Now this post I have been excited about! We did so many fun things in Seattle! Graham and I arrived in Seattle Thurs. night which gave us almost all day Friday to enjoy Seattle with just the two of us. It was raining (as is stereotypical of Seattle) so I thought let's go to Pike's Place Market! It's a) extremely famous and popular b)covered c)filled with so many bright colors who cares if it's raining d)lively and bustling with lots of people. At the market we were able to pick up some BEAUTIFUL (and inexpensive) flowers for our host and enjoy some fresh donuts. Afterwards, our host had given us free passes to the Seattle Art Museum which was hosting a Michelangelo exhibit of his test sketches...another perfect thing to do on a rainy day. Friday evening was the main event--Mo's surprise party. And by the looks of it--he was surprised!! At the party they had a painter going around painting all parts of the body (that were originally exposed by your clothing of course). Here's mine Such an original idea! Another fun thing about the party is that his wife played this game called "This is your life" where she had some guests hidden before the big "Surprise", but then told stories about his life and he had to remember who he was with and when he did they would come out behind the door! The surprises just kept coming! Definitely a game you will want to copy if you are planning a surprise party. Saturday was filled with more family birthday parties (there were 4 that weekend), Virginia Tech football, and my favorite...Issaquah Creek where the Salmon were swimming upstream for spawning. Where we went was a hatchery where they harvest, fertilize, and hatch the eggs so there were a TON of Salmon. It was so amusing I took some video! Take a look!
Even the babies are jumping!
Sunday was our lucky day to hang out with Fi! We went up the Space Needle and to the Science Museum (very much for children..but still fun!).
Fi and Graham in gigantic chairs at the Science Museum. My turn! Graham and I up in the Space Needle Adorable! Sunday evening we had an amazing dinner at Morton's Steakhouse for John and Malcom's birthday. Around a large table we told stories of a time when we could have got caught doing something wrong, but didn't. Lots of laughter around that topic! Mom and Dad, many people can testify that I didn't have a story to tell :) But mostly because you weren't as strict as the other parents :) In a nut-shell Seattle is in my opinion a must see city!
It's taken me longer to publish this post than I originally thought because honestly, San Diego wasn't my favorite. They did have beautiful weather and it was great getting to spend time with my parents, but as far as cities go San Diego is low on the totem pole (in my humble opinion of course). Here's some pictures for you to enjoy. Self-portrait down in Seaport Village The skyline from the Coronado Bridge The Del Coronado. They have this really cool back deck type thing facing the ocean. It has sea-walls (to block the wind) and cushy furniture with firepits all around--it's a great place to have a cocktail!
Sometime during the week we all went to the San Diego Zoo. Although Graham took tons of pictures of the animals--I'm only going to post my favorites. Mom and I in front of the Flamingo's--Mom's favorite! Awww..cute tigers Polar Bear :) Elephant Pedicure I didn't get pictures (unfortunately) of Old Town, San Diego (where our hotel was located). Which is unfortunate because it was definitely really cute with lots of shops and restaurants. Also, we didn't get any pictures of La Jolla because our camera battery had died at that point. It's a beautiful beach where we saw the most gigantic Star Fish--If you are planning a trip to San Diego, La Jolla is a place that can't be missed!
Sorry I haven't been a more faithful blogger. The sad part is that it's not even like I haven't had fun things to blog about. For example, Graham's parents came to visit us last MARCH, and then I was in Virginia in July where I was able to spend some quality time with former roommates and college friends (LOVE them). AND my dad's "surprise" 50th birthday was also during that time where I saw a lot of my extended family and it was lots of fun!....but here we are...
I can not even begin to tell you HOW excited I was to have my parents visit. We have been living on the peninsula for 16 months now and this was their very first visit (They did come to Tahoe for skiing but that was 4 hours away and they didn't see where we lived)!! I even cried..and I mean CRIED when I found out they were not flying in until a day later than I originally thought (such a baby..I know...but they did change their flight [insert cheesy smile here]). Anyways..enough jibber-jabbering and onto the photos!
