Yet another weekend speeds by!

On Friday, April 23rd, we flew into Denver for a long overdue visit with my brother, his wife, their 2 daughters, son-in-law, and darling grand-daughter.  We were greeted and picked up from the airport by my brother, Gene, his wife, Sue, and their youngest daughter, Jeanice.  Jeanice had just picked up the newest resident of her household, a two and a half year old Boston Terrier that she has rescued and named Pickle.  Pickle's very severe underbite and goofy looks with her tongue hanging out undoubtedly will draw lots of attention and lead to many hours of entertainment.  Meet Pickle...

It didn't take long the following morning for little Abby, to get her great uncle Phil busy building her train track for Thomas so they could play with her trains.  I think Uncle Phil kind of took over though...

That first morning we were there, we pretty much spent the day fairly close to home to begin with.  Some of the gang decided they wanted to check out a couple of breweries after we had driven into Greeley to see my brother's home and then seen Jeanice's home complete with new kitchen remodel.  We let the brewery touring group go do their thing while the rest of us waited for Abby to catch a nap.  After Abby woke up we drove into Ft. Collins to meet the rest of the gang and had a fun dinner at a buffet pizza place close to the campus named Woody's.  Great food and a fun time!  From there we went back to Jenna and John's place (our nesting spot for the weekend) so Abby could get to bed.  We sat around the dining room table and played a family game, which we don't get to do nearly often enough and is always fun!  Alas...all good things must come to an end, so we all turned in for the night with the knowledge that we were going to get up and explore Denver the next day.

After breakfast the next morning, cousin Melanie and Cousin Katie had fun putting together an outfit for Abby to wear...even if it took a little extra effort to get the cowboy boots on...

Our first destination of the day was the Celestial Tea Factory in Boulder, where we learned many very interesting facts and were blown away to know that all of the Celestial Tea that we see on store shelves in many countries all over the world is made right there in that factory...it's the only one!  And it only takes 10 people to run the factory when it's in production.  They have over 100 flavors of tea, which you would never guess by the meager varieties we usually see on our grocery store shelves.  At the factory they have a tasting room where you can request and taste any of those 100+ flavors you want.  Needless to say, we spent longer there than we had planned...

Eventually we got our fill of tea though, and pushed on to Denver.  We ate at a very good, but very loud Mongolian Grill there and then explored the old town area a bit.  One of the things we got to see that was a real treat for us (since we are big fans of the musical "The Unsinkable Molly Brown") was Molly Brown's house in Denver...                                                                                         

We had plans to cook a big Mexican foodfest at Jenna's house that evening, so we headed back up to Windsor soon after that.  While thinking Abby might get a nap in the car, she talked and sang all the way home and kept us very entertained.  Our Mexican meal was delicious and afterwards we all settled down and and watched a good family movie.  Once again it was time to call it a night.  We planned on having a quiet, layed back morning with a leisurely lunch the next day, before heading for the airport to come home.  We said our goodbyes to all the residents of John and Jenna's, including Timber...

and Tonka...

We also had to say goodbye to Melanie and Luke, who were heading out the next morning to continue their roadtrip to their new home in North Carolina.  Gene and Sue gave Katie and us a ride to the airport.  We said goodbye to the Denver skyline as well...

...and soon were up, up, up in the air heading back to Seattle...hoping to make it back to Denver sooner the next time...and maybe when the weather is a little more predictably warm.  It was a fun weekend and as always...sped by way too fast!

Spring Has Sprung!

What is it about sunshine and tulips?  It really signals spring and offers hope for a beautiful summer.  That's what I got to experience on Sunday when the kids and I went up to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.  We started our excursion out with a stop in Everett to show Melanie and Luke  Katie and Phil's house.  We then jumped into Phil's car and were bound for our first stop on the way to tulip heaven.  What trip up there would be complete without a stop at the 48 flavors ice cream stand?  It doesn't get much better than a homemade waffle cone stuffed full of creamy huckleberry ice cream.  YUM!!!

After that we motored on to our second, and ultimate destination...Tulip Town.  The tulips are absolutely gorgeous right now.  If you haven't made it up, you should definitely try to get there.  Here are some pictures to get you primed to go.   ;)

                                                     Row after row of glorious color!

                                                                     Girls Rule!

                                                              brother-in-law bonding

                                                          So perfect they look plastic!

                                                                   Melanie and Luke

                                                                      My favorites!

                                    Me and my girls...well 2 of them!

                                                             Katie sneaks a kiss in  :o

                                                                 Stripes of beauty

                                                                  Pretty Purple

When we finished soaking up the beauty of the tulips combined with the warm sunshine, we drove on in to La Conner. We had a nice little walk around the town, which wouldn't be complete without a stop at the local bakery.  We bought dessert for our dinner, which Phil was planning on preparing once we got home.   True to form, Phil fixed a feast of T-bone steak and seafood (for those that enjoy it).  The steak was perfection and I took everyone's word that the crab legs and prawns were also delightful.  Katie fixed a yummy salad to go with it all.  

