July Fun and Trip to Washington (State)

Many things happened in July... family parties, movie marathons - Star Wars (all 6 movies) and Lord of the Rings, hikes, playing with friends, plant watering, birthdays... pretty much you name it, I did it. Haha.

One of my friends (and former roommates), Allison, came to Utah for a baby shower that her in-laws were giving her. We were able to get together and go to a movie. I'm drawing a blank on what we saw now... :(

Here's a picture of the old roommates, Kirsten (our adopted roommate), Erin, myself, and Allison. We missed our other roommate, Kali. She wasn't able to come up. It was so fun being with these girls again... I think the last time we were all together was for Allison's wedding in '07!

Near the end of July, I was able to go camping with Becky and her family (yearly tradition). We went to our 'normal' spot and had a grand time!! I really like camping and being out in the wilderness. It brings such peace to my soul.

So many pretty sunsets thru the trees!

I love the mountains...

State Flower

Northern end of Utah Lake and surrounding area

As fun as July and June were, I was very excited for August to get here. On Aug 4th, I jumped on a plane and flew out to Washington State to visit my friend Laura and her family. It was the first time I'd been on a plane since '96... I was nervous for the whole airport experience, but I was pretty ok with the flight itself. I made it thru both airports (take off and landing) without a hitch and I'll probably be pretty good now to fly again.

My view from the plane window

Such pretty sky colors

There were many different colors and sceneries I saw while on the flight. It wasn't until there were clouds in the sky below the plane that the captain came on the speaker and said that we were flying past Mount Rainier. I looked out the window and here's what I saw of it...

Close to landing in Seattle

One of my first items of business at Laura's house: Make the Prince pull a rabbit out of Jessie's hat. Yep, I'm pretty magical. What can I say?

Laura and I bought some engraving art stuff to do. I got this suncatcher to work on.

Here's the finished product, even stuck on the window. Unfortunately, it was the one thing I left when I came home... I guess I need to leave my mark on their lives somehow, right? :)

A view of the street they live on,

and the back alley. Sadly, this is the only picture I got with Laura's husband, James, in it (or part of him is in it, anyway.)

Trip to the Seattle Temple.

So pretty!

Kira and I were looking at the strawberries that were growing (can you see the one in the picture?), and I put the camera on the floor, pointed it at us, and this is the outcome! Pretty good shot, if I do say so myself.

For real!

We went to the Edgemont Park and played for a little while one afternoon.
Malcolm with his cool glasses coming out of the slide.

Kira looking very stylish

"I'm coming to get you!"

Kira's turn on the slide

We got in some good frisbee practice...

I just can't help myself.

Laura and I were blessed to be able to go to a Mariners' baseball game. A lady in her ward called and asked if she could use a couple tickets to the game... we jumped at the chance to go!

I'm not sure why this picture came out on the wrong side... but there you have it. Our dinner at the ball field. Yummy hot dogs and garlic fries. The garlic was not in powder form - they dumped diced garlic on the fries! We had some naaasty breath that night! But they were yummy :)

Oh no!

Open wide!

Final score: Mariners 2 Athletics 0.

Take a look at that scoreboard... notice when the first run was made?
Pretty boring up until then.

Trying to stay occupied while nobody scored.

So glad we were able to go!

Laura's kids know the areas of the freeway by what's located on them.
"Mom! Are we passing the Tacoma Dome?"

We took a trip to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. They don't have nearly as many animals as the Hogle Zoo, but they have the water animals that we don't have here. It was fun to walk around and see all the animals.

These meerkats ran back and forth in the window, following the people.

Chillin' on the 'gator

on the playground

Again with the picture the wrong way... sorry.
We fed some goats. It was pretty cool.

Napoleon Fish - he was big!

Not sure what these are... maybe a yellowfin tuna?

Shark!

My favorite animal!

Here's Daddy tiger

Here's Momma tiger and their two cubs. So cute!

Otters. These guys just wouldn't hold still.

Monkey, my other favorite animal :)

We went into an area where you can buy a stick that has bird food on it, and if you're patient enough, the birds will land on your stick and eat the food. Budgie Birds is what they're called. These two landed on Laura's stick and fought over the food. It was comical.

A few moments after I put Malcolm on my shoulders, a bird landed on his stick. I had to watch out to not get birds stuck in my hair as they flew past. Hahaha.

This walrus was GINORMOUS!!!
You almost can't tell just how big it is here, but I've never quite seen anything so big up close before!

Size comparison...

We made a trip down to Portland, picked up Laura's grandma and were able to go to the Portland Temple. So pretty!

Love the door design!

Laura and her cute Grammy Myrtle

Silliness abounds, no matter the age!

Mount Rainier

I liked the moss stuff growing on the sides of the walls along the roads.

Pretty sunsets... including the bugs on the windshield ;)

Candid shot of the kids playing

Can't say you didn't know what the speed limit was...

Two ball fields, Safeco Field where the Mariners play (baseball) and Qwest Field where the Seahawks play (football).

Laura and I were able to go downtown Seattle and go on an underground tour of the city - before the fire in 1889.
Here's a skylight that was built to let light in. Nobody on the sidewalk knew we were down there...

Here's the top side of that skylight. It looks like decorative sidewalk squares.

A bricked in window

Some of the original art painting is still on the walls

Dark narrow passageways

Trolley stop covering

Some of the original stone work

The totem pole that was 'stolen' from the Natives in Alaska

Seattle Arts Center

fresh fish, anyone?

We ate lunch and here was our view from the window...

Welcome to Pike's ;)

We ate lunch in that brown overhang. Yummy food. I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant.

Interesting buildings... see the slanted one?

We got home and picked up the kids. They are too cute!
Can you tell they're twins??

Me, Jackie Healey (Alpine Native), and Laura.
Jackie and I went to school together, now she lives around the corner from Laura. Small world!

View from the window on the way home... I sat in the isle seat, so the picture is not as clear; if you look hard enough, you can make out Lagoon.

Here's the Bountiful Temple.

I had such a wonderful time on my trip. I did not want to come home :) I am planning on going back - to visit or to stay is undetermined. But I'm glad to be back at work, getting my tan and seeing all my little friends here.