Remember Baskin Robbins?

It is a super sunny, beautiful day in Seattle today so Erich and I got dressed and (gasp!) went outside for a walk. We crossed Bothell/Everett Hwy into the Sheridan Beach neighborhood and drooled over the gorgeous homes that are along the Lake Washington waterfront.

On the way back to our car we stopped in Baskin Robbins for some yummy ice cream. Sorry the picture is so blurry...I wanted to snap the picture and start eating as quickly as possible before it melted all over my hand!

Shown is a scoop of World Class Ribbon (vanilla and chocolate ice cream with ribbons of caramel throughout, on top), and York Peppermint Patty (peppermint flavored ice cream with miniature York patties throughout, on bottom).
If you haven't been in awhile, I highly recommend stopping in this summer. It's a great place for reminiscing and people watching...oh, and the ice cream is pretty darn good, too!

Jenga & Breakfast for Dinner

Last night we had the Montgomery clan, Melo & Shea, and Kara over for some MarioKart, Mexican Train, Jenga and breakfast for dinner. I spent a good part of the morning and early afternoon tidying up our small abode and rearranging items that live on our kitchen countertop. *Sidenote* We have a stainless steel sink with what resemble rust stains that I can't seem to get out...any suggestions?

When people finally arrived, they all basically congregated to the living room to play MarioKart (which is totally fun, by the way). I started making "dinner" which consisted of pancakes, bacon, link sausage, and omlettes...how awesome is having breakfast for dinner?!?

The group started to dwindle and eventually Erich, Josh, Teresa, Kara and myself played a round of Mexican Train and snacked on queso & chips and watermelon. Then, we broke out Jenga!

We all started to fade so Josh and Teresa collected a sleeping Dylan...

...and we crashed.

This is my brother...

Those of you who know me (and I assume everyone who reads this does) know that I have an older brother, JB, who is a merchant marine. I do my best to describe what this means, but truthfully I have no idea. To the best of my knowledge, it means he works on a boat doing boat-related things...it's hard work, I know that much, but I couldn't say exactly what it is.

Well, he just posted a few pictures on his myspace page from his current stint in Saipan. I don't know if this picture is doctored or not, but it's definitely my new favorite of him. He is who he is and I love him for it.

Exposearoonie

So I've been "participating" over the last 10 weeks in a photography challenge managed by EmilyPie, an amazing photographer. I'm a total amateur but photography has really begun to interest me.

Well, EmilyPie & Ashley have put together this AMAZING website called Exposearoonie which will be the new host of our weekly photo challenges. There's a link to it on the right hand side of my blog and I encourage any of you reading to participate too...or just check it out and vote for my submissions! (ha, ha)

So here is my submission to the first week's Exposearoonie challenge: Self-Portrait. I took it sitting down on the balcony of our condo today when the weather was particularly lovely.

Thanks to any of you who check it out!

I heart macro

I took these on our walk through Lincoln Park, signs that the Pacific Northwest is finally in full spring bloom. Yay!

Saturday Afternoon at Lincoln Park

We spent Saturday afternoon with the Montgomery family (like we usually do). But this time we went outside! That's right. It was a lovely day, sunny and cool, so we packed up a picnic, grabbed some blankets and a frisbee and headed to Lincoln Park in West Seattle by the waterfront.

Me & my honey.

Josh & Teresa

Dirty face.

Superman!

Someone got tuckered out from the hiking. Note the sand everywhere.

Dylan took this picture of me just before he threw my camera in the sand.

Dylan scraped his knee pretty badly from running around the "beach" (rocks covered in sharp barnacles). He kept shrieking, "I'm bleeding!!!"

We were all slightly more than winded when we finally climbed the last of the steps that lead down to the beach from the park. But we piled into the car, stopped for slurpees and spent the rest of the night playing Mexican Train and Spades. It was a good day...

Day 12...the long drive home

I woke up early to hit the highway home. I must've been excited to get home to my hubby because I woke up with my first alarm from my phone (I generally set 3 alarms, sleeping through the first two and hitting the snooze feature on the third alarm for an hour or so). I packed up quietly and loaded my car and was on the road by 4am.

Now, I will admit that when it comes to driving I don't have a lot of patience with other drivers. But come on. I mean, how hard is it to use your blinker, people? It's just right there! And it's not a part of your car that is just a suggestion from your car manufacturer. You're supposed to use it...particularly if you're planning on cutting me off repeatedly over the course of 200 miles of highway.

Also, let's talk for a minute about the left lane. Imagine what a beautiful world it would be if all people recognized and obeyed the "left lane is for passing" rule. And when I say passing, I mean actively passing...not seeing a semi truck 1/2 mile up the road that you will want to eventually pass. In addition, if you're planning on driving the SAME speed as the person in the right lane, then there really is no need for you to be occupying space in the left lane. Particularly if you're driving 5 miles under the speed limit. I'm just saying, is all...

With every mile I got closer to home and my husband so I took as few stops as possible. After a quick stop in Portland to drop off some gifts to Thomas, I hopped back on the road for my final stretch to Seattle.

When I finally got home, I walked in the door to find my husband in the kitchen making gorgonzola topped steaks with mashed potatoes and sauted mushrooms. He'd bought me flowers (lilies, my favorites) and a beautiful new vase along with lit candles. He'd gotten out fresh pjs and a clean towel for a quick shower before dinner...such a thoughful husband!

*this is my submission to the PhotoPie Challenge...it's not terribly exciting but is sentimental as Erich got them since he knows I like Cucumber Melon scented candles*

So now I'm home, and glad to be so. I thoroughly enjoyed my road trip and the time I got to spend with friends and family along the way. Thanks to everyone who put me up and entertained me. I had a great time!!!