With our tummies beyond full, we drove back home to digest the fabulous day!  Why must the weekends speed by so quickly?

No...I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth!

Bet you thought I would never update this thing! Well, it turns out I was just waiting for a special event to come along...my youngest daughter, Katie, is engaged. You know how they say all girls want to find a man just like their father? Well, I don't know that Katie's criteria was that exactly (although they are alike in some ways), but she did find herself a man with the same name as her dad. Katie and Phil have been together for over 3 years and he finally popped the question while we were all on a trip up to Alaska to visit Megan and RJ. We made an extra long weekend of President's weekend and on the night of February 13th we gained a future son-in-law. We are all very excited about it.

We had a lovely 4 days up in Fairbanks. It was beautiful up there and everything went just as Phil Kang had planned. He was determined to propose under the Aurora Borealis and we weren't sure if it was going to cooperate, but it was out every night that we were there. Turned out that the view of it was best right outside Megan & RJ's back door. The first day we were there we took a walk through Creamer's Field, where the snow sparkled just like fields of diamonds.

One day while we were there, we took Katie and Phil to see the little town of North Pole, Alaska. I'm not sure they were impressed, but we did all get to take advantage of the "Santa's Sleigh" photo op.

Now that we've had our taste of winter, including some of the most beautiful sunrises ever...

...we are looking forward to spring and a visit from Melanie and Luke as they move on for the next adventure in their lives...calling North Carolina home. They will be coming the first week in April to pick up their new car and spend some time with family. They will head out on their road trip to North Carolina around the 2oth of April and then Phil and I are flying to Denver to meet them and spend the weekend (April 23-26) with our Colorado family. That's about all the news for now. Work has been far too stressful to discuss, so I will focus on the positive and will update again when there is more good news or vacation pictures to share.

Summer Fun!

Okay, okay...I know it has been forever, but the end of the school year is entirely too busy to breath. Top that off with the headache of switching classrooms and one day blends into the next. Not to mention the nightmare of mixing in 4 workshops the week after school was out!

However, things did eventually calm down (at least where school is concerned). My brother, Gene, and his wife, Sue, arrived in the state about the time school was out. They spent some time in Yakima before moving over to this side of the mountain. We got to spend a couple of days with them before we left for the Oregon coast for the Fourth of July. We all drove up to Everett one afternoon to meet Katie and Phil for dinner and see their new house. The next day the 4 of us did some shopping and then drove through Pt. Defiance Park and took in the beauty of the rose gardens there. The 5 mile drive was gorgeous.

On July 3rd Katie, Phil K., Phil and I left bright and early (6:30 a.m.) to beat the holiday traffic, on our jaunt to Lincoln City, Oregon. Our cousins, Chuck and Roxanne, have a beach house there and we joined them along with some of their friends for the 4th. We enjoyed shopping the outlet mall a bit, time on the beach, LOTS of good food, wine, Karaoke, hot tubbing, reading, watching a parade, and just relaxing in general. Eleven people and 4 dogs!

Eli with girlfriend, Morgan

Maddie with cousin Isaac on dock

Clancy, the Clown

Heidi

We left the beach on Sunday, July 5th, to head back home. Traffic was an absolute nightmare. It took us 7 hours to get home after only taking 5.5 hours to get there! I guess there has to be some kind of a downside to holiday travel.

Monday morning, July 6th, Gene and Sue came back for 2 more days. Monday we just relaxed around the house and visited. We also took them to Trader Joe's so they could stock up and fill their daughter's orders since they don't have that store close to them in Colorado. Tuesday we decided to take in the Railroad Museum in Snoqualmie. Of course we stopped by the falls while we were there and what trip to Snoqualmie would be complete without a visit to the big new casino? We had the lunch buffet and the food was great. Eight thumbs UP!!!
Taking in all the old trains

Snoqualmie Falls

Well, that pretty much brings you up to date. Stay tuned next month for our adventures in Missouri. We leave on July 31st and come home on August 5th. Katie and Phil K. will be going with us, so we should have a blast. Until then.....

Mother's Day Fun

I just brought my baby (Maddie) home from the vet, following a pretty big surgery yesterday (bladder stones again). As I sit in my chair with her warm little body snuggled in next to me, I thought it would be a good time to update and reflect on Mother's Day.

Mother's Day was magical for me. I started the day off with a phone call from Melanie and Luke, wishing me a happy day. We had a nice visit before I had to dash out to take Maddie to the groomer to get beautified. While she was there getting primped and fluffed, Katie and Phil came down to spend the day with us. They brought me beautiful fresh flowers from Pike Place Market along with a gift card for pampering at a Gene Juarez salon. I'm very excited to use that! Part of the fun of that particular gift is the anticipation and dreaming about which service I will indulge in. I'm leaning toward a pedicure that includes a paraffin bath for the feet. I'm told it's heavenly.


