someone in the airport to talk to, and we were all excited and talked about how much fun we were going to have at the game. The boys were pretty groggy still, but they were excited enough to chat.

Figured out how to get the pics off my camera with the usp attachment... thanks Mom D! We arrived in Seattle and the welcome wagon was there to pick us up... one of my favorite things is the welcome at the airport. It about killed me when they changed all the rules and wouldn't let you go out to greet at the gate anymore.

Homemade Pies ~ YUM!! Sis and Jacob :)

Papa and Nene took us out to breakfast, I forgot to mention it was at the Casino Restaurant, and they have the biggest bestest most reasonable priced food around, and they make their own homemade pies... YUM! WE gave Aunt Lynn her birthday presents... I had made her a journal jar which she had been begging for, since we made one for her husband last Christmas. Okay now she is happy... I want to read postings for your stories out of the jar on your blog now Sis!!

Nephew Jerad and Jacob ~ who dressed you guys? :)

We stopped by my nephews new State Farm office he opened officially August 1st... I am so proud of him, he has turned into a great young man. Plus he encourages Jacob every chance he get's to go to college and not sluff off in high school. So I love him for that! It's much better when they hear it from someone other than the parents.

I forgot the trip to Lowes to pick out paint for Mom's newly remodeled kitchen... it needed it, and since I was the painting fool now, I thought I would just help her over the edge of scary colors! She picked a nice sage green looking color ~ very good taste Mom! Can't wait to see it on the walls.

We met Sergio at Lowes (didn't get his pic), he was totally focused on customer service... the best employee they have, which it's so hard to find good help these days. He made the whole trip! He knew his inventory and when we were looking at tiles and I was too proud to ask for help after way too long looking for a number of a tile, even though I thought I had mastered there inventory numbering system... he walked right to it and pulled on out for me. Sergio you rock! We are putting a good word in for you with the manager!

Then we went to watch the Mariners play Boston. Nene got us all lined out with snacks in a backpack Jacob was so gracious to pack around all night, and even an extra bag of trail mix and extra candy bars for Michael... he has a new adopted Grandma whether he likes it or not. Unfortunately, we didn't get to hook up with them at the game, we looked for them, but never found them. The snacks were great to have, but we couldn't avoid sharing a big heaping pile of garlic fries, of which we still smell like this morning.

Jacob took some pictures of the favorite Boston players for Michael.... although we were in the top of the stadium and I am sure Michael could get his own better shots from the 5th row 3rd baseline where they were sitting... it was all good, I want my son to be a budding photographer and we all have to practice right!

Yes, he's a nut too!

Me and Sis!!

Ortiz

The view from the top...

The real view from the top!!!

Ichiro ~ we love his batting ritual!!

I can't wait for today, we are going with my brother and his wife and her family to go fly kites at Fort Casey!!

Wahoo!!!

I made it through the pile!!! (ok I got enough done to make it work anyway)
I am finally packed and excited (well as excited as one get's at 4am) to go to Seattle.
We found out some friends of ours are going to be on the same flight this morning, and they will be at the Mariners Game tonight too!
A good time will be had by all!!!

The Pile...

I have to get through this pile of work so I can go to Seattle in the morning.

The good news is each slot represents one company I do work for, so you can see there are 3 companies in pretty good shape. The bad news is the other 3 I have to plug away today to get them done before I leave. They look like a big ol' huge mountain to me. I have to keep remembering... small and simple, small and simple, small and simple....

Not to mention all the housework that has piled up since I was gone to camp.

Jacob has been slow to motivate this week. We are down to 3 loads of laundry today.

But he is putting off the lawn mowing and unfortunately the longer he waits the hotter in the day it gets... and today there is no putting it off until tomorrow.

I guess it is good for him to suffer the consequences once in a while, and who am I to talk with "the Pile" I have to do.

I am trying to keep it all in perspective, and I know it will be here when I get home.... but I will enjoy my time so much more, if I don't get any long distance phone calls and have to send Jim into "the Pile" looking for something. And I won't have it on my mind while I am gone, so I can fill my head with other things. That seems to be the trend as I get older, not as many things fit inside my head at one time and when I try and squish too much in, I don't have any control of what falls out... and sometimes it is important stuff I should remember.

What I am grateful for today is that I have Jacob home to help me out with all the chores, and his loving smile even when he is grumpy and obstinate. I am grateful for my dogs who stick with me wandering from room to room trying to remember why I went in that room. I am thankful for my husband who is getting up really really early with us in the morning and let's me go spend time with my family while he stays home and works so we can have so many wonderful things in our lives. Did I mention he is also really great about not pointing out to me I am wandering from room to room, or questioning why I wander in the house. I am so grateful for a forgiving Father in Heaven, that helps me to understand my divine roll as a mother and wife, and when I just don't get it right, gives me more chances to try again and learn from all my silly mistakes.

It's beginning to feel like an all nighter, because I haven't even thought once about packing for the trip.... I can't wait for this part to be over, so I can get excited to go.

Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday Sis!!

What a great day for a birthday! It's my sisters birthday today.
I am sad I can't be with her to celebrate, but we are kind of holding off and doing the celebration on Friday when Jacob and I get to Seattle. She get's the day off of work and we arrive at 7am, so we will have a full day to celebrate her day, or as we so fondly refer to it as the Birthday Holiday Week Extravaganza!

I am so sad, I called her this morning and I have been so busy trying to get things ready to go to Seattle, that she actually said to me "Ah I have a sister". I guess I have been neglecting her, I have to keep working on my priorities... I get to wrapped up in things at times, I forget what is important. And I need to call my family and keep in better touch. I try, it just doesn't always come together like it should.

It is a big birthday month in our family... also celebrating today our niece Megan who is 20 and going to college in Utah. Our Nephew Trenton in Utah on the 3rd, another niece Wendy in Az on the 3rd, another niece Jeanie in Az on the 25th, and yet another niece Chloe in Utah on the 28th. Three of these 5 are in the same family! Their mom, Patsy, has her birthday plans full I am sure!

Happy Birthday August babies!!!