A broken arm...

My mom fell on Thanksgiving day and broke her arm.  A spiral fracture of her humourus to be exact.  She spent a few days at the hospital thanks to it being a holiday weekend and no one was working at the insurance place or doctor wise.  She has since been in a rehabilitation facility where she is doing physical therapy and occupational therapy so she can be strong enough to go home and go about her day to day activities.  Two weeks later she now has a new cast, is still at the rehab place and will hopefully be coming home next Friday if all goes well. 
It's just weird not having her around for the holidays.  I've gone over and helped Dad decorate the deck and various other things.  I have no clue how mom manages to do all that decorating. When I do it, it just feels cluttered, she makes it look like it is meant to be there. 

Another thing this has made me realize is that prior to her fall, I really wasn't going to visit her half as often as I should.  She isn't THAT far away.  How is it that life feels so busy that I can't drive over and visit?  I mean really, we all know I spend WAY to much time playing on the computer anyways, some of that time could actually be used visiting my mom. 

Yikes!

Wow, Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, and my house isn't anywhere close to ready for that.  I had better get off the computer a bit more and get to working on that!   I have a couple blogs started for last month about our hike and trip to the zoo. I just haven't gotten around to finishing them... I'll work on it as I can between cleaning and keeping up on the way to many apps I play on facebook.  Nothing new to report really... I just figured it had been awhile since I blogged.

To the Zoo we go... Finally!

Another post I started long ago and am now just getting around do finishing.  Once again this will be mostly pictures... I really do love the zoo.  We hadn't been there in forever so it was about time we went again.  I was quite sad that I didn't grab my back up battery for my camera, not that I didn't get enough pictures but the battery did end up dieing before I was really done taking pictures and the hippos were being quite active.

It was a beautiful fall day and the autumn colors have been absolutely stunning this year!

I have always loved the birds, one of our favorite places at the zoo is the aviary in the Tropical house where the birds are free flying around you. This was our first time to the zoo since they opened the new penguin exhibit, it looks like a much better home for the penguins.

The River Otters were running around outside of the water so I got a few pictures of them that I quite enjoyed... they are one of my favorite animals at the zoo.  Right up there with red pandas and the baby pudu.

Lions and Dragons and Bears... Oh my! and a Lemur? Yikes!

Well, that was our trip to the Woodland Park Zoo!

Kendall Katwalk. It's a hike... but well worth it!

Once upon a time I was going to write a nice little write up about the hike... but it's been too long and I'm thinking now I'll just post pictures and be done with it.  But I will do a tiny little bloop.

The hike was beautiful, lots of switchbacks going up.  Our weather was perfect, just a little cold, but otherwise amazing weather for October.  The family met in Northbend and then drove up to the parking place.  It was Richard, myself, Dad, Dani, Chad, Jeff, Pamela, Josh, Tony and Dallas... oh and Rosco too!  Rosco enjoyed the hike so much, and he looked so cute in his little dog pack, we made him carry his nail clippers (just in case), treats and a water dish.  After all the switchbacks we got onto a trail that was a little flatter and easier to do.  There are views of various mountains around the area from most of the hike, it's nice to know I would have had beautiful views even if I wasn't able to make it to the Katwalk.  After the 5 and a half miles up we eventually got to the Katwalk where I immediately said This was so worth it... apparently Dallas said This was so not worth it upon getting up there. Though I'm sure she was excited to have cell phone coverage at the top.  Kids and their texting.  Ugh!  The veiw from the Katwalk is breathtaking and I would certainly recommend this hike to anyone.  I managed to roll my ankle not to long after starting down, but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't walk or anything, just a nusance.  We got back down to the cars as it was starting to get dark, drove down the mountain, stopped for some burgers in Snoqualmie and then headed home to get some much deserved sleep!

Some pictures of the views (and the Katwalk)...

Some pictures of the mushrooms...

Some pictures of the Rosco...

Some pictures of the people that went with us...

*Sigh* No more Massage Envy for me...

After quite a few years of enjoying massages at Massage Envy and going through quite a few massage therapists, my time there is done. I don't even want to think how much I've spent over the last few years there and budget wise it really made sense to stop going. As much as I loved my last massage therapist Twila (she's the best) and I really would love to keep going to see her I had to cancel my membership.