Friday evening mom and dad arrived and we took them to our favorite local restaurant "The Tied House" for a bite to eat and then onto the Giants game! Going to the game was really fun AND a great idea because it kept my parents up until 11pm and helped them adjust quickly to "west coast time".
Saturday we went back up to the city and did the fun touristy things like ride a trolley down Hyde street (commonly known as the rice-a-roni street), fisherman's wharf, Ghiradelli Square, Union Square, and drinks at a speakeasy.
Dad taking a picture of himself on the trolley. The four of us on the back of the trolley. The man taking the picture had to hurry to jump back on the trolley as it started moving while he was taking this picture. Mother and daughter and Ghiradelli Square Dad and Graham at fisherman's wharf observing the sea lions. Mom petting a homeless guys bunny rabbit. Dad's Bourbon flight at Bourbon and Branch. You're not allowed to take photos so this one was taken very hastily.
On Sunday we traveled once again to the city, but first we had breakfast at Alice's. Yum! If you are a faithful reader of this blog you should know that last November I mentioned wanting to take my parents here. Well...here's the proof that I followed through. Afterwards we went up to Haight-Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, the Marin Headlands, Moss Beach Distillery, and dinner at the Crab's Landing in Half Moon Bay. And as you will see it would have been better for me to wait to blog until I was able to access my parent's pictures...because I didn't take many this day. However, I was afraid that if I waited I would never blog. Marin Headlands/Golden Gate Bridge Higher up in the headlands. Sunset at Moss Beach Distillery. If you have never been there for the sunset you should make sure you do it next time you're in the bay area! They have blankets and fireplaces outside, it's so cozy and romantic! The drinks are pretty good too!
Monday, I worked and my parents ran secret errands and then came and had lunch with me and Graham at Stanford. When I got home that evening I had a clean patio, patio furniture, and autumn decorations on the patio! It was soooo adorable and such a great gift because we have been wanting to get patio furniture since we moved in but have been slow to pull the trigger!! It was so sweet. I can't believe how hard they worked getting it done. Mom and Dad going to every store to find the perfect patio furniture and the perfect decorations! So cute!
Things I'm going to miss most about Bonnie: 1.) She's was always the most eager and the happiest one to greet me arriving home. 2.) The way she pranced when she walked. 3.) The way her whole butt would shake when she was wagging her tail. 4.) The way she cocked her head when you asked her a question, or ended a sentence with an increased pitch. (see below) 5.) When she got tired from chasing the ball she would tremble, but also wag her tail asking for more. Things that annoyed me when she was living, but I miss now that she is gone: 1.) When ever she got to go on a car ride she was always so excited that she did this high pitched bark for the first five minute. 2.) The way she would run circles around the swimming pool and bark when someone jumped in because she thought that they were in danger. 3.) She would jump up and bite at the nozzle of the hose when ever you were watering the flowers.
Going home this next time is going to be really hard when I open the door and there is no longer this wagging tail coming to greet me.
If you haven't heard already GRAHAM GOT A JOB!! I will post more about it later, but Graham hasn't been willing to pose for those crucial pictures so it will have to wait. Since Graham got a job we decided to celebrate and get some much needed "us" time in Monterey, CA. It was a ton of fun and extremely beautiful! Below are some pictures and highlights of our trip!
Friday Night: Arrive at the hotel around 9:30pm. Head straight for the hot tub, relax, and then decide we are hungry. Find a pizza place and watch some of the best Karaoke we have ever seen. It was pretty much just one guy who did the amazing job. But it was really good!
Saturday: A room with a view! We woke up in the morning to waves crashing and birds chirping. It was wonderful. They also serve continental breakfast to your room!
