Monday in Seattle

On Monday Joel, Jon, Megan, and I headed back downtown Seattle to check out the Space Needle. It was another clear & beautiful day in Seattle and therefore we were able to see for miles.

The Space Needle opened in 1962 and it was interesting to learn about how it was constructed and how dangerous it was. In the observation deck there is a 360 degree view of the city and beyond, a cafe, and a bunch of different media showing highlights of the different views you can see around the city. In the level below the observation deck there is a revolving restaurant, which we also checked out, but did not eat at.

Our flight did not leave until 12:40 am Monday night/Tuesday morning....so after dinner we all hung out and play the "If" game. Melissa has this book of questions that are good conversation starters. One of the questions was "If you were a musical instrument, which one would you be and why". It was fun because depending upon the question everyone's answers were so different.

Mark was kind enough to stay up and take us to the airport in style. Rather than taking 2 vehicles, he borrowed the limo from his work to take Joel, Betty, Megan, Jon, I and all of our luggage. This also gave Melissa well deserved sleeping time as she gets up with Emma so early in the morning each day. Overall, we had a great extended weekend with family and I can't wait to see them all again.

Easter Sunday & Emma's baptism

Sunday was Easter and our original plan was to go to the Sunrise service for Melissa & Mark's church that was being held on the beach. However, it was pouring on Sunday, so we all opted to sleep in and go to the 10:30 service instead.

The Easter service was very joyful as they handed out bells to all the children at the service. Each time that the word Alleluia was said or sung the children would ring the bells. Needless to say there was a lot of Alleluias throughout the service and therefore a lot of ringing.

The baptism service was held after the Easter service. There were 15 people total getting baptised on Easter, but Emma was the only infant. She got a lot of Oohs & Ahhhs as she looked so precious in her baptismal gown that Nanna Betty made. As a side note Betty made this beautiful baptismal gown to match the gown that Melissa had worn for her baptism. She had to make a new one as Emma was too big to fit into Melissa's gown. Isn't she cute.









Jon and I are honored to be Emma's God parents and happy that we could be there to celebrate this special occasion with her and Mark & Melissa.

After the service we had appetizers at their house and then made a nice big dinner for Easter. Since it was raining pretty much all day, we just hung out during the day and then rented some movies for later in the evening.

Saturday - Happy Birthday Mark!

Saturday was a special day for Mark as it was his 30th birthday.

Once everyone got up and ready for the day we all headed to West Seattle to one of Mark & Melissa's favorite restaurants. It was a Chinese place and had the best Chinese food I think I have had in a LONG time. Good pick Mark.

For the afternoon the guys went to do some manly type shopping, while us ladies headed to the shore to take some pictures, to the mall, to grocery store, and also to Cold Stone. Yum. Emma got another taste of ice cream, although she was not too fond of the coffee flavor that her mama was eating. I shared a little of my cake batter flavor but I think that was a little much also. She was not sure what to think.

It was a really nice day in Seattle on Saturday...so we caught this cute pic with us girls with our shades on.

Saturday evening we had a cook out for Mark's birthday. Megan and I made a fun carrot cake (his favorite) for him with his name on it. He was super excited...okay not really. We had a fun night as some of Mark's friends came over as well. After dinner we had a game night.

Downtown Seattle Highlights

On Friday Joel, Betty, Jon, Megan, Emma and I all headed downtown to meet up with Janelle who took off from work for the afternoon. Janelle lives in the downtown Seattle area. We met up with her near her apartment and then walked down toward Pike Place Market.

As we were walking Janelle had to grab some cash at the bank across the street, so Megan walked with her....On their way back across the street I caught this super cute picture of the 2 of them.

Prior to going to the market, we stopped for lunch in this alley way mall that was near the market. There are so many neat little shops and food places down in this area, I could have wandered around for hours!

The market itself was also very interesting...there were sooo many people, which Jon was not too excited about. But here as well there was just so much to look at ~ Flowers, jewelry, bags, art, pottery, fruit, vegetables, meat, and of course fish. One of our first stops at the market was to the fish mongers, who are famous for their fish throwing & singing. That was fun! Right outside the fish place is the bronze piggy bank named Rachel, which was also a good photo-op.

After walking through the market we went to the Seattle Aquarium. At the aquarium we were able to touch and see some neat birds, fish, and sea creatures. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon at the aquarium. I know its hard to see, but Jon was holding our niece Emma and this octopus floated over to check them out. Pretty cool.

As we were heading back toward our the car we went back through the market because Betty wanted to pick up some of the beautiful flowers for Easter.

Anyway, as we were waiting this guy walked by with a possum hat. Literally it was a dead animal on his head type hat...then we saw something move....He also had a live possum on his shoulder and was just walking through the market area. We all thought it was crazy, but Janelle had to check it out for herself. She ran across the street after the guy and hid up against this open store front to get a better look. Although it is hard to see her face was priceless!
This last picture was one of my favorite from the day just outside the aquarium along the water.

Our day with Emma

Since Mark & Melissa had to work on Thursday Jon and I got to spend all day with our niece Emma. They left for work about 5:30 am so it was an early morning getting up with Emma. I fed her a morning bottle, we played a bit, and then she took a little nap.

It was nice to have this special time with her as she has grown so much just since early January and I am sure by the next time we see her she will have changed so much more. She is not crawling yet, but loves attention and loves to be held.




Sometime in the morning we took Emma for a walk down to the creek and around the downtown Bothell area. This is where I was able to enjoy my first cup of Seattle's finest.

Later that afternoon on her way home from work Melissa picked up Joel, Betty, and Megan at the airport as well.

