09.09.09

I'm sure yesterday was a really popular wedding day... kinda like how 08.08.08 and 07.07.07 and 06.06.06 were...and the preceding few years where all of the numbers were the same. I don't really get the numbers thing. I mean, sure, it's all the SAME.NUMBER. Woah. I mean, I feel like I should be impressed or do something special or something but honestly? I really don't care. Anyway, I digress.

So, yesterday was really nothing special, even though we WERE ON ALL 9's. It was a day in which I got to see Tim as he got off shift yesterday morning and those days are always great. But, that being said, it was just a normal day in the Jones house.

And this is how these normal days go (ahem, because I have the best husband in the world)...

While I am hard at work, Tim is running errands for us or cleaning the house or both. Sometimes (usually) he doesn't get much sleep on shift (meaning no sleep for about 30 hours) so he takes a nap in the morning and then does whatever needs to be done when he wakes up. Yesterday he did all the laundry, cleaning, etc. and THEN went out and ran errands for us (grocery store, etc- you know all the crap that has to be done but just gets to be a pain because it ALWAYS seems like there is something? Yeah.) And then not only that, but he took Bella to run and play with her boxer friend Sadie (who is 5 years old but only as big as Bella at 9 months- too cute) so that Bella would be tired and we could relax for the night. And THEN he makes us dinner, has a glass of wine ready for me, and lots of times has fresh flowers waiting for me when I get home(who can ever complain about getting flowers?!) So normal for us=I have the best husband EVER (oh did, I say that already? Sorry, I just want to make everyone throw up multiple times in one post).

When I come home, this is what I am greeted by:

Fresh flowers waiting for me on the table- beautiful!

And an up close shot of the pretty summer flowers. Love them!

Tim prepping stuff to make for dinner. Usually our dinners are pretty low key and simple and we make them together, which we like doing because it's more fun to do things together (and it goes faster!) But yesterday, he decided to make a more fancy dinner and he had everything prepped when I got home. The menu was: teriyaki marinated wild Alaskan salmon, garlic red mashed potatoes, and red-chile pepper steamed asparagus...all complimented by a glass of chilled white wine which was waiting for me when I walked in the door (Riesling, if you were curious). Who doesn't love that surprise? Mmmm.

Yes! And bonus!! T ran the dog! The puppy is ZONKED. I love tired puppies more than anything in this world. She could barely get up to say hi to me. Here I was saying her name and she was looking at me but not moving.

A close up of the dinner...so yummy.

And the table set and ready to eat.

I have to admit, I am pretty spoiled because even though this 9's day was probably pretty special to people out there, to me it was really just another day where I am reminded of how awesome Tim is. It's enough that he runs errands and cleans on his days off but so many times, he'll do stuff like this- make a nice dinner, buy flowers, run the puppy... all just because he wants to take care of me and to show me that he loves me. I really feel so blessed! I'm so glad that our relationship works like this, that we love each other that much- we both do these things for each other anytime and everytime it's possible just because we can and we care and to us, it's normal.

Stranger things have happened....

but this labor day weekend was still, well, strange.

Why, you ask?

Well, the whole weekend we were dealing with a sick, spastic puppy who we had to try to keep calm which is always a fun game. Everyone should try it. She had other ideas about this calm thing. She wanted to run and run and run and just gocrazybecauseit'stheonlythingIknowhowtodowithmyselfandifican'tIwillmakeyourlivesmiserable! Seriously, I asked her about this. And she responded by ripping out the squeaky part of her "indestructible" toy. Through its ear. Uh huh.

It was also slightly strange because (aside from the insane puppy) it was really a quiet weekend. A weekend in which Tim had the whole thing off. Crazy because if he hasn't been working every other holiday this year, he's at least been working around it and his lack of sleep usually tends to make the respective holiday sub-par for him. But not this one. He was off and we had the whole weekend together and we had nothing to do.

