.the old neighborhood.

While we were in Tacoma, we decided to take a little drive around Lakewood and South Tacoma to see our old house and other landmarks from our Tacoma life.

We drove by my Dad’s shop, Edgewood Auto Electric, but failed to get a picture.

We went by Lakewood Auto Body and Mountain View Cemetary, where my Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Dick, and brother Bobby are buried, on our way to our old neighborhood.

This is the house my family lived in until we moved to Connell…both Melissa and I were brought home from the hospital to this house.

 

I remember sitting on the steps that led from the main floor to the garage while my Mom literally TORE curlers out of my hair…and watching my brother play Atari in his room…and watching myself cry in the mirrored closet doors in my room…and being sad that I had to go to bed while the adults got to stay up late and hang out in the hot tub…and walking around the house with the policemen after our home was broken in to…and watching polywogs turn into frogs in the mason jar on our kitchen window sill…and watching “The Wizard of Oz” on TV while my Dad recorded it on to a VHS with a “remote control” that had a cord attached to the VCR.  We moved when I was 4 1/2, so those are pretty much all the memories I have of living in that house. I remember the entire layout of it and those handful of memories.

 

It had a pond in the backyard…pretty cool, huh?!

 

A few blocks away was the house my Grandma Jean and Grandpa Ernie lived in. It looks pretty much the same as I remember!

 

After my Grandpa died in 1987, my Grandma moved from this house to a smaller town home.

They had a large garden in the back…I remember picking carrots out of the soil and washing it off with the garden hose and eating it right in the back yard. I loved picking strawberries and eating them with whipped cream, which my Grandma always had in the fridge! Lots of fun memories in this house too!

 

It was fun to walk down memory lane for an afternoon and reminisce on our Tacoma-life.

.friends.

We had friends come to stay with us last night…such a fun treat!

They used to live in Connell and Norma Jeanne is one of Grandma’s dearest friends!

Here' they are on the farm with Mark!

 

Connie, Norma Jeanne, Marcial, and Connie :)

 

I was so glad to see this picture in the mix – this is my Grandma and Grandpa’s house on the farm and I have never seen a picture like this of their home. My Grandma has lived there since 1949 and is just now beginning the process of moving to a house in town. Can you imagine?

Such fun to have friends visit!

.shopping and dinner.

On Friday while we were in Tacoma, Mom, Melissa, & I went to check out the site Melissa wanted for their reception. She put a deposit down while we were there, finalizing the date for their wedding: April 12th!

After that, we went straight to Nordstrom for the pre-Anniversary sale. We had lunch in the Nordstrom Cafe (love!) and then shopped til we dropped. I found a new shirt and we all got shoes. Lucky day for us!

We met back up with Dad and then met Tara, Janelle, Tyler, and Alex for dinner. We don’t get to see them much, so it was nice to catch up. I love hearing about Janelle’s classes and how things run at her school. She is going to be a senior this year, which I cannot even believe!

Great day! 

.go mariners!.

Melissa and Ryan gave Dad Mariner’s tickets for his birthday! It had been a few years since I’d been to Safeco Field, so it was fun to see a game. Baseball isn’t my most favorite thing, but I’m a fan of people watching, so…

I ended up standing up at the top of our section and taking a lot of pictures…and people watched. :)

Melissa and I were soooo excited for Shishkaberries!

 

I loved getting to play with my camera and lens…I don’t get many opportunities to play!

        

King Felix’s section (the pitcher)

      

Ichiro!

     

They got great seats! We went with Ryan’s parents, Michelle & Steve.

 

Shishkaberries!

more Ichiro…it ended up being one of his last games as a Mariner!

 

      

They won! It was by a lot –- but I don’t remember the score! Obviously I was too busy people watching!

The Mariner Moose!

 

      

   

Fun evening and a fun way to celebrate Dad’s birthday!

.happy 70th birthday Dad!.

My Dad turned 70 yesterday! It seems impossible!
We went to Tacoma to spend the weekend with Melissa & Ryan. We surprised Dad by going to a favorite restaurant on the Tacoma waterfront: Harbor Lights.

    

I was excited to go to Harbor Lights too, since I’d never been, but had heard my parents talk about it for my whole life! About 15+ years ago, my Mom, Dad, Grandma, & I were going to Tacoma for something and had reservations at Harbor Lights. Melissa had stayed home to go to a birthday party and stay with friends. When we were between Othello & Royal, we got a call that Melissa broke her collarbone while playing softball at the birthday party. We had to turn around and never made it to Harbor Lights.

We met Melissa and Ryan there and had a great seafood dinner!

The Tacoma waterfront was so pretty (who would’ve ever thought I’d say Tacoma was pretty??!), so we tried to take some pictures.

        

Happy Birthday Dad – 70 looks pretty good on you!

.july.

Well, Mom & I have been at Priest Lake for about three weeks now, on and off. We’re home for a few days and then back again next week for the last three weeks of my vacation (tear!). We’ve enjoyed visits from friends and family over the past few weeks and look forward to even more in the coming weeks. (How many times can I say “week” in one blog post?!)

I’ll have a great big update for you soon – quilts too!

.4th of July.

During the week of 4th of July, Grandma, Dad, Karlye, & Amber came to spend the week at the Lake. We did a lot of sitting on the deck and playing cards and reading magazines. :) The water was too cold to play in, but the sun was warm.

We went to Cavanaugh one night for dinner. I never get tired of this view.

 

  

 

A little 4th of July photo shoot…

 

The sunset one morning….so beautiful!

  

We went to Strohmaier’s one evening for dinner along with some other friends from Outlet. Shane smoked brisket on the smoker he made. It was delicious! Fun to spend time at the Lake with him and Kellie too!

This is trouble: Kent & Dad!

 

Kamryn’s Grandma Karen had this picture on her Facebook – she is TOO cute to resist!