The Aquarium! I was able to get two free tickets to the aquarium from my work. (I love my job!) So we spent 6 hours there on Saturday. The very cute penguins Horrible photo, but my favorite exhibit. The Outer Bay (massive Tuna Fish were swimming around in this tank!) The Kelp forest This Star Fish is for you Mom!. Disco Starfish Kind of embarrassing to wait in the kiddie line to take my picture in this clam, but worth it don't you think? Beautiful, mesmerizing jelly fish exhibit... ..continued. Us outside of the aquarium This one's for you Amanda W.!
After the aquarium we decided to walk on one of the beaches off of Cannery Row (where our hotel was). After many attempts of taking pictures with squinty eyes and scrunched up faces we decided that it was alright to take pictures with sunglasses on after all! After the beach Graham had to get some studying done for his training that was coming up (and while studying, March Madness just "happened" to be on). Whenever Basketball or Golf is on I fall asleep, therefore, I slept :). In the evening we drove down to a beautiful spot on the coast to watch the sunset. So beautiful. Words can't describe.
After the sunset we had a nice, casual dinner at Willy's Barbeque. Then we bought some Champagne and went back to our hotel to enjoy our Champagne in the rooftop hot tub! It was extremely relaxing and romantic!
Sunday we drove down 17 mile Dr. The location of many famous Golf Courses and beautiful coastline. At one of the lookout points. Harbor Seals! I love these animals. They are so lazy yet so entertaining. The tide was coming in and we watched this huge wave hit the rock they were sitting on and knock 4 or 5 of them off! It was amusing to say the least. We were so puzzled as to why this bird was not sitting on it's egg. Was it warm enough outside in the sun that it didn't need to be sat on?? As we walked further past it we found out it was just another bird's head!!
So that was our trip! It was beautiful, relaxing, and much appreciated!!
In January Graham and I moved into our new apartment in Mountain View, California. It's nice to have our own place but we do miss the company of living with Bobby and Ethel. That was such a blessing and a great time in our lives!! Now, however, we live a mile away from two separate In-N-Out's (bad news for us since it's so delicious) and really close to all kinds of shops and restaurants. Out of our office window you can see an elementary school playground so it feels very "neighborhoody". We live on an end unit so we have windows on three sides and only share one wall with our neighbors (not including the ceiling). We are still in the process of moving in and getting organized but we will welcome anyone who wants to visit us! I've taken multiple pictures of each room from different angles to help you get a better idea of what our apartment is like.
Dining area (lemons on the table are from the lemon tree at my work!)
Dining room angle two with slight views of living room and kitchen.
Dining room angle 3 with our new kitchen cart from Ikea!! Super excited to have access to our stand mixer finally!
Our oven is nice and wide and our refrigerator is pretty new!
Other side of the kitchen. The microwave is now actually on the kitchen cart.
Our Coat Closet converted into a pantry.
Looking out from the kitchen into the living room. Hopefully sometime soon we'll put pictures up on the walls so they are not so bland.
Behind the chair is the sliding glass doors out to our balcony. We don't have a T.V. so we set the computer up in the living room so we could watch DVD's and sit on the couch. Someday this will change. Either when we get something comfy to sit on in the office...or when we get a T.V. Whichever comes first.
Bathroom looking in
Bathroom looking out.
Our bedroom angle 1. I forgot how much I loved our mattress! So comfortable!! (new lamps courtesy of Bob and Ethel)
Our bedroom angle 2. We were able to put the mirror on the dresser this time instead of hanging it in the living room like we did in our old apartment.
Bedroom angle 3. The closet is larger than it appears.
Bedroom angle 4. Looking into the hallway.
We used our office as a staging room so it's still very messy!
We had to buy a new office chair because our last one broke!
Mirror shot to help you get the whole picture.
Not pictured here is the balcony which we are excited to use in the spring, summer, and fall for coffee on weekend mornings and wine on weekend evenings. Also not pictured are two additional closets. 1 linen closet and 1 random closet that has lots of shelves and is housing all of the things that we don't know where to put otherwise :). To really get the feel of our new apartment...you should come visit!!
Fi and Graham in gigantic chairs at the Science Museum.
My turn!
Graham and I up in the Space Needle
Adorable!