I had read quite a few negative reviews in regards to canceling memberships so I was a bit apprehensive upon canceling that it would be bad. It sounded like they have a tendency to keep charging your card after you canceled and made it super hard to use your last prepaid. I didn't end up having any issues using my prepaid and thankfully they quit charging me when they were supposed too. However, it turns out that you don't get member benefits starting a month after the day you cancel; not a month after you last pay them. The two in my case were almost an entire month difference as I canceled a few days after I paid them and they charge you one more time after you cancel. When I scheduled my last appointment knowing I only had one prepaid I scheduled my regular two hour appointment anyways figuring that the extra hour would be at member price, I asked if it was okay to do that and the person I scheduled with said it was fine and didn't bother to tell me that it would cost more. So on my last visit after a very relaxing massage I went to pay the extra hour price, which for members was only about $39 dollars, not bad. The person at the reception tells me it'll be the non-member price $79, I so wouldn't have scheduled the appointment for the extra hour had I known that and I let her know. She didn't seem to want to help me and kept telling me that the person who made the appointment should have told me, which I kept telling her they hadn't. To make a long story short, after paying them their membership fee every month for about 4 years with no problems, they didn't care enough to give me the member price for one more visit, if they had I just might have considered going back someday. I did enjoy my membership and I enjoyed going there, but after my last visit I have no intention of ever going back even if it does fit in the budget again someday.

Sorry, just had to vent about that one.

Chehalis "camping" with the Hoppers.

Every summer for the last few years we have spent most of a week near Tillamook on the Oregon Coast camping with the Hoppers. This year with the addition of a little Hopper named Dereck we decided against putting up tents in July and waiting until September when he would be slightly older to take a trip. We also traded in our usual tents and rented a Garden Trailer at the Thousand Trails in Chehalis (garden trailers are more or less a single wide home in a woodsy setting). We arrived slightly early for trailer check in time and brought Rosco to the dog park, he enjoyed stretching his legs while I sat and a book. Eventually the Hoppers arrived: Asia and Rosco ran around, Richard and Adam partook in a professional came of catch and Valerie and I sat visiting. The weather was beautiful, what a perfect early autumn day!

On day two we decided to do some fishing at the Paradise preserve; or at least we attempted to fish. Adam and I got our fishing permits and sat with our fishing poles all day, but no fish were to be caught. We did get to watch the little kids catch some fish. *sigh* A stocked pond and we couldn't catch a fish, we didn't even get junk fish to throw back in. Valerie and Dereck did a little fishing for Adam while he packed up the shade tent, aren't they cute?

Day three brought slightly less wonderful weather but it was still clear for the most part. We decided to go take the steam train in Chehalis, I quite enjoyed myself feeling the sway of the train and listening to the steam whistle. The Hoppers were in the car attempting to calm Dereck down. Note to self: steam whistles and babies don't mix. After the train turned around, Dereck calmed down a bit and they came out and visited. I imagine that Dereck will love the train ride in a few years. On the way back we noticed that there was a guy standing out on the front of the train with a machete cutting down the tree branches, talk about a crazy job. That night we played some Phase 10, made smores in the oven and read some in our books.

The last day of the trip while heading back from the shower I encountered some deer maybe ten feet away from me. Anyone who has heard about my elk experience about four years ago knows I have a bit of an issue with hoofed creatures. Initially I jumped and then I reminded myself that they were not out to get me. I returned to the trailer, grabbed my camera and we back out to follow them around and try to get a decent picture. That's right, I actually attempted to get closer to them not run away. I'm pretty proud of myself on that one. I'm working on my phobias, trying to rationalize things in my brain, there is no reason I should have irrational fears for the rest of my life.

All in all it was a very relaxing, laid back kind of trip. Having the garden home was great for cooking and relaxing and not worrying too much about the elements. Though next year I'm hoping to see the ocean, we didn't make it out there at all this summer and I really did miss the peace that only the ocean waves can bring.

The All-American Pastime...

Last night Richard and I went to a Mariners game. It was fun to go and have the experience, but it really reminded me just how boring baseball is. Once upon a time I enjoyed it but baseball really is no longer my sport. I'm trying to look back at what it was that I enjoyed about going and watching baseball. How was it that I enjoyed seeing someone throw the ball and every few minutes watching someone swing at it, and if lucky seeing someone actually hit the ball. I think the reason baseball lost it's enjoyment is because I met hockey. How could you possibly enjoy watching paint dry after experiencing nonstop action?

So we went to the game, ate food, enjoyed sitting in some good seats (with super convenient parking), I do believed I watched people more then the game. At one point I became completely bored with the game and decided to take pictures of the pitcher to see how contorted I could catch them. I had fun, but I would go watch a Silvertips game over the Mariners any day.

Our Hot Air Balloon Ride...

Thankfully we didn't have to wait long for our hot air balloon ride, they were able to move us to the next day!

After arriving at the office we signed a lovely little waiver saying we understand things could go wrong, blah blah blah. The company Richard chose has never had an accident, but I suppose they make us fill out the forms just in case. We then waited around until everyone got there and they had everything ready to go. They sent up a few pilot balloons to verify what the wind was up to and then we headed off in the van to go to a launch site.

