Mike and the Vacuum

I was vacuuming and happened to vacuum up my shoelace and a drier sheet at the same time (oops... but at least I was vacuuming). So of course the vacuum didn't work after that and being that Mike was the engineer I told him to fix it. Well, right away I told him the belt probably broke, but he said, "no way" and continued to look at everything but the belt. So after like 2o minutes I said, "did you look at the belt?" and he told me the belt fell off but that it wasn't the problem! So I told Mike I am sure it just fell off and just to put it back on and he said "no." After like 20 more minutes of reading the vacuum manual, he said, "Well, let’s put the belt back on, but I am sure that is not the problem." Guess what? The vacuum worked like a charm! And he calls himself an engineer?

Kate's Trip to Seattle

So we had a little last minute visitor this past week! The prodigal sister has finally returned to the country (home from her Camino in Spain) and decided to come for a week long visit. She flew in on Tuesday evening and we were so excited to see her. Since we had to work all week, Kate was stuck at our apartment without a car and ironically it was the hottest week so far - temps in the upper 80's and 90's and we don't have air conditioning. Kate spent her days reading on the porch, eating, juggling, and playing all my CD's, reading our blog and taking a few walks.

Thursday evening, Kate and I headed to Agua Verde (Kate can tell you what that means in Spanish) which is a Mexican Restraint but also has kayaks rental. Kate had never paddled a kayak before, but nevertheless, wanted her own boat. The only instruction was when going through the narrow channel look for the stoplight - if it is red don't go - a big barge or boat is coming though and we can't all fit, We had to wear spray skirts since we would be in the wake of very large boats and the waves would flood our kayak! I think we were both a little nervous! We managed to paddle through the scary channel uneventfully and found the nature preserve we were trying to get to in which we saw a few blue heron's - which up close, are very beautiful birds! When we got back we sat outside and drank Margaritas and waited for an outside table to eat dinner!

On Friday, my dad was in town as he had a lay-over in Seattle. Kate, Mike and I met him at his hotel after we got off work and went to the Crab Pot - a seafood restraint on the pier that serves seafood by emptying a bucket onto the table and putting a metal bowl on the floor for the shells! We had crabs, clams, shrimp, mussels, potatoes, corn and sausage. Then Kate and I desperately tried to find an ice cream place that was open, but did not succeed.

The camping trip was so much fun, as Mike wrote previously. But he left some details out. Mike planned to sleep outside under the stars, he said something about facing his fears - but how long did he last outside? He NEVER even laid down, before Kate and I could even get into the tent he began passing his sleeping pad and sleeping bag into our tent. So in case you were wondering, yes, it is possible to fit 3 people inside a three man tent.

Also, Mike was so upset about me bringing 14 hotdogs and buns that I finally had to tell him I was kidding! (But I know how much Katie and Mike can eat - so I brought them anyway)

Here is the hotdog tally:
Katie = 4 (she is the winner for eating them at one time
Mike= 4 (runner up since he ate 2 of his 4 as soon as we got to the campsite and ate them cold)
Jim = 3
Me (Marcie) = 2
Kate = 1 (but she wins the most Smore's contest)

I also wanted to add in that Kate, Jim and I played Blitz - a card game that has been taught to us by grandma and remains one of our favorites (although, I did need a refresher course)

Anyway, Kate and I had a great time and I can't wait for the whole family to come up in 2 weeks!
*Pictures from the week*

Back to the woods

It's been a while since our last camping trip so this past weekend we went for another trip. Kate was in town last week (more on that soon) and she wanted to try a hike-in camping. The temperature this weekend was over 90 degrees so I knew we were in for a rough couple of nights. I was hoping to get up to Rainier for an overnight trip to escape the sweltering heat at the lower elevations but one disadvantage of camping on the mountain is that no fires are allowed. I pitched this idea to the girls thinking it was going to be so hot outside, surely they wouldn't mind skipping the fire. Of course, I couldn't have been more wrong in my assumptions as I had forgotten the golden rule of camping with girls - No S'mores, No camping. How could I forget! Alas, back to the Olympics we went, this time Staircase with Jim, Katie, Marcie and Kate.
The trailhead is located in the SE corner of the park and despite the name there are no staircases to be seen. There is however, a 3500 ft accent to flapjack lakes, one of the most beautiful areas in the entire park. Sites at the lakes are very limited and were full so instead, we hiked to the halfway point, Madeline Creek, about 5 miles of hiking in 90 degree heat. As a reward for our efforts, our campsite was beautiful. Nicely separated from the main trail, our spot was right along the creek with wild blueberries all around. We all jumped into the 38-degree water before jumping back out just as fast, cold but refreshing. For dinner we ate mashed potatoes and 14 hotdogs, we were hungry! Of course S'mores were also part of the feast as I spent the better part of an hour getting the fire nice and hot to fend off the freezing, upper 80 temperatures ;)
The trip was only one night long but we all had a great time, as always, especially Kate. I'm sure Marcie will write a book to cover her visit so I'll leave the rest for another post...
*Pictures*

