Updates and Good Times

Back to School - As some of you know Nathan was accepted to the University of Washington, Seattle. This is great news for us because it means we don’t have to move to Vancouver, or somewhere else. He starts classes in the fall. He is in the evening degree program so he plans to continue working and taking about 2 classes per quarter. We’re both very excited and proud. His favorite new thing to say is “I’m a college guy.” We’ve enjoyed all the jokes about teacher/student relationships…hahaha. The next step is for me to go back to school too, as a teacher that is. Still working on applications and praying there will actually be jobs for the fall.

Funny Thing - For Father’s Day we took Nathan’s dad out for the night; actually it was Saturday before father’s day. We went to dinner in Kirkland at a place called Wilde Rover Irish Pub. We got the cheese plate appetizer, mmmm love cheese. The food was good and very filling. Then we went for some entertainment at Laughs Comedy Club in Kirkland. We’d never heard of it either, but they were featuring Dante from Last Comic Standing season 4 (youtube Dante Wizard of Oz) so we went to check it out. The opening act was pretty funny. She had a short bit about Mormons. She asked if there were any Mormons in the audience and Nathan and Dennis were very smart not to point me out. Comedians pick on people and I did NOT feel like being the center of attention and the butt of the jokes for the night. We had a really good time. We signed up for the mailing list so we know when funny people are coming. If you’re local you should check out the website http://www.laughscomedy.com/ . They also do Open Mic if you think you’re funny.

Ice Cream Party - A few weeks ago the summer weather hit me along with the idea to have an ice cream party. Mmmm love the homemade ice cream. I made my signature Vanilla Butterfinger and also a batch of Peach Raspberry Sorbet. They were both a big hit and it was really good to hang out with everyone. I guess I’d have to say the bonus of the night was that everyone gave us suggestions about what to do on our upcoming Hawaii trip. We can’t wait. Leaving August 3rd. The countdown has begun. We’ll be 2 nights on Oahu and 5 nights on Kauai. We’re planning on doing Pearl Harbor and the PCC but that’s about the extent of our planning. If you’ve been to Hawaii and there’s something you think we should do while we’re there, be sure to let us know.

Summer BBQs

If you know us well you know that one of our favorite things about summer is a BBQ. We'll talk you in to having one and invite ourselves over. We'll crash one. We'll be jealous if you're having one and we can't make it. There is something about the sounds of meat grilling that whispers "summer is here" and the smells scream "come and get it". Thanks to Curtis we were able to enjoy one of our favorite things. He had a BBQ at his house on June 6th and we made the invite list. So we planned the ferry ride over and took some cards. We didn't realize the ride was so short. We made our way to the front of the ferry to enjoy the view and have a few Titanic moments, then we headed inside to find a table to play cards. By the time we got the cards dealt the announcement came on that we had arrived.

The sun was out so it was difficult to get a shot with open eyes

So we gave up on pictures looking at the camera and did what we do best

We made our way to his house and were very amused that there were places on the Island such as Useless Bay. We arrived at their house and little James was the parking director. He had a blow up bouncy house and I got in it for a few minutes. Good times. As usual there was wonderful food. Linda made some great salads and desserts. I was very impressed. We all chatted in the living room for a while and I played with James and wrapped him up in blankets like a burrito. Hopefully this is just one of many BBQs this summer.

Greenish Thumb

On Mother's Day the ward provided plants/flowers for all the women in the ward. I took home a cute one with pretty yellow flowers. It lasted a few days until I must have skipped watering it. It never did quiet recover from that episode. The flowers were dry and the leaves were wilting. After trying again to be better about watering it I had pretty much given up. One of my co-workers had two nice looking plants in the office, they were green and thriving. I asked her what kind they were so that I might acquire a plant that could miss a day of two of watering and not die. She'd gotten them as a gift and didn't know what kind they were. The next day she gave the plant to me on her way out the door and said I could take it home. I thought of a name and brought it home. I carefully removed the old plant without letting the new plant see. I'm happy to report that our new plant Poppi is doing very well. If anyone recognizes this type of plant let me know...