We had thought about camping but then learned that after 3 months, Seattle was just going to jump right into fall. In 2.5 seconds. And not only jump into fall but absolutely plow into summer so that everyone here makes no mistake about it: summer is over, bitches, and you better not complain about the last 3 sunny months! And just to make sure we were clear on that, this weekend was complete with thunderstorms, torrential downpours, hail and (gasp!!) tornadoes! I kid you not. We didn't know the weather would be that bad but just the freezing cold days (25 degrees lower than we've been used to) coupled with rain coupled with already sick puppy canceled camping out of our plans. We also thought about driving to Montana because we've been wanting to get over there to explore. It looks gorgeous and the drive is not bad from Seattle. But when the puppy got sick at the end of last week, we couldn't board her SO, we ended up stuck in Seattle.

It was the best thing EVER.

We had several date nights (um, by the way, one of which Christmas music, repeat, CHRISTMAS MUSIC was playing at the restaurant we were at and no, it was not a 99 cent taco stand. It was a quaint little Thai cafe in downtown Kirkland. Another post entirely on how seriously retarded it is that Halloween not to mention CHRISTMAS stuff is popping up at the end of August/beginning of September. For now, done ranting.), we cuddled during the massive rainstorms and in the mornings (when it was undoubtedly raining every morning), we ran errands, we got lots of workouts in and managed to take the puppy on long walks, we walked down to Caffe Ladro to get tea and sit by the water to enjoy the tea during sun breaks, we made dinners and lunches and cookies, we read, we watched episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia to prepare for the new season coming up (LOVE that show... again, another post entirely) and on and on. It was the most relaxing few days I think either of us has had in a really long time. It was awesome.

We also got a call from Tim's dad and had a few hours on Saturday where we went to visit with him to catch up and Bella got to play with his dogs so she was in heaven because we (ohmygod!) actually let her play. Since we haven't seen him in, oh, I don't know, forever, it was nice to catch up. We were not expecting to hear from him at all so this, too, was a little out of the ordinary...in a good way. And to compound it even more, Tim's sister called wanting to see if we could come out to see the nieces later on this week. Um, yes please!! The whole story with Tim's family is a little convoluted at best and a little too silly to get into here but needless to say, this weekend great strides were made and I feel like (hopefully) people are finally starting to move forward and gain a little perspective on the important things in life. Let's hope so anyway.

So, all in all, the weekend was strange in that it was completely unexpected and absolutely perfect. I hope that everyone out there had a wonderful holiday weekend as well.

Because I don't already post enough about the puppy...

The puppy has had a bit of a rough patch. Wait, I've started a post like this before? No way. Not our pup, she's never been sick.

Anyway, yes, rough patch... She's had TONS of energy (shocker) but has still also been fighting her tummy battle, which is getting better. Almost 100%. However, because she's been fighting that, her immune system is NOT 100%. We took her to the dog park last weekend and she broke out in a major rash from running through tall grass (despite giving her a medicated bath after the fact) and from fighting that her immune system apparently didn't have the capacity to fight anymore so now she has a sinus infection which she probably also picked up at the dog park (gross, by the way-the infection, not the dog park. Although I have to wear "dog clothes" to the dog park because somehow, without fail, I always get slobbery, which I guess is kinda gross).

It was quite a bummer that she got the sinus infection when she did because I went to a new trainer to check out the place with my friend Lindsay and her dog Burton yesterday. We were going to a dog play date at the place so Bella could play while I met the trainer and checked out the facility (for boarding when we go to Hawaii). But instead Bella was sick and had to stay in the car (I know, ANIMAL ABUSER! It was 65 degrees out and cloudy and I left her in the car for 10 minutes. Someone, please, call animal services!!)

