seattle: our anniversary in pics.

a couple weekends ago nathan and i went to seattle for the weekend for our anniversary. our anniversary is in february but nathan was in guam at the time, so here are some pics from our belated 12-year celebration.


a cherry blossom on alaskan way.


my husband banging his head on a tree because i ALREADY stopped to take a pic. and he's got a backpack on cause we hiked it this weekend with no car.


after dropping off our stuff at the hotel, we went about exploring Queen Anne. we've driven through it before, and seen the TV towers on top of it from the Space Needle, but i wanted to walk around and explore. i've got a back issue of "Sunset" that talked about the stair climb, and there are stair cases allll over Queen Anne to explore.


Queen Ann high school sits at the top of the hill and was built in 1908. it was converted into condos in 2007.


a really cool, ornate house in Queen Ann.


their front yard was gorgeous too.


TV tower at the top of Queen Ann.


we ended up hiking over to lake union, and followed that for awhile.


houseboats. we ended up at a little place right by the fremont bridge called the Nickerson Street Saloon, where we enjoyed a late lunch.


we hiked back to our hotel on the other side of Queen Ann, this is on an urban hiking trail in Kinnear Park.


we stopped back by our hotel to freshen up a little and then headed over to the underworld tour. it was a hoot and our tour guide (a girl named "Forrest") was a stitch. i'm glad i finally crossed this off of my bucket list after living here for 6 years.


the state hotel. you could rent a room here for 75¢ (per hour LOL) it was utilized by many of seattle's early "seamstresses". ahem.


after the tour we stopped for a midnight bite at local 360, who had THE most delish macaroni and cheese. it was YUM. (i snapped this shot the next day while walking around.) then we headed back to our hotel where we both COLLAPSED. i had worn my running watch around on friday just to see how far we went and we ended up putting in over 13 miles. good training, if nothing else.


the next morning after enjoying a yummy breakfast buffet at the hotel, we took a cab to nathan's favorite store, the REI flagship store. (i'd had enough hiking by this point.) here he is standing in the front of it. afterwards we went to the retail district and walked around Pacific Place and Westlake Center. we saw the movie "Paul" (okay, not quite as funny as i'd hoped for) and then just strolled around the streets of seattle for a bit, before going back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.


we had reservations at the Metropolitan Grill, which several people had recommended to us. it did not disappoint. the atmosphere was outstanding, and the food (however pricey) was fabulous. the best part? the ONION RINGS. they were HUGE.


sunday before heading home we stopped by Pike Place, where nathan got his "daily dozen" donuts and i got some gorgeous flowers.


one of the many flower stands in the market.


then we hopped back on the ferry and back into real life. though it was nice to get away for a bit, it's always nice to come home, too.

thanks for looking!

sea critters, and cruises, and the space needle (because i couldn't think of a "C" word to alliterate 'space needle')

so today we were like any other seattle tourist, walking around the city and taking in all the tourist-y hot spots. my mom had some friends here this past week visiting who purchased seattle city passes and only used one coupon out of the entire book, so she passed them onto us. since they had to be used by friday, and this was going to be the only day we would make it over before then, we squeezed as much as we could into the day. we were up at the CRACK o' dawn (AHEM. nathan. don't ever say that i can't make it out of the house at a decent time again, mmmmmmkay?) our first stop was the Seattle Aquarium. i find it hard to understand that with all the cool, new stuff there is to see, my children would rather run amok and act like little hoodlums. ach. they were on my last nerve by the time the harbor cruise was boarding. thankfully, they mellowed out for the Argosy harbor cruise a bit and it was actually quite enjoyable. it was a BEAUTIFUL day, and even when we got out on the water a ways and the wind picked up a little, it was chilly but not miserably so, and we stayed up top the entire time. then we went on a little urban hike up to the Space Needle. we sat around up there for a bit, had a snack (and i enjoyed a white chocolate mocha, yum.) we left there just in time to hightail it back to the ferry terminal to catch our ferry home. thank goodness for the "free ride zone" bus that gave us a lift for a partial way or i don't think we would've made it. and a great big thanks to cindy and hank for the city passes!


the ferry ride over. i am basking in the october sun.


a sea of fish above us in the aquarium.


my favorite part. hearing about the harbor seals. this guy is getting his teeth brushed :D


these guys must've been tuckered out. i don't think i've ever seen river otters this chill.


what it must feel like for a goldfish.


us. on an otter.


our "cruise" ship, the "spirit of seattle"


gettin' ready to set sail.


seattle as we pulled away.


getting a lift from daddy up top the space needle.


view of lake union via the space needle


passed these guys on our way back to the ferry. i love it!

thanks for looking!

rock 'n' roll seattle half marathon.

so last saturday i (unofficially) ran my second 1/2 marathon. i say "unofficially" because i was not actually a registered runner....my friend heather's husband was supposed to run it with her but at the last minute was unable to, so she asked me if i'd like to run in his place. i found out thursday that he would not be going, 2 days before the race. having not trained in a month (since right before the NODM), i agreed to do it, figuring i'd just go and give it my best, not really expecting too much of myself time-wise. i ended up doing pretty well, coming in at 2:03:15. not a bad time, but it was still hard to not be disappointed that i didn't do as well as the NODM. ah well. i have lots of excuses why i didn't do as well....besides the not-training part, i got very little sleep the night before (6 girls + studio apartment on a busy street in the U district = NOT a quiet night). oh, and the CROWD. it was srsly INSANE. over 27,000 runners in the marathon and half-marathon.....WHY they did not have staggered start times i do not know. that would have made sense. other races i've been in, eventually the crowd thins out and a little space opens up. not in this one. it was runners to my front, back, right and left the whole way. the run itself was gorgeous though, very scenic, relatively flat, and perfect running weather. and i was running with my friend audi, who is a stitch. being able to talk and laugh makes the run go by SO much faster.





looking forward to the next half....hopefully the royal victoria on my b-day! i applied for my passport, and i'm researching hotels! and it's on 10-10-10....it's gonna be EPIC :D

thanks for looking!

Seattle Pacific Science Center: a pictorial.

poking a sea anemone.


riding caterpillars.


building bugs.


fascinated by the giant flea.


screaming. it may have been because we told him we were going to feed him to the praying mantis. LOL


inside the flutterby house.


shhhhh! i'm hiding. you can't see me.


rockin' out. or in.



playing at the international fountain.


doing some somersaults.


climbing sculptures.


and trees.


this is how i like to torture my family. by making them pose for family pics.


my clan &hearts