family bbq

Today we had a grrrrubbin' BBQ with John, Eileen and a dear family friend, Helga. We had hoped that Josh, Becky and Ashley would be able to come but it seemed they got ill the night before. :( But that didn't put a damper on the day. We got to spend a lovely afternoon sitting around the fire and visiting, jumping on the trampoline and eating way too much! Thanks so much for coming up. It's always a great way to spend the day!!

And thank you Helga, for your famous brownies. It's no secret what we had for breakfast!

sushi

One of my favorite "fun" restaurants to go to with the kids is Blue C Sushi. It's the type of restaurant that not only has good food, but a great atmosphere that ends up providing us with loads of entertainment. The reason Blue C is so cool is because your food goes around the entire room on a conveyor belt - allowing you to pick and choose as you see something you like or are ready for another bite. And the chefs are in the middle of it all, working their magic to prepare the food.

Having the fun that we typically do, our waiter asked us if we wanted him to take a picture of us. Of course we did! Luckily we warned him that we like to be goofy in our family photos. The look on his face was classic when he actually saw what that meant!

photo shoot

One time when we were visiting my grandparents, my Grampa sent a bag home with us to give to my Mom. Things she had forgotten at their house at some point. In that bag were two pairs of some of the largest glasses she had worn over the years. Of course she no longer wanted them - but we certainly did! For at least a year now, these two pairs of glasses have sat in a vase on the counter (the kind of vase that sits behind our computer holding pens, tissue paper flowers and any other random thing you want but have no place to put it). Occasionally we bring them out and dance around or wear them to the grocery store. But today Mackenzie and Josh opted for the much loved photo shoot. Enjoy.

shrek the musical

Tonight Payton and I were soo very lucky. We got to go to the 5th Avenue Theater to see Shrek the Musical! Not only were we lucky enough to have free tickets to go on a "mom n daughter" date - but we were uber lucky in that this production is an actual Broadway play. The entire show will float over to Broadway just as soon they are done with their preview appearances that they are only doing in Seattle this month!! And oh man, was it amazing!! Had it been legal, I would have taken photos upon photos of the colorful sets and the beautiful costumes. There were numerous moments where we looked at one another and said out loud "Macky would like that" or "we have to tell Mike about this part" or "Josh would dig those skeletons". And being Shrek, it brought that same magic as the original, if not more. I truly don't know how they did it!

So if you happen to get the opportunity to go - even if you don't have children - I strongly suggest it!!

windswept

This week we are on a "stay"cation. We wanted to have about a week at home with the kids before school started again for them to have some laughs and just enjoy each other. So Mike's started today and mine will start on Sunday. Since I was at work, he decided to take the kids on a hike at Discovery Park. Discovery Park is an easy popular trail that brings you along a beach and ends up being a great place for kiddos to play. Only thing is it ended up being a bit windier than expected. Here's one of the photos of the kids that Mike took, just as a big gust came by. Hilarious!

bahhhhh

I commuted for over 4 hours today. Yeah. You heard me right. Four hours!! It's a crime, I tell ya. A crime!!

Needless to say, I'm a real happy camper right now....

at last

the babies are home!!

the gorge

Yesterday we set out for our long awaited concert at The Gorge. We bought these Jack Johnson tickets months ago and I swear it felt like it'd be years before we got to go! But at the same time, it felt like just yesterday when we were calling each other to see who wanted to go and organizing camping and all of the fun things that go with a mass road trip with loved ones from near and far.

So we all decided to meet at the gas station in George. If you're not familiar with Washington, you might ask "how can you meet at THE gas station?" But it's possible. I think that's pretty much all there is. A gas station and a general store - oh yeah - and a liquor store!

So we all met there to caravan to the campground together. "We" was Mike and I, my Dad and Kay, my friend Becca, Josh and Becky and a couple of friends of theirs. I was actually quite impressed that when we said "let's meet at 1 at the before-mentioned gas station", we all ended up there within 5 minutes of each other. Now that might not sound too impressive but considering we all came from different areas of the NW United States, it was quite the feat.

We got to the campground and got set up. It was a regular tent city. I have never really seen anything like this, actually. I know that the Gorge in itself can accommodate 22,000 people and they say they will never run out of camping space. But I think they came dang close. No matter which way you looked, there were tents as far as you could see. And every tent there had the same goal in mind. Chillin'. And chill we did. We set up lawn chairs and poured the margaritas. We put up the hillbilly horseshoes and held onto our beers. And above all, we played music and sang and laughed. We had no agenda. And it was good.

