I love Kerry Park

I stumbled upon Kerry Park a few weeks ago on my way to the library. It's a tiny little park in the middle of Queen Anne (the neighborhood that Frasier's townhouse was "in" in the show). Now, I'm a bit infatuated with this little jewel in the middle of the city. It's about 5 minutes from work (or 15 if I want to walk there - which is also super nice!) which makes it a great little lunch spot. And THIS is my view....





Pretty sweet, huh...

Oh Canada!

Back from a wonderful trip to Canada!! It was a lot of fun to explore a new city, and a new country for that matter. The last time I was in Canada I was seven years old - people up here are shocked when they hear that, but hey, I'm from Texas - it's a little bit harder to get to Canada from all the way down there, eh!

Day one: We took a ferry from the mainland of Canada to Vancouver Island, and drove to Victoria once on the island. We explored the capitol building, walked around downtown, and relaxed in the hotel spa. We enjoyed dinner at a small pub overlooking the water - I had fish and chips - yummy!!







Day Two: We went to the British Royal Museum (totally cool - I got lots of cool ideas for teaching my Girl Scout troops about the natural history of the earth - can't wait!!). We went to the Butchart Gardens next - AMAZING!! I was in awe of all the beautiful flowers and colors. It was gorgeous!! We ended the day with dinner at the Spaghetti Factory - delicious!!







Day Three: We got on the early ferry to the Olympic Peninsula and explored Olympic National Park for the afternoon. We had a delicious lunch at a roadside restaurant - It was amazing...possibly worth a ferry ride back to the peninsula soon :) We returned home last night exhausted from a fun, jam-packed weekend!!





Full albums from the trip are on my facebook page...if you're interested...but beware - LOTS of flower pictures...I was really impressed...

Where has the time gone??

Do I sound like an old woman saying that? But seriously, it's already JUNE!! Crazy!

Ever since I got back from Texas, it's been go-go-go. The school year is wrapping up, and that means final Girl Scout troop meetings filled with pizza and ice cream parties, Girl Scout bridging ceremonies, reports, cleaning, and the list goes on....all the while, I've been working more hours at Starbucks to make up for not working two weeks while preparing for and being in Texas.

I had a wonderful last few days in Texas. The final Friday night I got to meet some of my Kappa Delta pledge sisters for dinner. We had a wonderful time, and talked blogs, families, and reminisced. Everyone who met up lives in the Dallas area, but some of us haven't seen each other since college. I had a great time, ladies! Thanks for coming!!

Shannon and me at dinner. The last picture I have of the two of us is from our day hike in Palo Duro Canyon - fun times!!


KD Ladies, Pledge Class 2000


My last Saturday night in Dallas was spent celebrating the marriage of Dave and Whitney Pitzer. Whitney and I have been friends since elementary school, all through high school, lived down the hall from each other in the dorms, and were roommates for two years of college. I can't believe she's married!! I'm so happy for her, and I think she and Dave are perfect for each other. I don't have any pictures from the night yet - I'm waiting on my dad to send me the pics - I'll post some when I get them.

I left Texas on Sunday morning, and started back at work with a jam packed week bright and early on Monday!!

Last night was our Girl Scout Celebration at one of our schools - it was so much fun, and the girls were all really proud to show their parents their Girl Scout sashes. Tonight we have another celebration at one of our other schools, and then our final celebration is next week.

Tomorrow Marcy graduates with her Master's in Social Work from the University of Washington. Her parents are in town, so it's been fun hosting them, although with so much work stuff going on I haven't gotten to participate in much. We all leave on Thursday morning to go to CANADA for the weekend. We're staying in Victoria, BC, Canada for two nights at the Queen Victoria Hotel, visiting the Butchart Gardens (supposed to be some of the coolest gardens in the world), exploring the Maritime Museum, and doing some shopping. I'm really looking forward to the trip - it'll be the first time up to Canada since living in Seattle - it's so close, I can't believe it's taken us a year to get up there!!

Here's some pictures from a few of my last troop meetings at school...

Making slime with 1st Grade


More slime - their favorite activity of the whole year!!


