SNOW!

It snowed here in Seattle last night! I was going to take some pictures, but it was all melted by the morning. We might get some more snow tonight though. Woo hoo!

And tonight the Packers play the stupid Seahawks. Go Pack!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving (a day late) to everyone! Steve and Mike went snowboarding in the morning. And I watched 2 football games and the dog show. Then Mike and I enjoyed a delicious dinner - my first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner - of turkey, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, squash, cheesy vegetables, dinner rolls and pie. It was a nice day, but we missed being with everyone back in WI.

Today Mike and I went snowboarding up at the Summit. They've gotten dumped on in the past couple of days and we enjoyed some nice powder!

Palm Springs

I just got back from an amazing 5 days in Palm Springs, CA. While it was raining and flooding in WA, I was enjoying 94 degree sunshine. A couple of days were spent poolside at our resort - the Miramonte, one day at Joshua Tree National Park, and two days at a work meeting. Yes, I did actually go to the meeting and learned a lot. It is good to be back in Seattle though - I missed Mike and Nollie.


a big joshua tree

Halloween

I planned a Halloween potluck for work yesterday. We had a delicious lunch and there were some hilarious costumes. It was a good par-tay!


toxicology (those who dressed up)


Lisa, Brianne & Sarah

locks

Saturday was a beautiful and sunny day in Seattle. Mike and I went to the Hiram C. Chittenden locks here in Ballard. They connect the Sound with Lake Union and Lake Washington. The locks also have a fish ladder for the salmon. Even though spawning season is almost over, there were a few salmon in the ladder on Saturday.

lumberjack breakfast

Steve and his roommates threw a lumberjack breakfast Saturday night - complete with Pabst, pancakes and flannel. This was the last party before the band spits up and goes their separate ways.


pancakes!


Nels cooking the sausage


Steve

Cannon Beach, Oregon

We went to Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast for our first anniversary. It was a very relaxing and much needed trip out of the city. We stayed at the Cannon Beach Hotel - a cute little place a block from the ocean.


Cannon Beach Hotel


us at Hug Point

The veiws and scenery were amazing! Cannon Beach is famous for Haystack Rock. And don't you worry, we took about 100 pictures of it. Here are a few of my favorite. Haystack is the huge one in the middle and the little ones around it are called the Needles.









Mike tried surfing while we were there. I'm so mad at myself for not taking a lesson too! I was scared of the waves and not very excited about the 50 degree weather. Next time we head to the coast I'm going to learn!


you don't see this in Wisconsin


Mike


Watch out for jellyfish!

A big thank you goes out to Steve for watching Nollie while we were gone. I hope she wasn't too much trouble. And I hope you enjoyed your 2X4 stout from Bill's Brewhouse!

bridesmaid dress shopping

Saturday morning we went bridesmaid dress shopping for Lisa's wedding. We were very lucky to find something we all liked (and looked good in) at David's Bridal. And the best part was that the dress was 50% off!

Here's what it looks like.

Our dress is pink underneath with a chocolate layer on top. Lisa's happy to get another thing crossed off her list!

Aurora bridge

Here's a nice picture of the Aurora bridge (over Lake Union). I took it a few weekends ago when we attempted to go to Octoberfest in Fremont. I drive over this bridge on my way to and from work everyday - beautiful views!

golfing

We went to the driving range on Saturday. I'm not a golfer so we laughed a lot. It's now Monday and my back and arms are still a little sore. We also played a little mini golf. Going into the last hole we were tied, then I got a hole it one! And then Mike got a hole in one! So we just ended it tied and no one had to cry.

tox picnic

This happened a couple of weekends ago, but I just now got a few pictures from some co-works. The toxicology section had a picnic at Lake Sammamish State Park on September 17th. Everyone got to meet Nollie and Mike. And they all seemed to like them both.


us


Sarah & Lisa

nose photos

There is really no good way to take a picture of your own nose. My parents really want to see what I look like with a nose ring, so here I am.




