September

Though my summer didn't really start until September because of my school schedule, Phil and I managed to pack a lot in and make lots of fun memories.

First came Phil's parents' visit Labor Day Weekend. First we took them to the most beautiful place on the planet (in my unbiased opinion), Paradise at Mt. Rainier. We hiked up to Glacier Vista (I think that's what it's called) just in time for the ginormous cloud that was hovering over the mountain all day to drift away. Our way back down was lit by twilight and it made for some gorgeous pictures. I love this place...








Other activities during their visit included dinner with my parents at Buca di Beppo's in Seattle (another place I love), a seafood smorgasbord at our house, and what visit to Seattle would be complete without a trip to the Space Needle? Phil took his folks there for lunch one day (I was working...sniff sniff) and they had a great time.


The middle of September was kind of a blur...I think mainly because my birthday was coming up and so we kind took it easy knowing that weekend would be busy. Phil, as usual, planned the whole weekend chuck-a-block full of surprises for me. On Friday the 25th (day before my birthday), I came to work to find my cubicle had been decorated with a banner and confetti...sneaky Phil. That night, he took me to dinner at the Barking Frog in Woodinville. Very nice dinner and ambiance, I highly recommend it. Here's a picture of me in the herb garden of a restaurant next door to Barking Frog (it was called the Herb Garden, go figure).


On Saturday morning, Phil woke up and bounced down stairs and out to the garage and came back upstairs wearing my birthday present -- a hiking pack, inside of which were hiking poles! That day, we went down to Tacoma to have lunch with my folks. We dined at BJ's and it was delish! Their pazookies are freakin' awesome! Here's a picture of me and my parents waiting for our table to be ready.


When we got back up to Everett we got ready for the Saturday night surprise...a Redneck Party! We'd had one in Phil's old apartment about a year ago and it was the most funnest (hehe) party I'd ever been to. So, we had another one! Here are just a couple pictures, I'll have to post more later. I think Joy took a bunch I haven't seen yet...



And yes, that's our first-born on my back there...her name is Peaches. And my second-born, Bubba, is the one with a plastic ash tray duct taped to his head. And don't worry, that's a fake cigarette (because not only would I never smoke, but I would never hold it that close to a pregnant lady!) and fake tattoos. The hair though, that's real. And the look on my face...that's a look I wore in every picture and pretty much the whole night. And if you ask anyone who was at the party, they will tell you that I was probably a redneck in previous life, because I pull it off WAY too well.

And Phil pulls it off purdy good too...


Obviously we had a blast with our friends and we may just have to make it be an annual tradition :)

On Sunday, we headed south again to hang out with my parents. We had lunch at Pick Quick drive-in in Fife. Such tasty burgers and scrumptious blackberry milk shakes! Then we went to a Bamboo farm in Spanaway...Phil's thinking about putting some bamboo in the backyard. Then we headed to The Old Cannery furniture store in Sumner as we're in the market for a new coffee table and end table. Found one I liked, but haven't sold Phil on it yet...hmmmm, maybe I'll just go pick it up while he's out of town this weekend ;) Then we went to Pt. Defiance to stroll through the rose garden. We were all more delighted by the dahlia garden they have though...go check it out if you live nearby. After that, we went to dinner at the Matador in downtown Tacoma. If only it wasn't a Sunday, I would have tried a few of the bazillion kinds of Tequila they offer! After dinner, we went home for cake and then Phil and I made the trek back to Everett. End of birthday, end of summer :(

So yeah, that's pretty much the latest. I'm back in school already and that's going okay so far. I've also decided to run the Seattle half-marathon at the end of November. I'm not an athlete, I'm not a runner, and I don't have a whole lot of endurance, but I figured if I could lose 25 lbs and keep it off for 2 years, I have enough discipline to train for a half-marathon. So I'm in week 5 of training and its getting so much easier. I think I might actually start to enjoy running!

That's it for now, bye ya'll!