Sounders game

My mom called me up a while back and asked if I'd be interested in Sounders tickets. She had gotten an email from work saying they were up for grabs. I of course said yes, since the game Clint and I went to last season was so much fun. As it got closer to the game, Mom told me she had eight tickets for me! Clint and I thought it'd be fun to use all the tickets to ask his employees and their significant others to come since we always have a great time together (plus Clint could score some bonus best-boss-ever points).

We all met up at the Clink and headed in to the stadium. Our seats were great! They were club level which meant we were able to go into the private club section with the bars, restaurants, and fancy bathrooms. We also lucked out being under cover since it was raining a bit.

I sat next to Justin's wife Stacy, and we spent most of the game chatting and not paying attention. The parts of the game we did catch were pretty exciting though. Lots of scoring for soccer. We played Mexico (which I didn't even think to look at before we got there) and ended up beating them 3-1. But, as one of Clint's coworkers explained, this was game 2 of a series, so overall we only won by 1. I don't get soccer.

goal!

band playing as we left the stadium

After the game, we all headed over to Sluggers for drinks. I've never been in there when it was so deserted. There were a few soccer fans out, but it was pretty quiet being a Tuesday night. Quite the change from Mariner or Seahawk season.

It was a great night, and Clint was happy to have a fun (and free) morale event for his team. Thanks Mom and Liberty Mutual!

Lincoln Park and a ferry ride

A couple Saturdays ago, we had some gorgeous weather. Clint and I decided we needed to get outside and enjoy it, so we went to check out the park by the Fauntleroy ferry, Lincoln Park. Who knew such a nice park was so close? We walked through the wooded area and found a trail that led us down to the beach.

lookout spot to watch the ferries

Once down at the beach, we walked along the shoreline with all the driftwood and skipped rocks and collected shells.

We then thought it'd be fun to ride the ferry to Vashon and have lunch at the Mexican restaurant on the other side, so we walked down to see how much it was to walk on.

liars. we followed the arrow, but no mimosas in sight

nap time

We got down to the ferry, and saw that it was only $5 to walk on, why not? We had a fun short ferry ride and got to enjoy the nice weather and views along the way.

leaving West Seattle

Mt. Rainier

arriving at Vashon

We've eaten at the Mexican place before when we've visited Vashon. It's a cute little spot where you can sit and watch the ferries come and go.

mmm, one of the best tortilla soups I've had

After lunch, we caught another ferry back to Seattle and headed home. It turned out to be a fun day. I love not having plans and being spontaneous!

Liz's not-so-surprise birthday party

Blaine's mom Liz turned 60 earlier this month, so her husband Steve threw her a surprise birthday party. Turns out, keeping a party like that a secret can be difficult, and one of Blaine's neighbors spilled the beans at Reese's birthday party the week before. Oh well, Liz was a good sport and enjoyed her "surprise" party.

We all got together at Blaine's on a Sunday, and waited for Steve to bring Liz over for a "low-key" family dinner. Everyone was able to make it...Liz's mom, her two sisters and their families, Blaine's brother Evan with Jana and their son, Blaine's in-laws, and Mom and I.

Steve had planned a whole Hawaii theme since he surprised Liz with a week long trip to Waikiki (that part was actually kept secret!). The cake, decorations, the ukelele birthday song serenade, everything! Even the food, and there was lots of it! Everything was delicious.

Liz opened her gifts, and we all had a fun time watching the kiddos, Reese and Jack, play.

Happy Birthday, Liz! Hope this is your best year yet!

the kiddos with grandma

ukelele happy birthday serenade

helping to blow out the candles

cake time!

The day we didn't go to the MOHAI

The Saturday after I got back from Palm Desert, Clint and I thought it'd be fun to finally go check out the Museum of History and Industry. We both love museums, and they recently moved and reopened the MOHAI in South Lake Union, so now it's convenient.

We drove down and parked and walked towards the building with all intentions of going in. I even took pictures.