In my haste (and being the animal abuser that I am...ok, ok enough comments on that) I took her with me thinking she could stay in the car while I toured the facility, met the trainer and then would meet the trainer herself. Then I was planning on taking her to the vet afterwards. This was not a great idea. Note to self: a dog that is releasing 1 million pounds of snot per hour+brand new car? Does not make mom a very happy camper. I feel bad for the dog, I really do but SERIOUSLY? I have 200 miles on the car... and there was snot encrusted in every crevice after TEN minutes. Ugh. I was also sad for her that she didn't get to play because the field was awesome and she would have loved it. Oh well, she's back on antibiotics now so I'm sure she'll be feeling 100% in no time (assuming they don't screw up her near perfect tummy...) Sigh. And the car is fine too after I cleaned the shit out of it (almost literally) when I got home.

In the meantime, here are some happier pictures of our poor sick pup that I've never posted. She's really not doing too bad for everything she has going on... She thinks she feels great! I really can't wait until we are out of this puppy stage though... no more sickness!

When we went to my cousins graduation in June, she stayed with our friends and their boxer (her buddy), Dallas. She loves him...obviously.

And again... yep, she loves him.

With Mr. Monkey during that same trip... still her favorite toy and her only one still intact that she's had since Day 1.

About a month ago, right before we went to Kansas City, looking cute. She now has a new pink collar which she loves. And it totally fits her for the princess she is.

While we were in Kansas City, she got more time with our friends and Dallas. Here they are snoozing, exhausted after playing hard. She is eating up this time she gets to sleep on the couch (and the bed, above). She doesn't get those privileges at our house. It really was a vacation for her, too!

On the way to go play... Lola (the dog on the left) is a little dog. It took a while for her and Bella to get along since they are both dominant (aka: bossy) females.

Dallas and Bella sniffing along in the car. Too cute.

My husband, king of directness.

So one night earlier this week we're just hanging around on a rare night that Tim is actually home. The doorbell rings at around 8 pm and we both look at each other like, "huh?"

He goes to the door and it's some 13 year old kid, who (poor thing) is losing a terrible battle with acne and puberty. His poor face tells the whole story and his voice is cracking to go along with it. I have never been a guy but I can say that if I was, I would not want this sort of a puberty experience. Mortifying.

So he is trying to sell something and the conversation goes something like this between he and Tim (also note that Tim does not open the screen door the whole time):

Kid: So, I'm uh, uh, a worker of (???) organization and I'm trying to (???)....mumble, mumble, mumble.

Tim (interrupts): Do you just want money?

Kid: Uh, yeah, basically.

Tim: Well I don't have any. Sorry.

I totally dig the way Tim handled this. I get so annoyed with all of the solicitors. And you might as well ask upfront if what they really want is money and get to the bottom of it. I mean, why are people even doing door to door sales anymore? It just seems like that's probably fallen by the wayside with the internet prominence now. Not to mention, we already are involved in various charities and organizations that we do pick to donate money and time to. So why would we just be like, "oh the organization for blah, blah, blah." Oh yes. Perfect. Here's $100 in exchange for a 100 year old caramel bar.

While I love our new place, it seems as if it is a prime target for solicitors (which, by the way, is weird considering our old place was on a major road). It just irritates me. Like I said, we carefully pick what charities we choose to give money to and I'm sure once we have kids we'll give enough money to schools to last forever. Until then, I wish these people (ie: kids) would stop ringing the doorbell at 8pm. And by the way, as just a sidenote: when I was that age, I was on my way to bed at 8pm. Um, maybe I was just weird or had parents who were weird and made me go to bed but I know I was certainly not going door to door at that time of night...

I might have to practice Tim's way of handling this next time I'm by myself. I usually try to listen to the speech and then 10 minutes later, I'm just annoyed because the whole time I know they just want money, I know I'm not going to give it to them, and I know that I'm just getting my time wasted. So lesson learned... I was absolutely amazed that his encounter only lasted about 30 seconds.

Bye bye 2005 old Winston Sam, Hello 2009 new spicy Alfred Winston!

Well, a few days ago my new little mini cooper came in. I set up an appointment to go down there today to pick it up with Tim. I was super sad all weekend to have to get rid of old Winston. He's been such a good car.

