Feliz Cumpleaños Gatos

Back when Lindsay came to meet and bring home the kitties, she had asked when their birthday was. I knew from Becca that it was sometime in May, so I told her they were born on Cinco de Mayo, cause who wouldn't want a pair of Mexican cats? She said, "Oh, that's fun!" Yes, Lindsay. Yes it is.

I had forgotten all about it until Saturday, May 5th, when I received a text message from her. I got a quick update along with four pictures of the "birthday kikis." These aren't the most interesting pictures, but at least I know she's still having fun with them and they haven't escaped.

Happy Birthday you two little Mexican hat dancing kitties!

Lake House

My dad's parents own a cabin out near Shelton, WA on Lake Nahwatzel. They built it in 1968, and since then my family has been using it as a fun getaway, especially in the warm Summer months. The cabin sits up on a hill with it's own private beach down below. The lake is great for water sports, and is where I learned how to water ski. I have tons of childhood memories from the lake...catching salamanders off the dock, taking the row boat out to the lilipads, learning to ride the trail 60 motorcycles, salmon bakes, big family dinners out on the deck, and my first vodka tonic (I was 8, Dad told me it was Sprite).

Dad mean muggin'

It's been forever since I've stayed overnight at the Lake, probably since high school. So, when Clint mentioned a motorcycle race he was interested in out on the Mason County Fairgrounds, I told him I had just the place for us to stay. We packed up his truck after work on Friday, and made the 2 hour drive out to the cabin that night. We were the first guests of the season, so when we got there we had to not only get the water pump and electricity going, but also air it out a bit. Walking into the cabin brought back lots of memories, and it even smells the same. Not much has changed from the picture above from the 60's. Those curtains, wood paneling, and green carpet are all still there.

In the morning Clint got up early to head out to meet his friends at the race. I stayed behind for some quiet time and found things to do around the cabin to keep myself entertained. I walked around the property, had some lunch, swept off the deck (that was a chore...I have blisters to prove it, these hands are not made for manual labor), and caught up on my TV shows watching Hulu on my iPad.

Soike cabin

view from the deck with the tree Uncle Dave
planted for Grandma which now blocks our view

quiet morning on the lake

cabin up on the hill and our neighbors

Clint got back that afternoon after having a blast riding. He's even wanting to go back for another race on Memorial Day Weekend. He had his GPS on while riding, so he was able to make this map of the route he took and see how close he actually came to the lake.

Clint's race course

After hanging out at the cabin for a bit, I was ready to go do something (cabin fever, ha). We decided to head into Shelton to find a Mexican restaurant to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. We drove by a few places before deciding that El Sarape looked the least sketchy. We soon realized we made the right choice once we saw how packed it was in there. The food was delicious (I had the carne asada) and the drinks were ginormous. Once we were sufficiently stuffed, we headed back to the cabin to call it a night.

boxer shorts and BB guns

so yummy

The next morning we got up early and got ready to head out. Did some cleaning around the cabin, and shut everything back off. I had such a fun time being back there, and hope to make some more trips out this Summer, just need to find friends with boats!

till next time

Mrs. Rachel Cougan

On Saturday April 28th, my friend Rachel got married! The Seattle weather actually cooperated, and it was a nice Spring day. The ceremony and reception were both held at the Hall at Fauntleroy which just happens to be in my new neighborhood, West Seattle.

Rachel and Peter Cougan

Clint was actually down in LA for his friend Brian's wedding. With two weddings on the same day, we had to divide and conquer, which was a bummer. Clint definitely missed out on a great time, but I was also jealous to hear about the fun he was having with his brother and sister-in-law, Blake and Rebecca, without me.

With Clint out of town, and Colleen's husband Will off at one of his races, we decided to be each others dates and make it a sleep over at my house. Colleen came over a little early to see the new place, and we got ready to head to the wedding.

We mingled with friends outside, then headed in for the ceremony. The place looked gorgeous. We were also handed programs and pencils as we were taking our seats. Inside each program was either a crossword puzzle, mad libs, or connect the dots to keep us busy as we waited for things to start, such a cute idea!

Becker filling out the mad libs

After Rachel and Peter made it official in front of friends and family, we headed to the courtyard for cocktail hour. Trays of yummy food and drinks circled around while we visited with friends and congratulated the bride and groom. This was also our chance to find our adorable place cards for our dinner seating assignments. Rachel had gone to facebook to find photos of all the guests and printed them out as polaroids. On the back was your table number and what you had chosen for your meal. Loved it.

