Weekend in Review

Mike's out of town so it's just Dawn, the boys, and I. We had a super relaxed weekend together! Here's the recap:

The neighbor kids kayaked over to play with our boys.

We got Greek and Mexican food at the food court while
we waited to get my iPhone fixed. (Ollie cracked the screen.)

I spent some time editing while Ollie floated offshore in
his life jacket. He looks far off, but he's only about 10' offshore
and the water is only about three feet deep where he is. 

Using a sand shovel as a paddle. 

We went out for Thai food. Dawn treated. Thanks, Donger!
Pad thai with tofu. 

Eggplant with peppers, onions, and mushrooms. To die for.

The boys warming up in the hot tub after swimming in the chilly lake water.

Riding the tractor outside of Whole Foods.

There goes our retirement plan. (Not really.)
One night, while Dawn and I sat out on the deck listening to music and talking til about
11pm, Ollie--who we thought was asleep--pulled out four boxes of 1980s-era,
still-in-the-box G.I. Joe's that Mike has collected as "investment pieces" ;)
He opened about half the boxes. Oops. I've got some 'spainin' to do.

Dawn's Birthday Dinner at the Space Needle

I suck at secrets. I can't keep a secret, ever. So as much as I'd like to say that I was able to (as I'd planned) surprise Dawn with her Space Needle Birthday Dinner last night, I spilled the beans almost two weeks ago! Drg. 

Our reservation was for 9pm, so we had amazing city views from 605 feet up.
We were a bit nervous about the spinning restaurant after this morning's
vertigo event, but Dawn did just fine!

Cheers to the birthday girl.

Dawn chose a red blend from Dunham Cellars in Columbia Valley, WA.
It was really, really delicious. We shared a bottle. Just one. ;)

Knowing me, this will be hard to believe, but I didn't take any food pictures. (Maybe that just tells you how good the food was!) Dawn ordered the Butter Poached Draper Valley Chicken, which came with romanesco, a morel mushroom-leek fondue, and risotto. I ordered Razor Clam and Corn Chowder and a salad of mixed baby greens with Rogue Creamery blue cheese, huckleberry vinaigrette, Gala apple, and salted caramel pecans. We got dessert, too (BAD GIRLS!). Dawn had a chocolate molten cake and I had cheesecake. 

After dinner, we walked up to the observation tower and snapped these shots,
just minutes before the Needle's 11pm closing time. 

The city at left and the sound at right. Gorgeous.

Back down on the ground, the Space Needle is lit up
and glowing. What a night!

Warrior Dash 2012

Yesterday was a marathon kind of day. We hired a babysitter to come to the house at 10am and we jetted over to pick up our friends Jeff and Angie. Dawn, Mike, Jeff, Angie, and I all drove another 30 minutes to North Bend--a sort of rural area east of where we live. There: The site of Washington's Warrior Dash, described as "a mud-crawling, fire-leaping, extreme 5k run from hell. Warriors conquer extreme obstacles, push their limits and celebrate with music, beer and warrior helmets." 

On our way to the race, I'm showing off my "temporary tatt" in honor
of my Raleigh workout buddies, who are with me in spirit today! 

We were supposed to race at noon, but the lines to park, get on the shuttle, and register were long so we actually ran in the 1:30 heat (a heat left every 30 minutes). We finished the race about 45 minutes later. Dawn was waiting at the finish line, where she snapped photos of us on the last three obstacles: A rope climb, a fire leap, and a mud-pit slog. Here's the funniest picture ever of me, jumping over the firepit.

Dawn bursts into fits and peals of laughter every single
time she looks at this picture. I can't figure out why.
Just kidding: It's hysterical and makes me laugh too. 

We got medals as we crossed the finish line. Cool.

L to R: Mike, Angie, me, and Jeff. Jeff looks like he's wearing
mud overalls. :)

Just before we went to get hosed off.

After our hose-down, we weren't exactly CLEAN, but
whatever. We grabbed some beers and turkey legs
and got ready to party.

Mike digs into a turkey leg. Honestly, we all thought that
it was ham. The legs were so huge and the color and taste
was not turkey-like at all. Mystery meat? Eww. I could only
eat about 10 bites of mine.

The first bite. Before I realized it wasn't real turkey.

Dawn's the only clean one in the bunch. 

We danced for a few hours and had a ball. There was
definitely a festival atmosphere: A great DJ, a beer garden,
people in crazy costumes, shared experience. It was totally fun.

We got home at about 6pm. Paid the babysitters, who went home and ate dinner and then came back just two hours later to stay with the kids while Dawn, Mike, and I--freshly showered of course--went to see Dark Knight, the new Batman movie. The movie was great, but it was a seriously long and fun day. One for the record books for sure.

Stand-Up Paddle Board Yoga and Consignment Shopping

I bought a couple of Groupons for stand-up paddle board yoga lessons when Dawn first got to town. The classes must book up quickly because we had to book a few weeks out to find openings! This morning was our first of three classes (possibly Dawn's first and last, but more on that later!).

We went with Angie, our partner in crime from yesterday's Warrior Dash. She is an experienced yoga practitioner. I'm a definite beginner and Dawn's opinion of yoga is, and I quote, "I don't like it." But she's a good sport and game for anything (love that spirit!), so she joined in.