Kayaks on lake union

This weekend we actually stayed in town and hung out with Katie, Jim and Rufus! Saturday morning we met the friends at the Northwest Outdoor Club in Seattle and rented Kayaks on lake Union. Katie and Jim had a tandem and Mike and I had singles (which was against my better judgment) but after almost running into a large boat right near the dock where everyone could see the rest of the trip was uneventful. Katie and Jim then came over for a healthy dinner of beer-grilled chicken apple brats! Sunday we met at Katie and Jim's at 1:00pm and took Rufus to the dog park. Rufus had a great time playing with the "big dogs" but he wasn't so sure about the water, although Katie was adamant that Rufus at least get all the way in the water! Next we drove to West Seattle but it was so crowded that we didn't stay long - just long enough to have a smoothie and walk along the beach. The most exciting part of the day I would have to say is taking Katie and Jim's engagement pictures (well, Mike took them and my job was to get Rufus' attention whenever he was in the picture). We took pictures on top of Queen Anne Hill overlooking the city and at a nearby park! Katie and Jim looked super cute!! We just hope the pictures did them justice!!
*Kayak Pictures*

Mom's in Town!

Finally, a post for my mothers visit - I've been lazy. Mom spent a week with us (8 days!) over the Fourth of July. We managed to do quite a lot in the short time she was here. You've already read about the fourth so, aside from that, we took a car ferry across the sound, went to Mount Saint Helen's (again), went on a Sunday Brunch Cruise, walked around downtown and ate lots of great food. We also went to see Superman in 3D at the IMAX, which was an amazing experience despite the ridiculously long line and limited parking. Dinners for the week included crab cakes, pasta primavera, blueberry pancakes (breakfast), honey-mustard pork tenderloin and lots of cold stone ice cream and espresso! Mom had a great time while she was out here and promises to be back soon.
*Conglomeration of pictures from the week*
*Some Landscapes from Mount St Helen's (warning - no people)*

Happy 4th of July!

Our 4th celebration took us to Jim and Katie's downtown Seattle apartment for a rooftop party with a great view of the fireworks. Mom's in town this week so she came along and we finally met Mysterious Matt, Katie and Jim's good friend who always seems to be busy when we do things. We had our doubts about his existence but, alas, he is a real person. He was there with his family (Mother Pat & Sister Krista), also in town visiting. Dinner was great with brats, burgers and hotdogs cooked on the grill by master chef Jim, followed by a trip to the roof to watch the show. The fireworks started around 10:30 over Elliott Bay and lasted about 30 minutes. Amazingly the clouds, that loomed over the city all day, dispersed just minutes before the show, making for a spectacular display. Just another great night in Seattle!
*Pictures of the show*

Marckworth Forest

Well, this weekend we decided to forget the camping (since it is a holiday weekend and everyone will be on the road) and take a bike ride on Saturday. Of course we went with Katie and Jim. Katie was just trying out her new clip-in shoes for her bike so we were planning on an "easy" 10 mile trail loop through Marckworth Forest. Well, since nothing ever goes as planned with us, this was no exception. The trail was a wide trail but full of large gravel and pot holes and the first 8 miles was entirely up hill. At mile 7, when we were thinking "this has to start going downhill" we turned a corner and the trail turned up a very steep incline. I began to think this was not the right way, that this doesn't classify as "easy" on any biker's list. And sure enough, the trail came to an abrupt end at mile 8. We were very hot - it was like 80 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, we had drank all of our water (Katie and Jim had drank their entire camelbaks) and Katie had eaten all of her food - 2 Snickers Marathon bars. I was a little worried we wouldn't make it back, but I had forgotten that the entire way home was downhill, so we did in fact make it to the car. After that we went to Garlic Jim's, sat outside and ate a ton of pizza!

Almost forgot... about half way through the trip, Mike was showing off doing wheelies and he ended up flying off the back and landing on his backside. He acted like he was fine, but he now has a big, fat bruise on his butt!

Today is Sunday and we are so excited that Mike''s mom is coming tomorrow for a week to visit! So today we are going to clean the apartment, go grocery shopping, and hopefully go for a run or walk since it is another beautiful, sunny day!
*Pictures*