A Whole Bunch of Summer Fun

Wow!  It's hard to believe the summer is coming to close (and we're finally getting some summerish weather).  Apologies for lack of posting the past few months, but it's been a doozy of a summer.  

Shortly after Mitch's knee surgery we went up to Canada to visit our friends the Mitchell's for the 4th of July (Yes, we know what you're thinking, "Canada for Independence Day?" ironic right?)  It should be noted that by this point my little brother Kody was now living in our spare room (and would continue to do so until he left for school in late August).  We had a most enjoyable time picking strawberries, going to China Town, Stanley Park Beach in Vancouver, Vancouver Aquarium and hanging out playing ridiculously fun games and eating spectacular food with the Mitchells.  It was quite the weekend, topped off by watching fireworks in Bellingham, WA.

In the strawberry patch!

 Silliness at Stanley Beach

 In other July happenings, Mitch got older.  To celebrate the event we attempted to fly kites and had a picnic at Golden Gardens Beach.  After a lack of wind at the beach we went to kite hill, which ironically had even less windy kite weather, but the beautiful sunshine was great!  We then had some delicious sushi at Blue C and spent the evening playing games and eating a massive fruit tart with Richard and Jessica Christensen.

 num, num, nummm

Then there was August, which for me was a whirlwind of nannying, hanging with Kody, and "Into the Woods" at the Kitsap Forest Theater in Bremerton.  The whole experience with "Into the Woods" was pretty incredible.  We had lovely weather for the outdoor theater, great audiences, a brilliantly written show, and you couldn't ask to work with more wonderful people.  I enjoyed everything (but the traveling back and forth) so much.  It was pretty bitter-sweet when the show ended.  It was a dream come true to play this role in this show and it'll definitely go down in history as one of my favorite shows/roles to play of all time.  Kody and I enjoyed thrift shopping, running around Greenlake, playing on the beach and visiting Woodland Park zoo with the boys I nanny.  Pretty neat-o to have him around for the summer.

Me getting my 'Baker's Wife' on.

 We also had a plethora of visitors in August.  Mom, Dad, Natalie and Jordan drove up to visit for 5 days and saw the show and a variety of other Seattle landmarks: including Pike Place Market, Discovery Park and a UW canoeing trip. Being with family is always a joy, but it was pretty squishy with 7 people in our rather small apartment.  When the fam went back home, they took Kody back for school and the apartment felt empty...for a whole day. Then my cousins Rachel and Brian came to visit for a few days.  We had a blast going to the Columbia Tower, Woodland Park Zoo, the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, UW and Alki Beach.  They are such fun cousins and it was supa fun showing them around Seattle. 

Bocci Ball at Discovery Park

Seattle Skyline from Alki Beach

 Well, that brings us to September, which has already been eventful.  Mitch has been studying his face off for his Physics qualifying exam next week.  For Labor Day we had a fabulous BBQ with some friends from church. Then we picked blackberries at UW (which grow wildly all over the Northwest) and Mitch made a sensational blackberry cobbler.  Yesterday we went to our first Seattle Sounders FC soccer game (they played REAL Salt Lake).  It was an exciting experience, since the fans here are die-hard and committed.  REAL won the game 2-1, but the Sounders put up a good fight and since there's still a little piece of Utah living inside us, we weren't too disappointed to see REAL win.

Scrumptious Blackberry Cobbler - just add ice cream for instant nirvana

Sounders Game at the enormous Century Link Stadium

 

 

 

In other news.  Since moving to Seattle I've taken up a new hobby (or as Mitch would call it, obsession).  I've become an avid thrift shopper. Even Mitch had to agree I'm getting good at it when I found some brand new jeans that fit perfectly, an awesome Gap jacket and a nice dressy sweater for him all for only $10.50.  This week I start teaching some children's theater classes, which I'm thrilled about and next month I start rehearsing for Pinocchio.  We're about to hit our 1 year mark in Seattle and we have to admit, life is pretty grand here.  We look forward to another fun-filled year (or two, or three, or four) here.

Packing It All Into One Week

Despite pursuing a PhD in Physics, I apparently don't have the smarts to properly schedule my life.
I decided to schedule my ACL surgery (other knee, this time) for one week after Spring term classes/finals ended. June 17th seemed all well-and-good because I'd be done with classes and nothing else was on my plate. Megan's schedule didn't look quite as good, though.
She started rehearsing for her play, "Into the Woods," over in Kitsap, WA, which takes most weeknights. Also, the Seattle Rock 'N Roll marathon she has been training for was June 25th. Earlier that week Megan's Dad and brothers were coming up to spend a few days with us and to drop off Kody (my brother-in-law who is spending the summer with us).
Despite everything happening at once, it all worked out remarkably well!
But let's just touch on the highlights.
0) Before the surgery, we went camping at Larrabee State Park. We hiked to the top of the mountain we camped next to (wait, why am I having surgery again?)!
1) I had ACL surgery on my left knee. It went quite well and I'm healing quickly!
2) Awesome (read 'entertaining') dreams from the pain medication. Our favorite reveals my true character as a physicist: I had a dream that I was graphing a function. It was 'Jet Room' as a function of 'Please Wait', which is measured in seconds, of course.
3) Megs finished her first marathon! Quite a feat (no pun intended)!
4) A combination of the above items: seeing the two of us hobbling around after the marathon. Me on crutches and Megs waddling like a penguin.