We got TOTALLY lost trying to find the surf shop in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. We were about 10 minutes late for the class, but they still let us jump in. We missed the paddleboard tutorial, but did okay all the same.

Cute little surf shop!

Our instructor rolled all the paddleboards across the street to the beach on
this big cart. Love these colors!

After paddling across Shilshole Bay (I recognized this area from our Argosy Locks Cruise with Clyde and Delores), we tethered up to a rope that stretched between two buoys. There were about eight women in our class, plus the instructor who had anchored her paddleboard out in front.

The paddle out was a nice warm up and the yoga on the paddleboard was really something unique. It was slightly more challenging than traditional yoga because of the shifting surface, but it was also so much more sublime because of the environment. The feel of the current and the wake from passing boats beneath you. The sound of birds in the far distance and the sound of the water lapping the board in the near distance. The smell of the salt water. The light breeze and the sun on your skin. I absolutely loved the setting. The yoga practice itself was a really great experience. I'm definitely hooked and can't wait to go back.

I was curious to know how Angie and Dawn liked it but it wasn't until we all had paddled back to shore and were hauling our boards back up the beach that we had a chance to talk. Angie loved it as much as I did but Dawn had been battling nausea and vertigo pretty much since the first Downward Facing Dog. Poor thing. The upside-down view of the skyline with the water flowing past the board was enough to do her in and she never really recovered. I think she couldn't wait to get back on solid ground!

What's the perfect antidote for nausea and vertigo? 

Sushi.

We checked out a conveyor-belt sushi joint called Blue C Sushi, which was really good. Angie, sweet thing, treated us. So nice. 

Shrimp tempura roll. Mmmm.

Must come back. Very good.

Then we walked two doors down to a coffee shop for
a little caffeinated pick-me-up.

Hot coffee. Simply the best.

We spent the next few hours browsing at a high-end consignment shop in Seattle. We all scored at least two pairs of designer jeans (Seven for All Mankind, Lucky Brand, Joe's, Paige, and Citizens of Humanity) and various tops and sweaters. Angie got a bag and I also got a great belt. Score!

How Am I Just Now Finding Out about Yogurtland?

"They have great flavors and I love the little mini gummi bears."

- Dawn

Dawn leads to way into Yogurtland. What a find.

Merrit chose coffee flavor.
Ollie chose chocolate flavor and I chose coconut flavor.
Dawn chose pistachio, salted caramel, coconut, melon,
double cookies 'n' cream, and dulce de leche.

And that's just the beginning. Next: our toppings.

Looking at this picture, Ollie said "Ollie eating at the
ice cream store." There you go. His first caption.

A peek inside Merrit's cup. Can you say diabetic shock?

Happy Birthday, Donger!

Few people I know take their birthday as seriously as my friend Dawn. :) I knew we'd have to do something special for her "big day," just so she'd know how much we love her! (Spoiler Alert: Our official birthday celebration is happening on Sunday night at the Space Needle.)

We ate a little lunch at home and then headed out to Coal Creek Parkway for a kid-friendly hike. The trail was nice and wide, not too steep, and ran alongside a little creek most of the way. 

Intrepid hikers.

Trailblazing Ollie.

  

Being goofy.

A genuine laugh.

After our hike, by special request on the part of the birthday girl, we made a trip to Baskin Robbins' 31 Flavors. Only the day before, Dawn had changed her mind from "chocolate cupcakes" to "pralines 'n' cream ice cream" as her birthday treat. And what the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets. The boys were thrilled, of course. Ollie got chocolate and Merrit got pop-rocks flavor. 

We headed home, rested for a bit, and then geared up for Dawn's birthday-request dinner. I made potato salad and deviled eggs. Then her birthdayness emerged from her chamber (where she'd been resting and watching Netflix) and, together, we pattied out some burgers to grill and got all the fixins ready--plus baked beans. Here's the menu Donger requested: burgers with buns, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion; baked beans; deviled eggs; potato salad. 

Happy Birthday!

After dinner, we got the kids in bed and then Mike, Dawn, and I built a campfire in the back yard. The truth is, we really didn't stay out there that long; we were all so tired. But it was a great day all the same. Happy Birthday to an awesome friend, who's 39 one month BEFORE me! :)

Mallory

We have a pet. Maybe?

For two nights in a row, this Mallard duck--Dawn came up with the name Mallory--has been visiting our house. She likes to waddle around on top of the hot tub cover. Mike has been tossing bread and crackers to her so, who knows, maybe she'll stick around.

Afternoon on the Lake

Dawn and I swam out past the lily pads on our pool floats for some sun bathing.
Not too long afterwards, the boys wanted to join us. Zipped up in life jackets,
they got in on the fun.

Merrit prefers to paddle around in his life jacket rather than float.
I'm waving to Mike, "C'mon in!!" Dawn in channeling her inner sun goddess. :)

Indian Buffet

Ollie tucks into some butter chicken, rice, naan, and
sliced cucumbers.

Dawn and Merrit are two peas in a pod when it comes to eating. Both of them
love food, are masters of food math ("If there are eight slices of pizza, that means
we each get two."), and are usually thinking about their next meal even as
they eat their current meal. 

Guess whose plate? Dunno...could be Merrit's, could be Dawn's...they
pretty much both looked the same!