Here's a picture of me giving old Winston a kiss before leaving to drive down to the dealer.

And another picture of me standing beside Winston. Isn't he so cute? I love that car!

And the inside of old Winston (relative as there is a picture later of the inside of new Winston).

And getting inside to drive Winston one last time...

Just that very morning, I hit 70,000 miles in Winston! Crazy. When we left for the dealer I was at 70,005.

Tim and I made a stop at our new obsession, Caffe Ladro. Mmm...it's so good. It's probably another post entirely but we go there as often as we can. So amazing and anyone who lives in Seattle can probably testify to that fact.

We made it down to the mini dealer! Yes! Crazy enough, all of the financing, etc. took less than an hour. I kid you not, the financing took all of 10 minutes. It was INSANE. But I loved it! It helped that we had already gotten Old Winston appraised by the dealer a few weeks prior (and they were giving me $2K more dollars than I expected for him which was awesome especially considering that he has a huge crack in the windshield that will have to be replaced and a couple of wheels that need to be replaced).

Inside of new Alfred Winston. I don't care if I'm weird if I name my cars, by the way. This picture is important because look! The cup holders actually work in the new minis. In the old mini model, there was only one functional cup holder- kind of a pain. Also, the speedometer (huge circle in the middle) is much larger and holds all of the bluetooth/ipod/music operations which the old mini didn't have. I'm still trying to figure out everything on this car. I didn't realize how much they had done to the interiors of the new models but I'm pretty excited for everything it has the capability of doing!

Aww...both little cars together with us.

And me standing between the two minis. You can tell here that the newer model is slightly larger than the older model. I don't really get who thought it made sense to make a MINI cooper bigger, but whatever. You can't really tell unless they are side by side like this.

And back at home, the new little Alfred next to the eco-Duncan prius, all safe and sound in the garage. I'm really excited for the new car. It has the panoramic sunroof all across the top which I love. It also has a sport mode (which makes it drive like the old Winston did all of the time- but now you can just elect that mode instead of having to ride rough all day). It's also a lot more zippy than the old model. I was shocked! I think the biggest change is the interior though. I couldn't believe how much mini had changed on their new models. They did a great job!

State of the art security

Tim and I were on the way to the beach today and saw a honda from 1990. We were stopped next to it at a stoplight and I started laughing because there was a sticker on the window that said, "Do not attempt to break in. Protected by state of the art Radio Shack security system."

It became even more hilarious when the car drove off and we saw that the window doesn't even seal between the car and the door and there is a couple centimeter crack between the car/window.

Awesome.

An interesting trip to the vet...

We decided we haven't seen the vet enough lately or spent enough money on the vet. We thought it might be fun to take different animals other than Bella who goes about once a month (an improvement from 3 times a week). So I scheduled the boys' (cats) annual exam/shots. We get in there and after a 30 minute conversation about Bella, we move on to the boys.

Sidenote about Miss Thang (aka Bella): her bad tummy issues are back due to the fact that the surgery screwed up the balance/bacteria in her tummy. It has not been a pleasant few days with her in that regard. And now she is back to not eating, being lethargic...again. So we got a couple more medications for her to try to straighten her out...again.

Onto the boys...

The vet told us that our little guys are overweight. I just cracked up and could not stop laughing. Tim and I were both trying to avoid eye contact because it was just too funny. We both knew it because I gave them a bath the other day and they were definitely chunky. Anyway who has seen them would never think, wow, chunkard cats! Stop reading now and go here. This is a fairly current picture of both cats. They are not large...at all.

I have thought for a while that they eat a lot and it has become quite the pain in my ass to chase them away from their food (because we've always free fed them). But we've always free fed them because at first we pretty much had to because there was other cat food around and they were sort of sick so we wanted to make sure they ate. I've never free fed my cats before (they were always on meal plans) mostly because Berkeley my first cat lives for eating and she would be 30 pounds if we had let her eat whenever and whatever she wanted.