Upon getting to the launch site that they were planning on using there was a little more wind then they wanted so we ended up getting back in the van and driving a couple fields away. After deciding that the launch site would work they rolled out the balloon and Richard and one of the other people going in our basket held onto the edges so that the fan could blow air in to get the balloon started. The chaser held a rope that goes from the top of the balloon and the captain ran around unrolling the balloon, he even ran under it at one point which looked rather amusing. Once the balloon was mostly filled the captain started blasting hot air in to get it to lift off the ground. When the balloon was floating we all climbed in, took a quick picture and then they untied us and off we went!

The view from the balloon is amazing! There are some very expensive looking houses in the Snohomish area with horse jumps and such, they were really neat looking from above. Funny enough we could hear what people are saying from the balloon even though we were about 2500 feet up at our highest. Someone offered us a beer, our captain yelled back that he would have to come back later, which then prompted a very surprised "They can hear us". We went over some flower fields, saw Bob's corn maze from above and got to watch the sunset from the air. I took pictures the whole way. I can only imagine how awesome it would be on a less hazy day. The haze really did cut down how far we could see, I know there are mountains out there but we could barely make out the outline of them. I hope to go on another hot air balloon ride on a clean air day as well! Haze or no haze, it was absolutely amazing!

When it came time to land the winds weren't quite cooperating with us so instead of landing at the air field we ended up a little east of there. We were heading towards a field and the wind quit going all together so we just floated over a corn field for awhile, it was rather peaceful. We then went up again and came back down towards a motocross course. The captain found that the wind was going such that we could go back towards where he had wanted to land so we went back up again. We had a nice soft landing and then we just had to wait in the balloon until the chaser arrived. After the chaser arrived the captain pulled the valve out of the top of the balloon and it slowly floated down. We all climbed out and they proceeded to work on rolling up the balloon and shoved it back in a giant bag. By the time we left it was getting dark and the moon was rising.

After the balloon ride we headed back to the place we started and had the traditional champagne toast that follows all balloon rides. The toast was followed by a spaghetti and meatball dinner with salad, watermelon and garlic bread. It was quite tasty. We sat around in the gazebo eating and chatting with the people who went up in the two balloons. One of the couples in our basket were from Indiana, they told us about this neat sounding City Museum in St. Louis, I want to go there sometime for our annual anniversary vacation. They then brought out a little cake for me with a hot air balloon on it, this completely caught me off guard, what a lovely surprise at the end of a lovely evening!

High Winds...

For my birthday Richard told me to get home by 5pm from work so I knew he had something planned for me, I just didn't know what exactly. I got off work about an hour early and got home right around 5pm. When Richard got here he gave me a card for my birthday with a flier for a Hot Air Balloon ride, what an amazing surprise! He then had to tell me the bad news, my birthday balloon ride had been canceled due to high winds. Bummer! Richard looked so incredibly sad that we weren't able to go that I had a hard time feeling disappointed we weren't going, I just wanted to make him feel better about it.

Since weren't going on the planned surprise we improvised and had a fun evening as well. We decided dinner and a movie would be a good idea. So I got online to see what was playing nearby. Turns out nothing too exciting is playing in the theaters right now other then the newest Harry Potter and I still needed to watch the fifth movie before seeing it (I have been trying to reread the books before watching the movies). Then I saw that the new Ice Age and Harry Potter were playing as a double feature at the drive in, I haven't been to the drive in in years and it turns out Richard had never gone and seen a movie at the drive in. It seemed like a much better deal to go watch the movies at the drive in, much more worth the money to me. Which brings us back to the problem of me being behind on the Harry Potter movies. So, I decided Richard would run and get food while I watched the fifth movie so I could be done watching it in time to get to the drive in.

For dinner I decided on Famous Dave's BBQ, it's located in Everett and quite tasty. I got the brisket again, I quite enjoyed it, it's nice and moist and makes a good left over sandwich the next day. Though next time we go there I am going to have to get the ribs! Here is the link to there website: http://www.famousdaves.com/

After eatting dinner and finishing up watching the fifth Harry Potter we headed out to Puget Park Drive In. I hadn't been to a drive in for years, apparently longer then I thought if Richard has never been there. Can you believe we have been together for eleven and a half years already; it is crazy how time flies! I found the new Ice Age to be amusing for what it was and Peaches is adorable. The latest Harry Potter movie was great I think it's my favorite one yet. The books are certainly better then the movies, but they are growing on me as well. Here is a link to the drive in: http://www.sterlingrealty.com/drivein.asp

As for the hot air balloon ride, it is going to be rescheduled as soon as possible. I'm super excited for the trip, it's something I've always wanted to do! Richard picked the perfect gift for me for my 30th birthday! Hard to believe I'm 30 already, time just keeps going by! And another link this one is for the hot air balloon company we are going with: http://www.airialballoon.com/

I had a wonderful birthday, even if I didn't get to do what was planned. And to make it even better; I got dinner and a movie and I still get to do the planned trip soon!

