Remembering grandma and Family time

Remembering Grandma
Two weeks ago my uncle called to say he was planning a trip up the following week to spend time with family and to see grandma.  So we talked about getting together while he was here, etc.
Well, grandma passed away two days later surrounded by all of us who live here.  Other family from out of state called to say good-bye.  It was heartbreaking since losing grandpa 7 months earlier and she'd been doing pretty well until that day.  She was laughing and joking around just the day before and then she was ready to go.  I got a text from my mom and aunt that Thursday afternoon telling me it was time to say good-bye. Don was working from home that day so we got in the car and headed down. We stayed as long as we could and I got hug and kiss her and tell her how much we loved her. It really means a lot to me that I got to be with my grandparents before they passed away.  I got the call 15 minutes after we left that she passed.  I'm glad Don was driving us home. My grandma was the rock in the family, She always gave great hugs, advice when you asked for it, and her laughter was infectious.  She loved playing games, usually won, and she loved us all so much.  She also loved traveling with my grandpa all over the US, Mexico and Canada.  Later on they took a bunch of long cruises and went to China, Hong Kong, Panama, Antarctic and Australia to name a few and always shared their trips with us through stories and pictures.  Grandma's memorial was this past Thursday and everyone had such great memories to share and my aunt even had a recording of my grandma from the week before that she played and it made us all laugh when we heard grandma say "Where the hell are we going?" The service was beautiful and a great way to remember the amazing lady that she was.
October 31, 1931 - March 24, 2016

 I love this picture of grandma and I 

She loved to laugh

grandma in 1947 - she was 16

 With my grandma - I was a year old 

 Always loved the double exposed picture my Aunt took of my grandparents

 Grandma as a child 

Family Time

So my uncle flew up here for the week and I met him at Snoqualmie Falls on Wednesday.  We talked, walked around and took pictures before heading back to my house where Don had gotten off work early and was waiting for us.  We showed him all the changes we've made to our place and then went to dinner.  We talked and played games and had a great time.  He had to get up early to go pick up my aunt so we met up again at the memorial.  He was heading out to my cousins place for the weekend and we went out for the night on Saturday.  So much fun.  We hadn't been to my cousins new place since he moved last year so it was great on all fronts.  We got to spend time with family and see the island they call home.  They picked us up at the ferry terminal on his sailboat and we cruised back to the island.  The dogs loved it and it was a gorgeous day to be on the water. We met some of his neighbors at the BBQ that evening and they had 4 of the sweetest girls who hang out with my cousins daughter. We talked about adoption and it was great having someone who understands the process. They adopted their girls and they are so loved. One day it'll be our turn.  We hadn't planned on staying the night but we were invited to and we did.  I'm glad we did we had a great night hanging out with family having a few drinks, lots of food and lots of stories.  I liked what my cousin said when I said I didn't have stuff for us but at least the dogs had everything they needed and he said "That's why you're going to be awesome parents because they come before you." In the morning we were driven to the ferry terminal and said good-bye.  It was the first time the dogs had been on a ferry but they loved it.  Don will be seeing my uncle again next weekend since he'll be in CA for the weekend to see his parents. He offered to give Don a tour of CBS where he works so that should be a fun day for them.

  All Aboard Selfie

    Happy Happy

My aunt took this picture of us last week

The dogs meet my cousins puppy who wore them out 

Chocolate Indulgence for the weekend

It’s the weekend and it should be a great one around here. This isn't really adoption related this week, except to say we hope to enjoy these types of weekends with our own child soon.

Our new flooring for downstairs and the stairs has arrived at the store this week and we’ll be going to pick it up tonight.  I’m so happy to finally rid myself of the carpeting soon.  It is going to be so much easier to clean, bye-bye daily vacuuming and weekly carpet cleaning and hello sweeper and mop. I’m looking forward to it being done but am not excited to move everything from room to room as we lay it. There is always a downside to DIY home improvement.  We won’t be able to begin working on it right away since the flooring must acclimate at least three days. The soonest we can start is next week and I’m not sure he’ll want to be laying flooring after work but we’ll see.

As for the rest of the weekend we’ll be going up to a friend’s place for the night. Our other friends we’re also going to come over but they've gotten sick so they had to cancel.  We usually bring food to share while we play games and I’m thinking I might make a Flourless Chocolate Cake this time.  It’s one of my favorite chocolate recipes and so simple with 4 ingredients.  It’s extremely rich so this small “cake” goes a long way. It’s from my Test Kitchen cookbook. If you're in the mood for chocolate give this a try.

 I use this instead of double brewed coffee for the recipe.  It's a nice compliment to the chocolate.

Have a great weekend everyone!

A day with Friends who are like our extended Family

Today is another game day with friends.  When I say game people may think watching baseball or football but I mean actual board games.  We play with the family and a few other friends who drive up. This week I won't be playing but instead hanging out with my friend's wife and daughter(s).  They are playing a war game this week and I have no interest in war games (think super Risk).