Until we all remembered that we actually came for a show too. So after a few hours in the sun, we headed along the trails until we reached our destination. The port a potty line.

After which we went to the show. Fully intending to sit and bob our heads, we laid out our blankets and set up our spot on the grass - in the way back of the amphitheater. But if anyone knows me, they know I like to rock. So after one amazing song in the back, we decided it was time to jump to the front. And then the show began. Jack Johnson put on such an amazing set that at one point, I nearly teared up. This is the first concert that I've ever been to that people weren't ramming into each other. No one was cussing about their view. As a matter of fact, we weren't shoved together like sardines either. Which is pretty amazing for a sold out show. But something about his smooth sounds just brings people to a common place that just oozes good things. And that is so refreshing.

If Jack ever comes again, I will be there. 'Nuff said.

I do want to thank my Daddio and Kayzo for driving all the way to Seattle beforehand and spending half of the week with us. It was so much fun and you can't ever know how much it means to me!

I also want to thank my great friend Becca for coming all the way from Missoula with her family as well. I know that's quite the jaunt for an overnight camping trip. But it was SOO great to see you!

Also, thanks to Josh and Becky for toting all of our abandoned blankets back to the campground after we bolted into the crowd. We heart you!

And last, but certainly not least - thank you to my dear friend Kate for spending the night with Mackenzie since she insisted on being here for her boyfriend's birthday. You are a fabulous friend!

agua verde cafe

Go to this restaurant. Go now. No, don't pause to think about it. Just go.

a hiking we will go...

Today we hiked a most beautiful trail called Rattlesnake Ridge. When Mike told me the name of the place we were heading, I instantly wanted to say, "will there be a lot rattlesnakes there?" But for once, I was able to ignore my inner neurotic and just enjoy the day. After all, my studly man was there to protect me if there were. So, with two of my favorite boys and Polly in tow, we trekked up and around this scenic mountain. Stopping only to greet and wave to the hundreds of other people and dogs that had decided to join us. I hadn't realized that we sent out a memo on the place to be that day! But crowded or not, this is a hike that I highly recommend. So grab your kids and dogs and go join the masses. You'll be thrilled that you did!

*sidenote* When I did finally ask the snake question, the answer was no. There are not a ton of a rattlesnakes there. If any at all.

seahawks game

Two words - friggin' awesome!

reasons I'm excited about this week

• It was 90 degrees out yesterday and is supposed to be the same today!! Now this is what I call summer!
  
• Joshy is home this weekend!
  
• After constantly hounding Mike (for years) about getting to go to a Seahawks game, he's taking me to one tonight! John Hahn gave us his tickets since they have a prior engagement this fine evening. Thanks John!
  
• Payton is going to a water park in Missoula with my much loved friends, Mighty and Bill and their kiddos. I'm happy that although I live hundreds of miles away and can't spend the time with them I'd like to, at least my kids can when they get back to visit. Thank you for being such good friends!
• My Dad and Kay are coming here on Wednesday so we can hang out for a few days, go to the Gorge and then head to Idaho to do some totally extreme biking in the mountains! I am absolutely thrilled about all 4 of those days!!
  
• My dear friend Becca Loo is meeting us at the Gorge on Friday! Yay Becca! (I'm also excited to hear that although she was working at Sturgis this last week or so, she is coming to me with all 10 fingers and toes intact.)
  

And the number one reason why I'm excited today is... *drum roll please*

• My little ladies come home this week!!! Mackenzie will arrive on Wednesday with my folks. And Payton will meet us in Idaho on Saturday. I feel like this summer's visit with their dad has been the longest ever and can't wait to snuggle the heck out of them!
  

exploring gig harbor

Today after work, I was the luckiest girl in the world. Well, the parlor at least. :) I don't really know why it is, but if your husband/boyfriend/significant other decides to come to your work to see you - everybody stops. Everyone is quiet. They all check him out and the both of you together. They all introduce themselves while silently wondering why their husband/boyfriend/significant other isn't visiting them at work. It's a funny thing. I've been there many a times. But this time, it was my man who came!

And he came specifically to spend the evening with me exploring the little town I've been working in for over a month. I knew we definitely needed to do so. I had driven the 100 mile round trip to Gig Harbor everyday and never even ventured on one other street. Who even knew what was out there?