So I've always wanted these guys on a meal plan but they just never have been. It's been a little bit of a point of contention between Tim and I but because they are such small adult cats, I figured they were ok.

That is, until I saw them when they were wet in the bath. WOW. Buddha belly kitties.

And then the trip to the vet two days later.

We were told that the cats were obese...bordering on morbidly obese. As funny as I think this is for how small they are, I can kind of see her point as I have recognized it. And I felt slightly vindicated that Tim finally understood that we should have the cats on a meal plan.

Tyson (the gray cat) has gained a pound in a year. That is a TON in kitty pounds. He now weighs 11 pounds and should weigh about 10. Calvin (the black cat) weighs 9.5 pounds and should weigh 8 pounds. So Tyson has to lose a pound and Calvin has to lose a pound in a half. That's a lot for kitties. So they are going on a little diet consisting of twice a day feedings of only 1/2 to 1/3 cup each and they are switching to light food.

So far, so good. I actually think they seem happier and more relaxed now that the food is not always around. It's like it was a competition before. They also seem to have more energy. So, all in all, it was a great change. Not sure that I've seen a change in the weight yet, but we'll get there. It still cracks me up that we have obese kitties. I don't know why.

Also an update on Bella: I scratched all of the vet's medicines after a day (great waste of money-yes!) I wanted to see if I could make her better more naturally. So I bought a huge thing of puppy milk to give her as a supplement (it is used for baby puppies who are don't get the colostrum from their mom but can still be used for older puppies to help strengthen their immune systems) and I switched her to a 0% grain food (still) but this one is an all fish protein source. My thought was that after the surgery her body was weak so it developed a sensitivity to the protein sources in the other food (chicken). Well, guess who was right? Bella is doing great and is back to perfect after a week of this. I'm so happy. And I think I was right on the money about the other food- we ran out of the fish food and I thought I'd try the chicken food. Note to self: get rid of that food. It did not go well.

All right, enough about animals.

And... pictures from the walk.

Told you I actually had them!

Here's is a picture of the big blow up Dalmatian for all of the kids to play on. Real firefighters were also there too (not Tim, these guys were in uniform with the big truck). The kids were fascinated.

The beginning of the race (the balloon arch at the right of the picture). I don't really know what I was taking a picture of. Maybe it was the inflatable wolf (from the radio station there). Who knows.

And me! In my festive walk for wishes shirt. It was so fun!

And Tim in his walk for wishes shirt. We probably should have gotten a picture together but pictures were kind of an after thought. We had such a great time (and you can tell by all of the sun that it was a perfect day for it!)

Walk for wishes

This morning the make a wish foundation of Seattle had their first 5K walk for wishes in the Seattle area and it was the perfect morning for it! I'm a volunteer (fairly new but still a volunteer, regardless) at the make a wish foundation as a wish granter. I actually really love the organization and everything it stands for and the kids just melt my heart.

Tim got off work at 8am this morning and hadn't slept at all on shift the night before so I wasn't totally sure we were going to do the walk. However, he was a trooper and we made it out for all of the festivities. It was so much fun and such a beautiful and great way to spend the morning. Ooh, and I actually have pictures, too that we took on Tim's phone. I'll have to get those from him and post them.

We met a little girl named Cassidy who told everyone about her wish to meet Rascal Flatts in person (a country band for all you folks who didn't originate in the midwest and have some stigma against country music). Anyway, she did meet Rascal Flatts in person and not only that but she got to eat dinner with them and got to sing with them in concert in front of 20,000. She was such a cute little girl and it's so touching to see these kids just light up talking about how their wishes came true. They totally deserve everything they get, more than I can even remotely express in words.