I prefer games like Apple to Apples, Scrabble, or Talisman style games.  Our friend's daughters were both home and her two grand daughter's were there with us while dad played the game with the others (he's in the blue cap in the above picture).  We played a few board games, and played with the little girls and they loved playing catch the butterfly, run through the sprinkler and dress up. The dog even showed off her Batgirl costume for Halloween.

Playing with the butterfly net

playing dress up

I am Batgirl!

I ended the night at home with my baby in my lap eating his Antler while his brother, Parker, pouted because he wanted the one Tucker had instead of his own, which he was happily chewing on until Tucker started in on his.  

Things we enjoy

Some facts:

We both love to travel and have gone so many fun places. We routinely travel to California as we both have family and friends there so drive down at least once a year. Looking at our pictures on Facebook, iHeart, or Adoptimist you'll see a lot of travel pictures from The Grand Canyon, St Croix, New York, Atlanta, Hawaii, Paris, London, Ghana and Texas.  We can't wait to share trips with our little one so they can see the differences and beauty around the US and the world.

Don in his classroom in Ghana

the Grand Canyon

We both enjoy reading and Don loves History, Biography, Science Fiction, and Fantasy.  I like Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction and Anne Rice. I'm currently reading a book I picked up from the author at Dragon Con. It's a mystery set in a historical setting with a fantasy element to it.  I just started it but so far it's pretty good at getting you straight into the story.

We love going to the Theater and when we're in New York we try to make at least one show while we're there.  I love seeing Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Chicago, Avenue Q, Wicked and so many others.  Funny thing is I've seen Wicked in Chicago, Alabama and New York but every time it comes to Seattle we miss it.

When it comes to movies and music we're eclectic.  From Nine Inch Nails to Dream Theater to BB King and Johnny Cash we listen to most everything. Movies are just as varied.  I'd say we watch a lot of comedies, Sci-fi/fantasy, musicals, life stories and animation.  We also like Golden age of Hollywood movies but will watch any movie at least once.

Some favorites movies and TV Shows:

Don:

• Never cry Wolf
• Gladiator
• The Big Lebowski
• Star Trek the search for Spock
• Last Samurai
• King Kong (1933)
• I'm Not There
• Blade Runner
• Grand Canyon
• Life of Pi
• Glengarry GlenRoss
• Up in the Air
• Sideways
• The Right Stuff
• Across The Universe
• Arrested Development
• Star Trek the original series
• Wall-E
• Firefly
• Babylon 5
• Doctor Who
• MASH
• Deadwood
• Mad Men

Nicole:

• Nightmare Before Christmas
• Alice in Wonderland (either Tim Burton or Disney version)
• Phantom of the Opera
• Rock of Ages
• Pitch Perfect
• Dark Shadows
• For Love of the Game
• Across The Universe
• A League of Their Own
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Steel Magnolias
• Wreck it Ralph
• Despicable Me 2
• Toy Story
• White Christmas
• Elf
• The Breakfast Club
• Castle
• Poirot
• Firefly
• Star Trek
• Babylon 5
• Sherlock
• Looney Tunes
• Scooby Doo
• Doctor Who
• Torchwood
• Downton Abbey
• MASH
• Friends
• Dancing with the Stars

Seahawks vs Packers

So yesterday was the official start to the NFL season and we got to go.  Don's work has season tickets that get handed out to the employees and we were lucky to get opening day.  I love going to the games live rather than watch at home.  The reason I don't like football on TV is all the commercials, at least at the game during breaks it gives an opportunity to walk around and talk with others who also came that I may not see very often.  It's always great to see the kids getting so excited as they watch and learn the game. We can't wait for our little one to be able to share in our fun at the games.
We also enjoy going to baseball games and  always look to see if the local team is playing whenever we travel during baseball season.  One day we will have visited every baseball park.  We hope to also share our love of baseball with our child.  It's funny before Don and I dated I didn't like baseball.  His love and enthusiasm was infectious and as I learned the nuances I thoroughly enjoy the game now.  Some of my favorite movies are baseball or football related too but that's another post.
Have a great weekend

August 6th

8/6/14
So, Don is in workshops this week and out at dinner; so I was running through the beta and dang it all just shy of level 100 they brought the servers down and are doing another character wipe.  So, I'm upstairs watching Doctor Who a Christmas Carol. I Love Kathryn Jenkins voice.  I was first introduced to her on Dancing with the Stars and WOW She is amazing! When we make it back to London I really need to find her in concert.
I can't wait to see the new Doctor later this month.  We finally got the full reboot series on DVD and watched all 7 seasons plus the specials.
Oh and Dragon Con is coming up in a couple weeks and I'm so excited! I'm not dressing up but I love the cosplayers, the games, panels, and Patrick Stewart is going to be there this year. My Captain and my Scrooge!  We're also going to FINALLY meet Lara and Shannon.  Lara and I have been texting and more for 2 years and before that hanging out in WoW. We are not only meeting but sharing a room.  She also has some awesome Cosplay for the event. I can't wait to see them in person.