Katie had made reservations at Mama Stortini's for the Mother's Day Brunch, which I have always wanted to try. We arrived, were seated right away, and were immediately treated to mimosas. The food was all wonderful. There was sooooooo much! We enjoyed both breakfast type food and dinner cuisine. And then there was the dessert table! As Katie put it, "we rolled on out to the car," and took a little drive out to Van Lierop's bulb farm. Most of the tulips were already cut back, but there were still some pretty gardens to see. Here are some pictures I took.

After we left there, we drove north to pick Maddie up from her beauty appointment. She looked absolutely adorable all decked out in a turquoise scarf with a turquoise dragonfly on her right hip. We all went home, put a leash on Clancy and took a nice family walk in the neighborhood. This was followed by just relaxing for a bit and then a trip to Lowe's to look for plants for our containers. The flowers there were pretty picked over so we decided to wait.

Although we left Mama Stortini's completely stuffed and feeling like we could never eat again, we all decided we could probably fit in some ice cream for "dinner" so we were off to Cold Stone Creamery. YUM!!! I, of course, had my all time favorite...Coffee Lover's special. To round out the day, when we got home I received a phone call from Megan to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. I had a nice little chat with her. Needless to say, I felt very spoiled and was made to feel very special all day. I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful family and count myself a lucky mom!

A Full Weekend

It sure feels good to relax in front of the old television for a bit after a very busy weekend. It was so nice to have the entire weekend off with Phil. I'm feeling really good about a decision I made Friday to drop the Pro-Cert program I was in. It had become such a source of stress on top of stress at work. After doing some investigation, I discovered that I have a lot longer on my current certificate than I was being led to believe, so I have some time yet before I need to submit a portfolio to the state. Making the decision to drop was like a giant weight was lifted and I truly felt relaxed over the weekend.

Saturday we added a new member to the household. Phil's brother has been working construction jobs that take him all over and he has been looking for a good home for his little dog. We have been a one dog household for over a year and I have really enjoyed only having one dog so much that I was hesitant to take on another one even though we know he is a good guy. Roger's daughter took him for a while, so we thought everything was taken care of. Unfortunately, her boyfriend's dog didn't particularly like having him around and seemed to want to attack him. Therefore...we decided to go ahead and adopt him. Eight year old Clancy MacMurray joined our family on Saturday afternoon. Julie, Michele, and Tyler drove over from the Tri-Cities to deliver him. We had a very nice visit with them and all went out to lunch together. Maddie gets along well with Clancy unless he is heading for her food bowl. She does seem to have her nose a little bent out of shape, but she's coping.

Clancy

We spent today up north with Katie and Phil looking at houses. We went to several open houses and checked out a lot of neighborhoods in Lynnwood and Mill Creek. There is a lot to see and we difinitely saw a couple with some real possibilities. As the experienced support crew, Phil and I threw our two cents worth in and now it will have to be up to them. I'm sure all the information and options will be swimming through their minds tonight.

We finished our day up there with a feast at the Chinese Buffet. YUM!!! Almost bedtime now and then back to reality tomorrow.

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival???

Well, as I said we might, Phil and I drove up north today to the Mount Vernon area to check out all the beautiful tulips and the festival, which started April 1st. I'm sad to say we didn't find any. I was afraid they wouldn't be in bloom yet. We have had such a cold "spring" so far, considering we just had snow again a week ago! The 2 days of near 70 degrees that we've just experienced, simply are not enough to bring on the blooms. As you'll see from the pictures below, we did find a little color. Yellow to be exact...in the form of daffodils.

We also saw a lot of white. Huge flocks of snow white geese were abundant. There were hundreds of them. They would fly in a circular form over the fields and slowly land. We figured they were feasting on bugs or something. They stayed on the ground for a while and then something would stir them up again and they would go back to their circular flight path. They were very interesting to watch.

Another beautiful color we saw a lot of was blue - both in the sky and the water. We can't go to this area and not spend some time walking the streets of quaint little LaConner. It was quite warm and we enjoyed the views from the docks.

Of course the highlight of our colorful adventure without benefit of tulips, was our stop in the fields for yummy ice cream cones. Over 40 flavors to choose from, so there were many colors as well. As you can see, Phil and I both indulged and Maddie was wishing one of us would share! All in all it was a very nice day and we had a nice time. We may just have to make another trip up there at the end of the month after Phil gets home from Alaska to actually see the tulips. When we were done exploring LaConner, we headed south and stopped in Everett at Katie's place. She and Phil cooked us a wonderful dinner and we had a nice little visit with them.

Mount Baker was beautiful too. It stuck up against the blue, cloudless sky, resembling our ice cream cones and is so snow covered, you can't see anything but white. Definitely worth the drive up!

Tomorrow...back to reality and work!