make new friends but keep the old

on our whirlwind trip, we finally got to catch up with some old friends and their new additions (of the feline and human species). little libby has started taking her first steps this week!

halloween in seattle

we drove up to seattle with nicole and jen to celebrate halloween with nthn and jkj. we had a great time hanging out at their lower queen anne apartment, then walking to belltown to gawk at other nutty halloweeners.

jack-o-lanterns!

we went to kathy and aura's for pumpkin carving. this was dave's first jack-o-lantern from start to finish (he said as a kid he got bored after cleaning the pumpkin out and never carved the face) - his is the littlest one with the round eyes and mouth. mine is the skully-looking one.

great wolf lodge!

for shorty's birthday, eight of us took a trip up to great wolf lodge to participate in some serious indoor waterslide fun. i borrowed a friend's underwater camera and we captured some great shots. i have a pretty strict rule about only posting photos i've taken here and, although there were some amazing other photos, i'm just showing the ones i can take some credit for...

p.s. my camera should be out of the shop soon. i hope that means a more consistent return to the blogosphere! in the meantime, i've been crafting up a storm, but can't tell what i've been making yet since there are many birthday surprises that would be spoiled if i did!

dave's birthday ride

for his birthday, dave wanted to ride his bike to the coast...and for me to meet him out there and drive him home :). he rode 94 miles through yamhill and along the little nestucca river to cape kiwanda, where i met him at the pelican pub and brewery for a much deserved beer. jen and nicole met us there for some dinner, then we spent the beautiful night camping at cape lookout state park.

happy birthday, dave! i'm so proud of you!

washington county fair fun

what a night! motocross jumping, demolition derby, people watching and judas priest cover band. oh, and a beautiful sunset to boot! some of us were a little stressed out by the motocross stunts, but cotton candy, root beer floats and elephant ears apparently heal most (if not all) wounds.

the hills visit oregon - days three and four

i didn't take many photos on days three and four, so i'll just post a brief text catch-up. we spent monday morning at rockaway beach, trying to soak up the rays but unable to really see the ocean due to some dense fog on the beach. then we toured the tillamook cheese factory (including ice cream and cheese curds, of course). we drove back to a very very hot portland (the high monday was 108F/42C) and had dinner at pause kitchen and bar in our neighborhood. i had to work tuesday, but the hills spent the day at omsi, and reportedly had a great time. tuesday evening, my sister and i went to dinner at navarre with some of my buddies for a girls' night out. dave and matt took the boys out to papa's pizza in beaverton.

july in seattle (part 2)

just a few more random portraits from my trip. in addition to the show, i dropped by the housewarming party of a dear friend from high school, said happy bday to jen j, and breakfasted with julie for the last time on this continent for a while (she's moving to new zealand this week).

july in seattle with start/play... i mean... play/start!

i drove half the band to seattle and went to their awesome show at the wild rose on saturday, where they were unknowingly incognito.