See, it's cute.

Things here in Seattle are going well. Our beautiful summer weather is on it's way out and the rainy season is on it's way in. We have already bought our season passes for Snoqualmie. Steve and Mike are really getting excited for winter.


enjoying the last of the sun at the Danish bakery in Ballard

Laughing Buddha

After work yesterday I went with a few of my coworkers to the Laughing Buddha - a tatoo/piercing parlor - on Capital Hill. Paige got a tatoo of a green star on her ankle, Lisa got a tatoo of 3 little stars on the top of her foot, and I got my nosed pierced. Don't laugh and don't think I'm crazy. You all know I don't have a high pain tolerance, so when I say it hardly hurt at all then it really didn't hurt. Anyway,it's really cute! I don't have any pictures yet. As soon as I have one I'll post it. And Mike hasn't seen it yet - but he knew I was going to get it. He'll be back from the east side at the end of the week to make fun of me!

More news about Lisa. She got engaged a couple of weekends ago on a trip to Whistler! I'm so excited for her. And I'm so excited to be one of her bridesmaids. We're going to have a lot of fun planning her wedding. The big day is April 28th. Check out where they are thinking of have both the ceremony and reception - on a ferry.

Leavenworth

This past weekend we went tubing in Leavenworth. It was so much fun! Leavenworth is the cutest little Bavarian town on the other side of the Cascades. We all camped out at Steve's friends' (Willie & Erin) house. Nollie came too, but not for the tubing. She hung out with Willie & Erin's dogs. And learned a few lessons on country life - roosters and chickens are not for chasing.


we opted for a boat instead of tubes


Topher


Steve


our campsite in Willie & Erin's backyard


Nollie slept in the tent with us


crazy chickens


cute little Leavenworth


outside the pretzel bakery

Pootie Tang

Nothing really exciting happened this past weekend. We went out to dinner at an Irish pub with Steve on Saturday. Later I fell asleep watching this movie Steve swears is the funniest thing ever - Pootie Tang. Not so funny and not worth the effort of getting a new Blockbuster card. Steve and Mike went to the Tin Hat while I was sleeping and got pretty wasted. Sunday morning we attempted to go bowling, but there was a tournament going on so we couldn't get a lane. I promise this coming weekend will be more entertaining. We are planning to head up to Leavenworth to go tubing! I'm really excited!

On an unrelated note:

cute little picture of me at work with Lisa and Brianne

Nick & Amy are married!

Whew - what a crazy weekend! Mike and I flew back to WI to stand up in my little brother Nick's wedding. There was craziness all around with the church, and ER visits, and flight delays. Anyway, we have a new sister! Here are a few photos from the big event. Enjoy!


the beautiful bride getting ready


Nick & Amy or NAMY


Sarah & Amy


Rachel's man TJ downing a 40


Mike & Sarah


bridesmaid bouquets

And here's where the night got a little wild:

TJ. Sarah, Rachel & Mike


Mom & Dad


nice face Rae


Mike


Sarah, NAMY & Rae


TJ stealing the cake

Seafood Fest

Hmm. I only posted once in July - that's pretty sad. Mike was up in Pend Orielle Co. (all the way north and all the way east in WA) for a week in July and Steve was up in AK visiting Dea and Ben at the same time. That's all that happened.

This past weekend was Seafood Fest here in Ballard. We walked down with Nollie to check it out. Mike had some of the salmon BBQ and I had roasted corn. Yum.


Seafood Fest


Mike & Nollie


salmon BBQ

Nollie's birthday BBQ

Nollie turned two on monday so we invited a few friends (Steve, Nels, Topher, Tony, Miriam, Lisa, Jay and Tobey) over for a birthday BBQ. She loved all the attention and all the presents and all the food!




testing out her new bed


Steve, what did you bring me?


Tobey wanted to open all of Nollie's gifts for her


Nels


Nollie, Topher, Miriam and Tony