Pre-surgery camping trip. This really was such a perfect camping trip and hike. We started at the same elevation as the water, so it was quite a hike!


Right before the surgery. They gave me a heated blanked and a needle in the arm... living like a king!


Megs after her marathon! Her the next day, with Kody, cookin' up somethin' in the kitchen!

Temple, Tulips, and an Easter Egg Hunt!

This weekend I was actually able to break away from research quite a bit and spend a lot of time hanging out with Megs. It was a very welcome break, especially with the 60 degree weather and sunshine.
First off, we went to the play "The Beams Are Creaking" at Taproot Theater. The play tells the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor during WWII, who actively fought against the Nazi's, including multiple attempts on Hitler's life. The story was depicted in Germany, while some accents drifted between Australian, Scottish, and occasionally German. Despite that, we still had a wonderful time.
Before the play, we stopped across
the street at Gorditos (http://gorditoshealthymexicanfood.com/) for one of their famous baby-sized burritos. Megan convinced me that we should just share one, but maybe I'll do one all by myself someday ;) As always in Seattle, everything was all natural and delicious!


Saturday started off at the temple, and because of the BEAUTIFUL weather, we finally got some pictures of the temple here.


We then headed straight from the temple to the Mt Vernon Tulip Festival. The 1-hour trip went fine... for the first 20 minutes. Then we caught up to the rest of Seattle. I suspect that the whole city was heading to the Tulip Festival. I-5 was backed up, for 40 miles. After 20 minutes of stop-and-go on I-5, we pulled out our trusty GPS and found little Highway 9, which runs parallel to I-5. Highway 9 is not much of a highway though. It's more of a paved, back-country road. It even runs into a one-lane bridge where you have to wait for oncoming traffic to cross. HOWEVER, we were the ONLY people that were taking that route. I don't know if no one else was brave enough to try that route, or if no one else thought to check for a parallel way on their GPS, but it probably saved us an hour of driving time; Not to mention, instead of being stuck on the freeway, we were driving on country roads, passing fields, lakes, farms, and summer homes. The drive was a million times better!
Which driving conditions would you rather? Traffic vs. Big Lake


When we arrived at the Tulip Festival, we were famished, so we went to the Kiwanis Club's Annual Salmon BBQ...and YES, it was way worth it! After that, we got some info to bypass more traffic and headed to the tulip fields. Check out the acres and acres of tulips. And by the way, this is only one farm. There are many farms in the city. It was beautiful!

This picture almost looks fake.


The fields stretch farther than eye can see!

Once we got back, we colored some eggs and headed over to the Church with some friends to have an egg-hiding contest. Each couple hid 6 eggs for their spouse. However, anyone could pick up any egg they found, so there was a lot of careful hiding and running around. It was a great time and Megan won the grand prize out of all the wives - a giant chocolate Easter bunny! Go Megs!

Spring Break...and it WAS Spring!

Mitch finished his classes 2 1/2 weeks ago and, unlike the past 4 years at BYU, we actually got a Spring Break! The weather was beautiful here, almost getting to T-shirt and shorts temperatures! The grad students had a BBQ a week after finals were over, so Megan came out with one of the kids she nannies. It was nice to be out in the sunshine, but while juggling a soccer ball, Mitch re-injured his left knee (the one he injured right before we moved to Seattle). Learning from the first injury, Mitch went to the doctor and scheduled an MRI yesterday. The MRI actually turned out to be quite enjoyable! They lay you on a bed with a heated blanket, let you listen to Enya, and make the ceiling look like you are laying beneath a cherry tree on a clear day. The good news is, it seems that Mitch may only have to get his knee scoped - no ACL surgery!

On Monday, March 21st, we went to Toys R Us to buy some kites. (By the way, I would recommend going to Toys R Us for a date anytime!) We got a "fancy" two-handled kite, along with a MicroKite, which is only about 6 inches wide! After Toys R Us, we headed over to kite hill on Lake Union (which is actually part of Puget Sound). The two-handled kite was VERY fun to fly. When whipped across the sky quickly, it would make sharp dives, rigidly flapping in the wind and making quite a bit of noise.
Here's Megan flying the kite near the Lake, with the Seattle Space Needle as a backdrop.