Ahhh, the mess, but oh so much fun!!


My BOC class - each of these girls speak English as a second language, and each of their native languages vary greatly. Sometimes communication was difficult, but totally worth it, with this sweet class.

Hello Texas! Sure is good to see you again....

I've been back in Texas for a week now, and it's been so much fun!! The wedding weekend was crazy busy, and these last few days have been so relaxing and nice. I'm really enjoying my time at home.

Tuesday I flew down to Houston for the day to visit my friend Justin and meet his fiancee, Amanda. They are getting married this weekend, and I am going to another wedding, so it was wonderful to get to spend some time with them before they get hitched and be able to hand-deliver their wedding present (I got them ice cream sundae glasses and spoons!!) They are a great couple, and I know they will have a wonderful life together.


Tuesday night I met up with Melanie, a friend since 4th grade. We went to Cadillac Ranch in Irving - a note to my Texan friends out there - if you haven't been yet, you should definitely check it out - live music and great food!! We enjoyed a leisurely dinner and catching up on high school gossip...our ten year reunion is next year - CRAZY!!!


Wednesday was a leisurely day of running errands with a quick lunch at Corner Bakery (yum!! I miss that place!). Wednesday night I went to the Rangers game with my parents. It was so much fun...despite the fact that the Rangers lost...bad...to the Yankees...

We had pretty good seats...




Today has been another relaxing day. I met Dayme for lunch at Paradise Bakery (another fave!), and I could sit and talk to her for hours - she only had two hours today, but we'll definitely meet up next time I'm in town. We enjoyed a great lunch and did lots of catching up!!

Tonight my mom and I are off to the Arboretum for Cool Thursdays. I better get going - gotta pack up our picnic dinner and then we're off.

The Story of How I Gained a Sister-In-Law

The wedding weekend has wrapped up, and it was really wonderful. It was great to see all my family and friends and celebrate with my brother and Leann. The pictures speak for themselves, so I'll let them do that (with brief captions, too, of course)

Day One: Bridal Luncheon, Spa, Dinner with Bridesmaids
The table set-up at the Bridal Luncheon


I love Hydrangeas


The gift boxes I made for each guest


Leann looking at her rehearsal dinner bouquet - each of the guests wrote a Wedding Day wish on a card and attached it to the ribbons on the bouquet. It turned out pretty cute!!


The guests at the Bridal Luncheon


Day Two: Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner

Rehearsal Dinner Site - Love & War in Texas




Good to be back in Texas....



Gifts for the bride and groom - furry coozies (made these), passport holder, key chain


The & Theme was alive and well (remember the invitations??). I was really pleased with how it all turned out...






My Aunt Kathie made Bryan and Leann a wedding quilt. Each family member was asked to submit a quilt square. Of course Marcy and I had to include an & in our square. Can you see it?? :)

The happy couple


My cousin's daughter, Clara, and I were attached at the hip during the rehearsal dinner. She's such a cutie pie!!


The bridesmaids


The cousins (only 5 of the 15 were able to make it)


Day Three: Wedding Day

Bryan and his groomsmen - I hadn't seen some of these guys in several years, so it was great to be reunited. Bryan has known all of his groomsmen since high school, and he's known his best man since 3rd grade.


Family photo


My mom and her sisters...they don't look anything alike do they??? :)


My Aunt Karol, Uncle Brad, Trisha, and Clara


Me with my baby brother - can't believe he's married!!


Bryan getting kisses from the bridesmaids


The Wedding Party


Bride and Groom


Our new family


Groom's Family Photo


And now, the funniest ending to the whole weekend. Everyone came over for a nice brunch this morning before returning home, and Bryan regaled us with his tale of the wedding night. He lit some candles by the bed, and later in the evening he knocked a pillow onto the candles. The pillow case caught on fire, and then the pillow caught on fire. Luckily, Bryan was able to throw it into the bathtub and turn the shower on before the smoke alarm went off. He put the burned pillow on the bed with a $5 bill attached to it, and a note that said "Sorry for the mess." What a great story that will be for the kids some day :)