As a sidenote: We just got tickets for a group of us to go to Rascal Flatts when they come to town in October (4 days after we get back from Hawaii). I saw them in 2001 in California when they were barely known to anyone. It was in a small joint with hardly any people and I think it was maybe $10-$30 to get in. Hardly anything. I've been a fan of them ever since. It's nice to hear that as they've grown in popularity they still take time for kids like Cassidy. Makes me respect them even more, aside from just liking their music (and yes, that is the midwest girl in me).

Anyway, the walk was a huge success and I can't wait to see what this next year holds for me as part of the make a wish foundation!

Hawaii two years in a row??

Yes, please!

Today Tim and I decided that we are going to celebrate our anniversary by going back to the Hawaiian island where we got married: Maui. Tickets are booked, hotel is booked. We are ready to go.

To us this means more to have a fun, somewhat sentimental trip than gifts or just doing something small to commemorate our wedding day. That day was so special to us and our anniversary means so much to us, that this seems the only appropriate way to really honor the day (you can see my post about our wedding day here). It truly was the best day ever and I can't wait to be there again with my husband, reminiscing about us, our journey, our wedding, our future.

We are staying at the same place we did last year on Maui- the Fairmont. I can't wait! We LOVED that place. Great beach, great location, right by the beach we got married, awesome service, all organic/natural food...it's just perfect for us. Last year we had a week on Maui where we got married and then we flew to Kauai for a week for a honeymoon of sorts, I guess.

This year we will just be in Hawaii for a week and staying on Maui the whole time. We have a few things on the list to do that we did last year and loved and also a few things that we didn't get to last year that we want to do. On our anniversary, I think we will follow a similar day to what we did last year- massages, relax at the beach, dinner from the same chef who prepared our oceanside dinner last year. And of course I'm sure we will enjoy another sunset on the beach we got married on, similar to the one we saw on our wedding day.

The one thing we are doing this year that I'm super excited for is we are going to fly to the big island for a day trip. I haven't been there since my trip to Hawaii in 2004 and I loved the big island. The volcanoes, in particular, were just astounding and unlike anything I have ever seen. Of course then we were able to get about 10 feet from the flowing lava. I'm hoping that Tim and I will be able to hike in and see some lava. Regardless, it will be a fun little adventure and a new island to explore for a day.

Now the hardest part is the waiting.... only about two months until we leave.... I can't wait!

Poor, poor puppy

We picked Bella up when we got home from Kansas City from our friends Brad and Gina (who have the boxer named Dallas). Bella also got a week vacation by being able to spend the week with Dallas. She LOVED it. And we loved that she got to be in a place where she was so happy. We have such great friends!

Above is a picture about an hour after we picked her up. She did not move for the entire night. We literally had to drag her to pee and eat.

Yesterday, she had an appointment scheduled with Dr. Debbie, our vet, to get spayed. She is 8 months old on August 19th and she finally has her tummy issues resolved (which is why we haven't gotten her spayed yet). So we had to do it asap before she goes into heat (usually 8-9 months for boxers) because boxers are prone to certain cancers so getting them spayed before they go into heat can prevent certain cancers.

I was so sad to drop her off. I just felt horrible for the poor girl! But she apparently did great and everything went just fine. I picked her up today and it was hilarious because I could tell she was a little bit off but she was trying to act like she was just fine. It was cute.

Here's a picture of her right after we got home today. She's looking at me like, "What the hell just happened to me?!" Too funny.

And a picture of the war wound... it looks pretty good. Just kinda yellow-ish from the soap stuff they use to clean the area but the actually incision looks really good. I think she will heal just fine and be herself in no time!

Kansas City, baby!

We made the trip home to Kansas City from July 30-August 4th. It was a great time and I even got some of it captured in pictures! It helps now that I have a phone that I can actually use since we traded in our old phones for iphones. I did have a blackberry and I'm not sure how many people out there have used those but it's like trying to learn foreign language. I had it for 5 months or so and hated it. Anyway, that's a different post entirely. The point is that I had a phone in which I could actually take pictures on. So when I didn't have my camera, I had my phone and I snapped many more pictures than I normally would (the phone pictures are the smaller photos...camera pictures are the larger photos- and we only really got out the actual camera once, thanks to my mom!)