After a little bit of searching, we settled on a much loved town favorite called The Tides. Heck, I loved it much as well! We had a perfect outdoor seat right on the water overlooking our huge plate of nachos and the few drinks in our hands. My friend Patience and her friend Quinton even showed up to join us. We were having a blast. And then for some reason, we all looked around and realized that every person in there was staring at us? What the heck? We weren't jumping up and down in our seats. Okay, maybe a little bit. And we weren't laughing so hard we nearly peed. Well, maybe that too. Okay, we didn't even have a photo shoot at the table. Well, actually we did. But isn't that what you do with your friends? Eat, drink and be merry? Heck yes it is!

So what night should we aim for next week? ;)

pineapple express

Tonight I went to the movie with two of my great friends, Kate and Amy. Let's go to "Pineapple Express", Kate said! Sure thing! I didn't really know what it was but I was certainly down for a night with the ladies. So we decided to meet up before to hang out and then go to the 8:15 showing. After all, it is a school night and we can't be out too late!

We had such a great time before the movie! We pulled up some seats at Mexico and had some much needed girl time. We laughed, we got loud, we may have even cussed a little. We were having so much fun that we missed the 8:15 movie and decided to stay put until the next one. Who cares if it's a school night...

So here we are in the later movie. It starts, I giggle. It keeps going. I try to giggle. By the end. I'm just tired. As much as it was a hard realization for me to make, I did finally see that I am getting old. I was definitely the wrong demographic for this flick.

I promptly went home to check my head for gray hairs. :)

Thanks for the fun night, girls! It was so great to see you!

seaside

This weekend we decided to up and go to Seaside. They have these volleyball tournaments every year that were once a tradition in Mike's family. I have heard so many fond memories from both him and John and Eileen. As a matter of fact, I've heard the same memories from both of his brothers as well. So we decided it was long overdue to get back there.



Originally we had planned to leave after work on Friday, but decided to leave early Saturday morning instead. Early meaning, "we're going to be on the road by 5 am," Mike said. "Okay," I agreed with much enthusiasm. We finally crawled out of bed around 6ish and still had to pack our bags and camping gear. But eventually we ended up on the road by about 8:30. Perfect!

The morning was clear and the drive was nice. Around Longview, we decided that breakfast sounded great. We stopped at a cute little diner and took our time reading the paper and enjoying a perfect little meal that rang in under 14 bucks. "Does that even happen anymore?" was our conversation as we got back on the road. We arrived at our campground around noonish; set up camp, enjoyed a frosty beverage and headed to the beach. Volleyball was awaiting!

Now I have never been to any kind of a volleyball tournament before. Especially not a beach volleyball tourny. Quite the jolly crowd, I must say. There was sense of happiness in the air that I've never felt at any kind of a competitive game before. Maybe it was the way the sun was filtering through the clouds to keep you just warm enough. Or maybe it was the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean crashing to the shore. Or maybe, just maybe... it was the beer. Who knows. Whatever it was, it was grand.

After watching a couple of really exciting games, it was time to eat again. We decided that since we were camping we would actually splurge on one good meal. Mike got a crappy steak and I got delicious crab. We were then ready to hit the beach again, where the night would be one continuous flirtation between my hubby and me. Riding bikes. Chasing each other on the beach. Holding hands on the sidelines and kicking butt at pool. What my mom calls "bonding".

The next morning we got up and set out to get some miles in for Mike's Hike-a-thon that he's participating in. We climbed Tillamook Head, which between the giant shrubbery and the fog filtering through, turned out to be possibly one of the most breathtaking hikes I've ever been on. Then coming down from the trailhead, we stumbled upon a TON of surfers catching waves. Washington surfers have got to be some of the most badass surfers out there. Not only are they dodging waves and the likes, they have to do it suited up from head to toe so's not to turn into popsicles. Pretty dang cool.

After watching that for a good half hour, we had just enough time left to stop at the Nike store for some LiveStrong bracelets (that they no longer carried) and get on the road. The trip flew by so fast and although we wanted at least one more day, we felt like we actually got a vacation. All without taking any time off of work or spending more than a hundred dollars.

So thank you baby, for such a memorable weekend. I think I can safely say we'll be back next year to continue the tradition, but hopefully then we'll have the kids in tow.