Megan also found out yesterday that she got cast for a voice-over for a video game. The game is based on the Nancy Drew books (http://www.herinteractive.com/Mystery_Games) and is the first voice-over Megan has done! She is very excited to have this part, especially with such a respectable company!

The LDS General Conference (wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Conference_(LDS_Church)) this weekend was also great. The counsel given by the leaders was inspiring, uplifting, and Spirit-filled. We started a tradition this year that every General Conference we'll be making home-made cinnamon rolls.... and they were AMAZING! If anyone needs the greatest cinnamon roll recipe, follow this! Do this recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ooey-Gooey-Cinnamon-Buns/Detail.aspx) WITHOUT the brown sugar goo on the bottom and then use the icing from this recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Clone-of-a-Cinnabon/Detail.aspx).

FUN with FRIENDS

We've had the pleasure of spending time in the company of some exceptional people lately.

A few weeks ago we hosted a Murder Mystery dinner with some fun friends from our ward. It was a blast! Just goes to show you are never to old to play dress up with your pals.




Last week we were delighted to have my best friend from high school Katie Bennion and her hubby Kenneth spend their Spring Break with us. It was SO wonderful to see them and take a bit of a vacation ourselves. The weather was gorgeous while they were here! We took the "Ride the Ducks" tour in Seattle, which went all over the city and into the Puget Sound. While we were down town we went to the Olympic Sculpture Park, which consists of modern art pieces. We also took a stroll through Pike Place Market and ate some delicious donuts and cheesecake truffles. We spent more of the next day wondering around the Woodland Park Zoo and University of Washington campus. We are already looking forward to visiting them in Logan sometime soon!


On the Duck Tour and some of the cute floating homes on the sound!



The skyline from the sound and Pike Place


Getting our Modern Art on and Mitch and Kenneth in an intense game of chess at the Center House.


In other news...
Mitch takes finals next week and then goes on Spring Break!
Megan is going to shoot some scenes for a documentary this weekend.
We go home in about a month and a half for Lee and Claire's wedding in May!
Megan got a new calling at the Primary Chorister at church.
Megan got cast in her favorite musical, Into the Woods!

Huge Adventures...

So, this past few weeks has been quite out of the norm for us! First, we took a trip to Kawaii for a few days in the beginning of January:



Since we were already heading west, we decided to go to one of the main tourist sites around, The Taj Mahal. It's such a beautiful building, but I cannot figure out how we got to be the only ones in this picture! It must have been the off season. Also, in the picture you can see we decided to bring our clock along with, while wearing our Halloween costumes. We sure got some weird looks, but it was all worth it!



The latest thing we did this month was adopt a new pet. We've been saving and saving, so once we finally could pay the fees, we got ourselves our very own pet rino. They (all of Africa) were glad that he would be going to a good home in Seattle. It's quite amazing just how big they are in person!



So that's all that's been going on for us! We'll see what the next month brings for us!


(And just in case you're wondering, life is just as usual; work, school, homework, etc. But we're liking it! We've been able to serve various individuals and I'll tell you nothing brightens your day and mood quite like helping someone. We definitely feel blessed that Heavenly Father has provided such a comfortable life for us to live. Let's all find ways to improve others' lives!)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It was a blast being able to spend Christmas in Utah with family! The 10 days in Utah were filled with food, relaxation, good conversation and games.

Here are some highlights from the trip...
-Family photos at the Union Station. Although it was freezing, we had a blast climbing all over the old trains for some unique pictures....COMING SOON!
-LEE GOT ENGAGED to Claire Burnett. We are thrilled to have her joining the family in May.
-Loads and loads of snow while staying in Santaquin (over 2 feet!), which turned into a massive snowman and snowball fight in the back yard.
-Making and decorating tons of gingerbread men.
-Secret Santa get together with Mitch's friends.
-All you can eat sushi with Anderson and Rochelle (thanks for the invite, the food and the company were delightful!)
-Rochelle teaching Megs how to crochet beanies.
-A delayed flight home due to a missing flight attendant (how mysterious).
-Card and Board games galore with the Phillips family (including the 4 player chess showdown in this picture).




Christmas Morning...once upon a time, long ago, we all easily fit on the couch for a pre-present picture. It's rather squishy now.

Back in Seattle we still had one more blissful week to relax before school starts again tomorrow. We found an excellent $3 movie theater just a couple miles from our house and saw Hereafter, which we both enjoyed.

We celebrated New Year's in the Physics Building on UW campus, which turned out to be amazing! Mitch found the perfect spot on the top floor to watch the Seattle Space Needle Fireworks. It was fun having the whole building to ourselves and watching the fireworks from the warmth and comfort of the indoors. We are excited as ever to adventure forth into 2011.

New Year's Eve at the top of the Physics Building. The tiny light between our heads is the Space Needle.



The view! This is downtown Seattle and the Space Needle during the awesome fireworks.