We had a great time seeing family, friends, etc. I was able to catch up with a friend that I was best friends with in high school and have known since 7th grade. I probably haven't seen her since our freshman year in college. It was great to spend the day with her having some girls time, getting pedicures, etc. We met up for dinner later that night with our husbands on the plaza. I'm noting this now because I did not snap any pictures that day. I also didn't snap any pictures of the day where we had about 35 good family friends over to my parents house for a lunch get together. That was a great time too. So nice to be able to catch up with people that have known me for so long.

Below are the pictures that I did capture of our trip:

Playing cards... lots and lots of cards. Love it.

And another card shot. Like my dad always says, our family plays cards and plays golf. This is a true story.

My parents just totally remodeled their deck a couple of months ago and for the get together with all of the family friends, my mom thought it would be a good idea to have an umbrella for the table so everyone would stay cool. So here is everyone putting the umbrella up.

A view of the little fountain on their deck. Their new deck is so nice. And of course, we had Seattle weather back in Kansas City when it was 100 degrees still in Seattle so we got lots of quality time just sitting outside and enjoying cooler weather.

More pictures of putting the umbrella/table together.

AND...golf! There are always many trips to the driving range with Dad to get the ole swing perfected.

And again... Trying to tweak it just a bit more. And yes, I golf just fine in jeans and flip flops, thanks. It's a driving range in Missouri. I don't have to wear "golf attire."

Tim working on cranking his ball out there. He got lots of lessons while we were there.

A picture of us in front of a bison out in Kansas. We went shopping all day and then to eat at this restaurant called Teds which is actually one of the only organic-y restaurants I've seen in the midwest (I'm sure there are more- I just am not there enough and have to go to restaurants-aka: steakhouses- to appeal to my midwest Dad's palate). They even had all natural straws. I was definitely impressed. They are known for their bison though, thus the huge bison.

My dad enjoying his cheeseburger. Beef. Not bison. Shocker, I know!

Mouth full of organic, all natural chicken sandwich... yum!

A couple of days later (on our last day there), the weather in Kansas City reverted back to Missouri summer weather as I remember it. Meaning: HOT. Also meaning: weather Seattle had experienced for the prior week. It was humid and 100 degrees. And what do we go do? In the heat of the day at 3pm we decide to go golfing. Yes! Here is Tim trying to find some shade right before we teed off.

And on the first teebox warming up...

My mom and brother hanging out waiting to tee off.

Dad and Jon in the cart probably watching one of us tee off...

Teeing off. We had the course to ourselves because it was so freaking hot. And because it was so hot, I am again not in golf attire. I decided I did not care, it was way too hot. So I rocked the flip flops and tank top again. No one said anything so I guess it was ok!

Tim taking the first sand shot he's ever hit. He actually did really well and got close to the pin! I wish I had that skill. I'm still not consistent with sand shots... best case scenario would be to avoid the traps but in golf when you try to do anything, you usually get the opposite result (meaning I always end up in the stupid traps).

And my brother, chipping it on. I'm telling you, this family loves golf.

Timmy chipping it on. He has a real talent for this silly game! It's quite impressive actually given he has never really played before joining my family. Although he said that he has always really wanted to learn. I can see why now- he's got some skill!

And my mom whacking away at the ball. It still amazes me that she can never practice and just go out and play and hit the ball as well as she does.

Since we had the course to ourselves, we got a little silly on about the 8th hole. Must have been the heat....

Hitting the ball off my dad's mouth.... He is trusting...

Putting on one of the last holes.

I love golfing with my family. It's so fun! It's just fun to be out there with them and to realize how cool it is to have such a good family (and friends) who are always there for you regardless of how far away you live. I was really sad to leave. But, we already have our plane tickets back for the holidays in December! I will be there for longer time then so I'm hoping that I can see more of my old college friends then...