Some of you may have noticed that some of the pictures from the first part of the BriggsWald Vacation have disappeared from the blog. Apparently Kalin was not a big fan of me putting pictures of her in a bathing suit on the internet. So even though she looks great in her suit and the majority of our trip was spent on lakes and rivers where Kalin was wearing her swimming trunks, pictures of her will not be on the blog. The second part of the trip was spent in the Seattle area with the Palmer-Pierce duo. As you can see, we had a great time playing at their beautiful lake place, seeing lots of old friends, celebrating Kalin's birthday numerous times and watching the baseball Juggernaut better known as the Seattle Mariners. (We were lucky enough to catch the Mariners in a year they are chasing history by trying to become the first team with a payroll in excess of 100 million dollars to lose more than 100 games, so I think we should all cross our fingers for that amazing accomplishment.) Now on with the diary.
Friday, August 1st - We planned on leaving Bigfork at about 8 in the morning which naturally meant that at 10 we were finally on the road. This was our blue highway portion of the trip as we rode on MT-35, US-93, MT-212, MT-200, MT-135, I-90, US-2, and US-97 before finally reaching Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Becky's house on Lake Roesiger many, many, many, many hours later. On the 212 we rode around the Buffalo Preserve and as Carter was just finishing up his Magic Tree House book of the week, Buffalo Before Breakfast, I counted driving around it as our adventure for that book. The trip on Highway 2 is amazing but full of slow moving RVs which gave us plenty of time to enjoy the scenery. Needless to say, we were very happy when we finally pulled into the lake place where Becky had a yummy turkey dinner waiting for us. (Yes you read that correctly, she had a turkey dinner waiting for us, how jealous are you all now.) Miles traveled - 1,991, Buffalo seen - A herd off in the distance (maybe), RVs passed - Too many to count.
Saturday, August 2nd - On Saturday Kalin and I left the boys with Bruce and Becky (Carter tells me I need to mention the 8 fish he caught with Grandpa Bruce), we took Molly down to Aunt Teresa's for the night and we went off to Seattle for dinner and a party at a Belltown bar to celebrate Kalin's 30th birthday. First, Chad called and he and I went down to Kent to watch Briggett's softball team play in Nationals. It was great to see the whole Plenger clan and Briggett's team was amazing (clearly, they were in Nationals). After watching a couple of games, Chad dropped me off in Bellevue (which has about 10 new skyscrapers since I moved) where Kalin had been shopping and pedicuring in preparation for our romantic birthday dinner. Kalin and I drove back to Bruce and Becky's condo in Seattle, got dressed and went to this amazing restaurant called Il Bistro in Pike Place Market. Everything about dinner was great (especially the dessert) after which we walked up to Belltown where we were meeting some of Kalin's friends. I am not positive who all met us at the bar (my memory tends to fade after the bottle of wine at dinner and the numerous beers and shots at the bar) but it seemed like there were a lot of people who showed up and they all seemed really nice. Some things I do remember about the night: meeting Kalin's sister's boyfriend, Zach, who seemed cool even if he does have a strange fear of fish and Kalin's friend Lauren who was dating a boy named Kalin. (Creeeeepppppyyyyy) Miles traveled - 2,053, Bottles of wine consumed - 1, Shots of Jaeger - 3, Beers - Too many to count.
Sunday, August 3rd - We went to pick up Molly from Aunt Teresa's then drove back to the condo where we met Bruce and Becky, Uncle Lucas (Carter's ultimate hero) and his girlfriend Kirsten, and Karen and Tayna (Kalin's aunt and cousin). We walked down to Safeco Field where we met up with Kalin's friends Tricia, Mike, and Alyson; my friend Chad; and 6 super cool Dave Niehaus bobblehead dolls. After the game and the garlic fries (the Mariners actually won, My, oh, my) we all went down to the field and ran the bases as part of a Safeco Field event, which was pretty cool. We walked back to the condo (which seemed a lot farther than the walk down) and met Aunt Sarah in West Seattle for dinner. (I forget the name of the restaurant but I highly recommend it just because the waitress was so cool.) After dinner we toured Sarah and Merle's new home in West Seattle which they are remodeling. (The fence looks great and I love the views.) Then we packed our very tired kids up for the trip back to the lake place and bed. Miles traveled - 2,074, number of times Kalin begged to make out with me after eating the garlic fries - 0.
Monday, August 4th - A great day at the lake place. Highlights included many molecule rides, the dock jump competition, and all the Sammy and Jamison Frisbee interactions. Miles traveled - 2,074, heart attacks I suffered after attempting to swim from the floating dock back to the house - at least 2.
Tuesday, August 5th - Had another great day at the lake swimming and moleculing after which we drove down to Kent for an incredible BBQ (ribs, yum) dinner at Kalin's Aunt Mary's house. Molly got to meet her buddy cousin Henry who is a couple months younger but twice her size. Needless to say he is very cute. After Jamo got a good night story read to him by Great Grandma Anna Mae we packed the kids back up and headed back to the lake. Miles traveled - 2,116, Number of times Carter can jump off the dock and swim around to the ladder in 8 minutes - 8.
Wednesday, August 6th - Our last day at the beautiful lake house. Uncle Merle, Lucas and Kirsten came up and entertained Carter with numerous rides on the molecule. Kalin's friend Stacy and her beautiful daughter Mackenzie also came up for a visit. Jamo and Mackenzie had a great day playing together and I think I have finally met a kid with as much energy as Carter. Bruce grilled some burgers and Becky and Sarah joined us all after a long day at Harborview (the hospital they work at) for yet another birthday celebration for Kalin. Miles traveled - 2,116, laps Mackenzie made around the house - too many to count.
I will be back tomorrow with the BriggsWald Diary for the Portland portion of the trip. So until then, bye.
LoB
3 comments:
so i am officially jealous!! especially cause i missed kalin's fun b-day parties!!
WOW -- what a wonderful time. Times read -2. times wondering how you fit it all in - too many to count. Can't wait for the next installments.
Emmy, I am expecting a gift whether you missed the parties or not. Otherwise, you can forget about my participation in this year's Week of Emmalee. Ha!
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