Chi O's in the courtyard

table placecards

Dinner was delicious, and fun to see some familiar faces from college at the table. We reminisced about the old days, and cheers'd to the happy couple. Speeches were given, which were great, followed by the first dance. We all then danced the night away, which was over far too soon. No one wanted it to end, but with the kegs empty and the DJ packing up, we had to call it a night.

finishing my crossword before dinner

me and my date

table buddies, Lindsey and Henry

dinner menu, yum!

first dance as Mr and Mrs

dancing queens

Lysico

Colleen, Trisha, and I called a taxi and headed back to my place...ordering Dominos on the way of course. We got back and stayed up eating pizza and chatting before heading to bed (or the floor...I really need to get furniture).

Congrats to you Rachel and Peter, and thank you for such a wonderful night!

Moment of silence

I've taken a little break from keeping the blog updated lately. My family and I were devastated by the news that my Grandma Marlene passed away unexpectedly last week. She was such an energetic, lively, FUNNY, happy person in good health, and became sick for only a short time.

We all flew down to Palm Desert to be together as a family and comfort my grandpa as we made it through a tough week. The loss has been hard on all of us. Grandma was such an important presence in our family, we were all very close to her.

Once I found out my grandparents enjoyed reading my blog so much, I started writing my posts keeping them in mind. It's been a fun way to keep them updated with what I've been up to with them living so far away. My grandma in particular loved it. There was even a time when Papa (who has my blog bookmarked on the home page of his iPhone...yes my grandfather has a cooler phone than me) saw a new post and began to read it out loud to her. She quickly cut him off to keep him from spoiling it since she liked reading it on her own, too funny.

It just makes me sad, I miss her so much.

LUSM Grandma!

Earl & Danielle's Housewarming

After moving all day on Saturday, Clint and I went to our friends Earl and Danielle's housewarming party. They just bought an adorable house in Magnolia, and invited everyone over to break it in. The location is awesome with a nice huge yard and view off their back deck. The weather was perfect, so we got to sit out on their front patio and enjoy some delicious homemade cocktails from mason jars with swirly straws as the sun set...felt like Summer!

We got the grand tour when we first arrived, and the place is so cute. It's an older home with some nice updates and a lot of charm. One of the bedrooms is even covered floor to ceiling in wood paneling, so fun for a "ski getaway" themed guest room. I love how the whole place is laid out with so much room, and great for entertaining.

Earl and Danielle were both busy in the kitchen whipping up the most delicious snacks, including birthday cake popcorn (seriously check it out, such an easy recipe and so addictingly yummy). The pigs in a blanket were also a big hit and went pretty quick every time a new batch came out of the oven.

The guys ordered the UFC fight to watch, not knowing they would have to endure comments like "why would you pay to watch this?" "don't they clean up the blood between fights?" "why are his ears so weird looking?" and "this is gross" from us girls.

It was a good excuse to get everyone together, and turned out to be a great night. Thanks for hosting, Earl and Danielle! Can't wait for the next shindig.

Hostess-with-the-mostess and new puppy
Mercer Guacamole Ferguson

Kitty Update

It's been two weeks since the kitty boos have left for their new home, so I decided to send Lindsay a message to see how everything is going. Here was her response:

"Your kitties are doing great. I can tell sometimes that they miss you and their home, but they seem to be adjusting. They both love to get into everything. I've found them in cupboards and up in my closet and stuck behind the washer, lol. Sissy (I love how she calls her that) and I have definitely bonded the most. She loves to sleep on my lap for hours and they both curl up in bed with me every night. They are such sweet little lovers. She just hopped up in my lap now and curled up. She kinda reminds me of a chinchilla the way she looks and kinda like a frog the way she curls all her legs under her when she sits, unless she's doing her superman pose. I'm so glad I got both of them. Thank you so much for such a wonderful gift. I totally love them."

Doesn't she sound absolutely perfect for them? This was also all in one text message from her, I love how detailed she gets :) I'm so glad to hear they're doing well and that she is enjoying them so much.

Packing

is the worst!

I've started to pack and get some of the smaller boxes moved over to the new townhouse. Both homes are in shambles and everything's a mess. Packing, carrying boxes (up endless amounts of stairs), and unpacking is definitely not my favorite part about moving. I can't wait till after this weekend when everything is moved and I can get everything put away and organized again!

from one mess...

...to the other