German Chocolate anyone?

Every year at work we pull someones name out of a "hat" and then we put together all the things for their birthday (cake, card, flowers). This year I pulled Karen's name out of the hat. Karen's favorite kind of cake just so happens to be German Chocolate. If you've ever had a homemade German Chocolate cake you will know that the ones they sell in the store are not an acceptable substitute. I've never really been a huge fan of coconut, but this cake made me forget that all together; kind of like those girl scout cookies with the coconut, they are my favorite!

Here is the link to the recipe I followed:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005/09/german_chocolat_1.html

So, I don't recall ever having made a cake from scratch, they have these ones that come in a box that are way easier nowadays, and they don't create nearly as many dirty dishes. But, I must say this cake was certainly worth the effort and might just have me rethinking the whole boxed cake thing. The fact that the recipe looked like it had so many steps didn't really bother me, I've always been pretty good about following directions, it's when I have to improvise that recipes go wrong, hence I'm much better at baking then cooking. It was a long night but well worth it, here are my posts from facebook while baking the cake (did I forget to mention I made this cake on the hottest day ever recorded in Seattle). Notice the time I started and finished this thing... yikes!

Amy Davis is toasting coconut and pecans... it's way to hot for this... July 29 at 6:34pm

Amy Davis isn't sure how to make things "room temperature"... everything is just hot... the temp in my kitchen is 88.8 degrees.... not exactly room temperature for baking. July 29 at 7:25pm ·

Amy Davis has all the pieces to the cake done... now for them to cool down so I can put it all together. :) July 29 at 10:03pm ·

Amy Davis doesn't think the icing will ever be room temperature enough to ice with... ugh. I put it in the fridge, hopefully that'll help... now I have to figure out how to put the cake in the fridge. July 30 at 1:13am ·

Amy Davis Lets hope it tastes good... but it was so worth making on the hottest day EVER in Seattle. :) July 30 at 1:30am ·

P.S. This cake tasted amazing! There wasn't a piece left at the end of the day other then the two Karen was taking home. Long story short, if you like German Chocolate cake or if you know someone that does; make this cake, it's amazing!

Watermelon, Jello Cake, Water Balloons and Fire(works)

Yesterday was the Fourth of July, and for the second year in a row we decided to host the family at our place for a BBQ and to watch the Fireworks that our neighbors light off (and maybe to light some off as well). I started the day off doing a bit of last minute cleaning, running by the store and attempting to cut the tip of my thumb off. Unintentionally of course, thank goodness for nails that's all I have to say! I suppose there just might be a good reason Dani always takes the knife away from me when I cut potatoes, to bad she wasn't here yet when I was preparing them for the BBQ. No worries though, it'll be awhile before the nail grows out enough to not have a cut there, but it'll heal up fairly well I'm guessing, though I'll probably have to keep a bandaid over it for awhile to keep from catching things on it.

We had said, show up between 3 and 4pm, being my family the first person got here around 4pm and they trickled in from there. In the end we had nine people here including ourselves, nothing huge but it was great having people over to celebrate with. Before people started showing up I had been thinking how the Fourth at my house is nothing like it was at the lake growing up. It's sad to think that we won't have another Fourth at the lake with Grandma, as the lake is just not the same without her there.

After sitting around for awhile talking and catching up with each other we finally decided to start the food! And the Fourth of July food is always the best summer food! We had watermelon, grilled corn, potatoes, hamburgers, hotdogs and various other snacks. Richard grilled up the stuff on the grill while the rest of us proceeded to dowse each other with water balloons. With as hot as the day was the water felt wonderful!

Following the food we moved out to the front to watch fireworks, and light off a few as well. I'm not big on lighting them off myself, my neighbors do such a good job of it there really isn't a huge point, my neighborhood sounds like a war zone on the 4th. Cassandra brought a few fireworks however so we did have a few to light off. In the process of lighting various things they managed to light my front yard on fire, nothing major but it really did remind us just how dry it is out there. We also had a firework tip over and shoot right into our neighbors yard and start a tiny fire there as well (it also went flying into our yard right at the cars as it spun around launching explosions up and down the street).

All in all it was a fun filled day! I quite enjoyed myself!