It's called 'jogging', but the J might be silent - Ron Burgundy, Anchorman

I'm home alone this weekend while my wife is in Saint Louis, yet again. In between searching for food and something to occupy my time, I started thinking of all our friends that have been doing some great things lately. It seems we know more people now that are participating in long races (both walking and running) than ever before so I just wanted to take a moment to give them some credit. I'll leave the last names out in case people are sensitive to that kind of thing...

Amy - 4 Marathons, Ironman,
Half-Ironman
Jeff - 5 Marathons
Julie - Ironman, 5 Marathons
Brianne - Marathon
Scott - 2 Half-Ironmans, 20M walk
Katie C - 20M walk
Justin - Marathon
Laura - 4 Marathons
Kate - Marathon
Ted - Marathon
Steve F - Multiple Adventure Races (Sorry I can't keep count!)

Whether it's walking around the block or running 60 miles, making the time to stay active is a great accomplishment. Hats off to all of you that run, walk, swim, bike or anything else on a regular basis and good luck to those in training for upcoming events.

Photo Credit: Despair.com

Kate, Jamie, Teresa, Sarah and Ashley - That's a lot of girls!

This weekend Kate and two of her friends came to Seattle for a visit!Kate flew in on Friday, Jamie (who is doing Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Portland, OR) hitched a ride to our apartment, and then the two of them left Friday evening to pick up Teresa (who is also doing JVC) in Yakima. The girls returned on Saturday afternoon, and we headed into Seattle to go to the Public Market for some fresh shrimp for dinner. We also picked up some Cabernet Jelly, Beechers cheese and some crackers. We couldn't leave without getting a drink, so we grabbed a pitcher of beer at Pike's Brewery. We couldn't resist the food any longer; since Jamie just happened to have a pocket knife in her purse, we were able to break out the cheese, crackers and jelly! We cooked dinner--citrus shrimp pasta--and had homemade blackberry pie (fresh blackberries that Mike and I possibly stole out of someone's yard earlier that morning).

On Sunday everyone slept in. Before breakfast, we girls went on a quick run ... then made a fabulous meal of eggs, scones and fruit! We made a quick trip to West Seattle to visit the Alki Lighthouse and walk along the beach before dropping off Teresa at the Greyhound bus. Jamie left a little later, and Kate was very sad to see them go, since she is leaving for France next week for 7 months to teach English!Kate is still a little out of sorts this evening as she keeps crying at all of the cheesy parts of Father of the Bride 2.

Kate and I just made some apple cobbler and are awaiting a visit from our cousin Sarah and her friend Ashley. Sarah makes a yearly trip to Seattle from Illinois to visit her friend in Tacoma and this year she is adding us to the agenda!
We just spent an hour chatting with Sarah and Ashley who are two very hilarious girls. You should ask them for the story on the show they went to in Seattle on Saturday night - its great! Once again, it was another sad goodbye as Kate is leaving for France.

Weekend Trip to Portland

This weekend we finally decided to check out Portland, OR. We got into town Friday night and went out for a quick drink across the street from our hotel, which was by the airport. Saturday morning we drove into the city by 9:00am. We spent the day walking around - we walked along the Columbia River, went to the Chinese Gardens in Chinatown, got some coffee from Stumptown Coffee House and spent a lot of time in the huge Powell Bookstore. I called my dad to ask him where that bookstore was, and would you believe it - he knew the names of the exact streets and how to get there from where we were! We ate lunch at a bar and grill called Henrys. After lunch, we took a break and went back to the hotel for a few hours. At about 7:30pm we went back downtown for a fabulous dinner at Masu - a Japanese Sushi Bar. We went straight home since Mike had plans to get up before dawn to drive to Mt. Hood and take some pictures.
Fortunately for me, he didn't wake up till 7:00am, but we still got some pretty good pictures - we hiked to Mirror Lake, which reflects Mt. Hood in it. We then drove to the historic Timberline Lodge and ate some lunch and checked out the lodge.
Unfortunately, the ski lift that usually takes people high up on the mountain was closed. We then took the scenic drive home.

I have to say I was a little disappointed because we ordered beer 4 times in the course of the weekend and NOT ONE time did I get carded. Two of the times there was a couple and then 3 girls sitting next to us that looked my age (or so I thought) that did get carded by our same server. I never thought I would be sad for not getting carded but I hate to think that I am starting to age!

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The Fox ties the Knot

Ok, so maybe I've been slacking a little. The Fox got married back on 8/12 and I'm just now getting around to posting the pics. In any case, Steve Fox (one of the best guys on the planet) married Stephanie Moore (one of the best girls on the planet) and we got to attend the ceremony. The wedding was held at the St Louis Botanical Gardens on a beautiful Saturday morning. The Bride and Groom looked great and said their own vows, which were both very good (everybody cried).
John and Nessy were there from Florida; it was nice to see them after almost a year since our last trip down. After the ceremony, we headed up to reception area. It was the first time I have ever enjoyed the opportunity to indulge in both beer and krispy-kremes before 11am. Apparently Steve went to pick up all these doughnuts at 4 in the morning prior to getting ready for the wedding (after staying out half the night for his bachelor party). Steve, I totally would have done that for you, at least I can say that now :) After the dessert, we sat down for a wonderful brunch and heard the toasts from Mom and Dad.
Unfortunately, we had to leave right after the reception to head up to the family reunion. It was a great time and we are so happy that they invited us to attend. They make a great couple and we wish them both lots of love and happiness.

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Camp Muir

Last Sunday I was rudely awakened by an overzealous husband who was on a mission to make it to Paradise by sunrise - an area of Mount Rainier National Park with beautiful views. We left the house at 4:30am but didn't quite make it all the way as it was farther than we thought, but Mike did get some awesome pictures.
We spent the day making the climb to Camp Muir (10,000'). It's the base camp where people who climb The Mountain spend the night before making the trip to the top. It was 4.5 miles up the side of the mountain gaining 4600' of elevation. Half of that was on snow. You literally took one step forward and then slid one half a step back. With the high elevation and steepness we would take like 20 steps and then need to stop and catch our breath. We made it to Muir around 11 just as last nights climbers were on they way back down from the summit.
After a short break on the windy western ridge we headed back down. It took us 4 hours to get up to Muir but only 2 hours to get back down. It was so steep that it was easier to slide down on our butts than try to walk down. Total wildlife count for the trip was 1 fox, 2 elk, 4 deer, 1 marmot, 4 chipmunks and countless hawks and small birds. Despite it being the most difficult hike I have ever done, it was well worth the breathtaking views!!!
We got back to the apartment and headed for the hot tub with a few beers in tow. Once we were nice and toasty we made beef carnitas for dinner. What a great day!

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*Landscapes*