Clint ready to go inside

Then we got distracted by this clock...

While we were examining the clock, a man invited us on a tugboat. Every first Saturday of the month they have a work party day and allow people to come onboard and check it out. We thought it sounded pretty cool, so we hopped on and started exploring.

The Arthur Foss was built in 1889 and was the boat they used for the movie Tugboat Annie. It was pretty cool to look around and talk with all the workers...Clint had plenty of questions for them. The whole thing was covered with a white tarp to keep the rain out, and lots of workers fixing and restoring different parts of the boat.

view of Gas Works Park through the tarp

pistons...I think

cool boat parked next to the Arthur Foss

when I thought Clint called me a giant
wench...he was just talking about this

sleeping quarters

Clint steering the tiny wheel...

...but I'm really in charge

cool compass

porthole

We were getting pretty hungry so we headed to the museum cafe to grab lunch first. We had a delicious meal...ham and spinach quiche, jalapeño bagel dog, lemon orzo, and a green bean salad. After lunch we realized we had used up quite a bit of our 2-hour parking limit. So, we left before ever going in to the museum. Maybe another time!

Palm Desert: Part 2

Tuesday morning, the guys were out playing tennis again, so Mom and I walked down to meet up with them when they were done. We got there a little early so we were able to watch them for a bit, too.

tennis pros

fountain pic

After getting home and everyone was ready to go, we headed out to the Shields Date Farm for lunch. The farm has a cute little outdoor patio, so we got to sit and enjoy the nice weather.

They also have a cute garden area with all sorts of fun decor for sale. Mom found and purchased a rot iron ant for her yard.

glass mushrooms

We shopped around inside as well. Mom found some dates to bring home, and Bub and Papa split a date shake.

After lunch, we made the short drive to Indio to visit Aunt Gloria and Uncle Bill. We sat out on their enclosed patio and had a nice visit (well some of us visited nicely while others dished out digs at each other like a couple of grumpy old men...but all in good fun right? Guess that's what you get when you know each other for 60+ years).

Then it was back home to get another golf cart ride in!

the cool "Dr. Suess" like plants
growing around the property

driving range

passing by the country club

That night we stayed in again and ate the chicken cacciatore Papa prepared in the crock pot. It was pretty delicious, I'll have to try that recipe myself at home.

After dinner, the four of us went out for a walk. The moon was out again too, so the streets were lit up for us.

Wednesday was our last day to enjoy vacation and be in the warm weather. Bub and Papa left to play tennis again, while Mom and I put a batch of minestrone soup in the crock pot. We then froze it so my grandpa would have easy ready-to-go meals in the freezer.

When the guys got back, we met up with Aunt Gloria and Uncle Bill at The Kid's Business (TKB) for lunch, another one of our favorites. The place is owned by a nice couple, and their three kids run it. I couldn't choose from all the menu options, so I had them surprise me. They picked a delicious chicken salad sandwich on freshly baked pumpernickel. I wish they had a shop up here, I'd eat there everyday.

After lunch, we did some driving around in order to find my uncle a froyo shop. Fortunately Papa knew of one to take us to. It wasn't as close as the one that had closed down, but we're willing to drive any distance to get a frozen yogurt fix!

The BNP Paribas Open (a tennis tournament) is held in Palm Springs each year, so Bubba wanted to check out the grounds since it was open to the public before the tournament actually started the next week. It was pretty cool to see all the courts up close, and they had some people playing to qualify for the tournament. It looks like a pretty big deal with all the courts, the huge main stadium, and the giant screens they put up to broadcast the matches.

get it? it's like a tennis ball :)

if only we had brought our picker

fancy courts

It was getting closer to our flight time, so we headed back home to squeeze in one last golf cart ride. Once we were back, we packed up all our lemons and headed to the airport. We said our goodbyes, and came back to the Seattle rain (of course). We all had such a great time, and can't wait for Papa's visit here in the Summer!