Trip to Seattle

On Wednesday March 19th Jon and I flew out to Seattle to visit Mark, Melissa, and Emma. We were so excited to visit Seattle as we have never been out to visit WA and of course we have missed M, M, & E. Since our flight was not until 2:30 in the afternoon, Jon and I both worked a 1/2 day on Wednesday.

Once in Seattle Melissa & Emma came to pick us up from the airport. This is my only picture from Wednesday, but I was feeding Emma a bottle in the car on the way back to their house.

Wednesday night was pretty low key. Both Mark & Melissa had to work on Thursday and with gaining 2 hours 10 was actually 12 for both Jon and I so we enjoyed going to bed at a reasonable time.

Game Day

On St. Patrick's Day I organized a Game Day party for my department at work. There are a few guys in the department that are really into video games and the idea for a game day came up at a happy hour one night. Well we put the idea into motion and game day was a big success.

In our main conference room we had a X-box with Guitar Hero II & III and then in another 2 conference rooms we had Nintendo Wiis. On the Wii we played golf, bowling, baseball, tennis, and boxing.

(The picture at left is Steve & Ryan on guitar hero. The picture on the right is Russ & Wes bowling on the Wii. The picture below is Kris and I jamming on guitar hero.)

I would have to say I love guitar hero...I really want to get one at home. (you should all tell Jon this is a great idea as he doesn't think so) Prior to our party I had only played Guitar Hero once...but my wanna be rocker side came out that night. Unlike some people, I can not seem to stand still when I am playing. I totally get into the songs...and during Free Bird there was a leg flying. We definitely need to get a gaming system for our basement (when finished).

Yeah Jon!

Please give a big Whoo Hoo to Jon for posting for the first time on our blog. He had to call and tell me how easy it was....way to go honey!

p.s. you can see who posted (either Jon or I) by looking at the time stamp on the bottom of the post. :)

March Snow

We woke up on Tuesday morning to a few inches of fresh March snow. It was very heavy and wet. It looked beautiful. By the end of the day however, the few inches melted away. That is what happens in March. I am excited for Spring and with the warmer temps I can feel it right around the corner. We are off to Seattle tomorrow to visit Mark, Melissa, and Emma. We are so excited to see them again even though it has just been a few months. This will be our first trip to Seattle and hopefully the forecast will be wrong (30-60% chance of rain every day).

Pocket Door

Over the weekend, I put in my first pocket door frame. We decided to go with a pocket door into the back utility room because it will be so short (less than 6 ft) and we have a limited amount of space to be able to open the door. It was pretty easy. I was able to buy a pre-made frame but just had to shorten it up a bit and it fit right into place. I hope hanging the doors goes this easy. We will have to cut all 4 door we are putting in the basement because of the limited space we have to work with (7 ft unfinished).

Framing, Electrial, & Insulation

I was able to complete the framing for the basement. The framing and insulation inspection past but there were a few minor changes/additions that needed to be made in order for the electrial inspection to pass. Once we get back from Seattle we will be ready for drywall. The project is taking some time but it is all starting to come together. It is much easier to picture how it will look once it is completed. If anyone reading this post has some extra cash laying around, feel free to give it to us!

Happy St. Patricks Day

Last night Jon and I went to a party at my friend Melissa's house. She recently moved into a townhouse, so she had a house warming / St. Patricks Day / Birthday party. Her birthday was yesterday as well. She did a great job with having different Irish favorites, including corned beef & cabbage and soda bread. She even had the most of the fixings for Irish Car Booms, which her and Jon are enjoying.

Melissa and I met while working together at Benfield, so it was nice to get together with her along with some other people that I used to work with. The pic below is of Melissa, Stephanie, and I. Stephanie is actually moving out to CA in a few weeks to be with her bf that is in the air force. Good Luck Steph with the big move!

When Jon went to grab our coats when we were leaving he called me over to the bedroom...there was Tula, Melissa's little dog, all curled up on someones coat trying to find a warm & comfy place to sleep. She was so cute. When I walked into take her picture, she rolled over on her back and gave me the please rub my belly eyes. So we gave her a little loving before we left.

The shower is in!

We are another step closer to getting the bathroom finished....we have a shower! I was amazed at all the tubes that needed to be used but they were not all for the shower, it also goes to the toilet, bathroom sink, and bar sink. Next step eventually in there is bathroom flooring....

DQ Treat

So last night we decided to stop by the DQ since we were out and about and plus medium blizzards were on sale due to daylight savings this past weekend. Anyway, Bailey knows that when we go to the Dairy Queen she also gets a treat, a sugar cone! I try to break the cone up into pieces, but it still does not last very long, so she is then begging us to share some of our ice cream with her. When Jon got done with his he decided to let Bailey lick his cup. The funny thing was that she was trying to get every last bit of ice cream that she got her nose stuck in the cup. Hee hee.

P.S. The Mint Oreo blizzards are awesome with chocolate ice cream, it just does not look very appealing. :)

Basement Update

Jon has been a busy little bee working on the basement since we have come back from vacation. He has finished putting up what walls he could until the plumbers come back, he has put in all the electrical boxes and recessed can lights, has rebuilt the closet in the backroom, and rebuilt the stairs.

My assistance came in holding the recessed cans while he put the nails in, taking down the old dry wall up the stairs, and helping with re-cementing the floors in the bathroom. Mixing up cement is hard work, plus it breathing in the dust sucks. (The drywall dust was not much better)

Tonight we actually have the plumbers at our house, they are moving a few last pipes and putting in the shower! This also means that we have no water tonight and are not allowed to flush the toilets. But, yippee things are really taking shape. Then on Monday we have our electrical inspection and then Tuesday we have the framing and insulation inspection. Hopefully all goes well with both of those.