*sidenote* I hovered over more nasty toilets in those 2 days than I may remember ever doing. I'm not quite sure why the frequency of bad bathrooms, but that's the only thing I can say could have been better. My quads were quivering by the time we hit home!

dear nick,

I am so proud of you.
Love,
Your sister

fresh ground pepper

Tonight we had a fabulous time! It was fabulous because Mike's brother, Josh, invited us to join him for a concert at Marymoor Park. We saw Pepper and Slightly Stoopid. If you've never heard them, they have a dub rock sort of sound. Which is awesome, since I swear I will be a surfer at some point in my life. And when I am, this is the music I will listen to. :)



Another beautiful summer night in Seattle. Thank you Josh, for the invite and the excellent evening. And thank you Mikey, for being my hunky date. Or maybe I was the hunky date. Who knows - either way, it was good!

one of my favorite things

Living so far away from my family and friends in Montana, it can be hard to find a time to connect. One thing that I really enjoy is when my dad and I do our monthly food and wine chat. We both subscribe to Food and Wine Magazine. And we are both foodies. We love to eat. We love to cook. We love... food. So on those rare occasions when there is calm on both ends of the phone, we grab our monthly magazine and talk about the things we've made or want to make. We talk about what looks good and what looks crazy. We just get a chance to talk. And it's really nice.

water baby

Today started out as kind of a rough day. Well, maybe I should rephrase that a little bit. Today was actually a great day. Pretty much everyday is a great day for one reason or another. But today I'm missing our kids so badly that it hurts in every part of my body. The tears are constantly being batted away with my eyelashes and it's everything I can do to laugh at even the funniest of jokes.

But it's times like this when you especially need to step back and find the beauty around you. So after work, Mike and I decided to go canoing on Lake Washington. We've talked about doing this for a long time. When I say a long time, I truly mean we've been talking about doing it for years. So I'm glad we chose today to follow through. We made it to the boat docks by 7:oo and rented a canoe for what would be an hour and a half.

Now canoing on Lake Washington is especially cool. One minute you're in the middle of the lake with yachts and sail boats all around you. Next thing, you paddle underneath the freeway (yes - the freeway!) and are in such a secluded area that no one can get to it unless they're on boat or foot. You are surrounded by lily pads and ducks (that obviously are used to people as they chased us down looking for handouts) and some of the most beautiful old trees I've ever seen.

Nine dollars and forty cents later, I felt like a new woman. I am truly a water baby.











Dad, we took a picture of this tree and birdhouse for you.

woofstock

Yes, you heard me right. Today we took Polly to Woofstock '08. There's not much more to be said about it than it was a great way to spend a summer day. We sniffed some butts (I mean, she did) and got to lay around in a beautiful grassy park. The hippie dogs were hanging out in a drum circle and toking it up on their pipes, but Polly opted to stay away from that crowd like a good girl. hehe

Here's a video of her classic move when you hold her above any kind of water. Please ignore my crazy woman laughter. I really should work on that...

outdoor movies

I have to say that I la-la-love going to the outdoor movies in the summer. Seattle gives you a variety of options from what day (Thursday thru Saturday) to which location. And it's FREE! You just bring your picnic along with blankets or lawn chairs and sprawl out on the lawn under the stars.

Tonight we saw a screening of Juno at the Seattle Center. What a backdrop!

mama mia

I can't say how thrilled I am that my mom has chosen to live in the United States again! I have seen my mom 3, yes - that's !three! times since June! That is again, THREE times in that last two months. That truly might be as much as I've seen her in the last two years. And anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely adore my family. So this is quite exciting!

So here's the story... Monday afternoon at work, I see I have a voice mail. Who might it be from, I wonder to myself. By golly, it's my mom - and she has asked me to call her. But not in her usual way when she just wants to say hello. It actually sounds kind of ominous, "Lisa, it's your mom. I need to talk to you, so please give me a call as soon as you get a minute." Of course I call her back instantly. She asks me if I would mind if she comes on Wednesday. Of course not! I'd be thrilled to have you home on Wednesday. And then I pause, realizing she might just possibly mean the day that comes after tomorrow. Excitement washes over me. "I think you should come on Tuesday", I say. And that's all it took. I picked my mom up from the airport on Tuesday night after her flight was delayed due to rain in Seattle (nice). We hung out for a couple of hours, went to bed and drove to Tacoma the next morning to pick her Mini up after a long boat ride from Europe. She was able to spend the day with Mackenzie and her beau, Vince, while waiting for us to get off of work. Wednesday night we all went to dinner at possibly THE best pizza place in Seattle, Santorini's (I highly recommend it). And came home to watch a chick flick and head to bed. My mom left the next morning and for a second it felt like she was possibly just going to her house a couple of minutes away... even if it is a couple of states away now. It's better than oceans. Thanks for coming over, Mom!

*Sad side note* Mackenzie left with her to spend the next couple of weeks with her dad again. I can't wait until their summer break is over and all my babies are back home. Below is one of my favorite pictures of Macky. She is such a beautiful girl.










*Fun side note* We just purchased the campground tickets for our upcoming Jack Johnson concert at the Gorge!! I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this sold out concert!!