day 6 - the park

Lots of fun today! Donuts for breakfast, porch sitting (while it was cloudy), and when the sun came out, we went for a stroll in the park! When I say stroll, I mean photo-stops are plenty. My mom has some serious patience for my stops. There are so many things to take pictures of: 

Japanese Gardens

in the Japanese Gardens

turtles sunbathing

Tessa watching the ducklings in the pond

flowering tree over the pond

Canadian goose looking for bread

mother duck and ducklings (just before being fed

by the cutest little Italian-speaking girl)

every time I tried to get this guy, I ended up with this:

in the Japanese garden

pansies at "the neighbor's house" (beautiful landscaper!)

forget-me-nots (they're so teeny!)

"the neighbor's" has a chandelier in his green house. I loved it!

hanging wisteria. I love this, too.

lilac trees are everywhere

We got a visit from Uncle Kirt today, and we sat our chairs around him just waiting for a show. We got one! He's always so hilarious. 

"Hey! Beautiful!" 

He even gave me two tickets for the Mariner's game when Mark comes to join me here. I'm so excited! Hurray for a baseball loving family.

day 5 - day of rest

A perfect temperature!

Tonight I rested my swollen self in the sunshine and cool breezes. It was a perfect day! Mark is surviving (barely!), my dad is a chef of culinary perfection (he can make killer crock-pot turkey... is that why I'm a tad enlarged? probably part of it!), and my mom and Tessa make the yummiest mashed potatoes.. another enlargement factor! But I'm enjoying myself. Soooo... my G.I. Jane workouts will just have to wait until I'm home. :) or not pregnant. We'll see which is more convenient!

day 4 - 10 things and berries

Can you imagine going to high school here? I'd have felt like royalty, or maybe like I should have dated Heath Ledger! Who ever hasn't seen 10 Things I Hate About You, really should!

I tried my first 'jump picture' ever, at 6 months pregnant. I think I scared my mom. ha!
Can you just see Mr. Heath dancing and singing on those stairs?? I can... aaaa.....
Tonight after steak and salmon dinner (courtesy of my dad and Tacoma Boys), I indulged on some perfectly sweet strawberries from our Tacoma Boys run yesterday. They had to have been the best strawberries I have ever had! And I have had some delicious strawberries before. 
Then later on, I helped myself to some warm muffins my dad had baked. I love being home with the folks!

Now let's all go and watch 10 Things I Hate About You!! 

day 3 - hello, baseball

the cupcake fad... it's fine with me!

Starting the day off right is what it's all about! And today that meant cupcakes for everyone. Tessa chose the coconut with buttercream frosting, and I chose the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting: 

After a trip to Tacoma Boys (everyone should see this cute little nursery/food market!), we headed to baseball: 
It was Redsox (booooo) vs. Mariners (hurraaaaay!). We had all sorts of fun treats, including: 
We showed up 2 hours before the game started to eat our dinner in peace and snap some pictures! It was a lot of fun being there with my family. We haven't been to a baseball game all together for years!
When we left Safeco Field in the 7th inning, Mariners were up by 1! Thank you, Ichiro. 

day 2 - beep and change

My mom says I should put pictures up for every day of the trip. I'll see how well I can do! 

She painted this before they moved away from Las Vegas, it's a panoramic of Red Rock. I remember when she worked on this in the garage for about a year. She had photographs she had taken in the canyon and taped them all besides the next... voila! sorry about the weird angle, it's by the stairs

Outside I admired her easel, and ... skull. I think they've had this for a long, long time! Who know where or who it's from. Maybe I should ask: 
Spent some time outside. The weather was great this afternoon! Buckwheat even saw a cat:
Changed a smoke-detector battery in the guest bedroom (where I'm sleeping - glad it stopped beeping!) ... after a run to the store for non-expired batteries.

day 1 - temple

First day in, and we visited the Seattle Temple, let the ground-keepers think we were non members (like a good Uncle Kirt would do), took lots of pictures, naps, ate at Anthony's, and had lots of laughs! 

tulips on the temple grounds:

dogwoods:

me and my pretty, pretty sister in what my mom called

"The Garden of Eden"

It did smell so heavenly! 

... I had to crop out my noodle arm:

More dogwoods 

I loved this tree! 

There was a pot of black grass! 

I have never seen black grass... or even such a dark plant.

We put a flower that a "member" gave us 

(remember, he thought we could be investigators) 

right on top and it was ...

simply this: 

I had a baby appointment yesterday, and got to hear this little boxer's heart. He was swinging away at the doppler. Mark got a big grin on his face when we heard all his movements. Everything was good and happy, especially when I showed up too late to the lab for the glucose test!! I now have to wait till I get back. whoops! The lab tech did not understand that I was perfectly fine with that. 

fun little trip

Tonight I take myself, and my little dog too, to Washington! 

photo via

cookies for mom

Sorry mom! I couldn't give these to you today, so I ate them for you. :) And shared some with Mark. And Buckwheat. But I thought of you!! 

See you Wednesday!! I love you!

*toll house original recipe + 1/4 c more flour... mmmm!

26 weeks

I tried to take a picture on Sunday at 26 weeks, but it turned out horribly, so here is another BAD one. THIS is why I don't often put many pictures up of myself... just not worth it! *without make-up and no that's not my belly-button, it's my pant-button that won't button!

But here's me and the belly at 26 weeks, almost 27 weeks. I still haven't bought any maternity clothes... I'm trying to hold out. It definitely helps that I have a few baby-doll shirts in my closet! :)

Hike IX: Eagle River Nature Preserve: Crow Pass Trail

Not the 26 mile Crow Pass like I almost did last summer before I got a job, just the little end of it down to the river. My guess was 3 miles, just walking and some rickety stairs at the end leading down to the river. It's got a tint of teal because of copper deposits in the soil... plus it's glacier run off! It's freeeezing: But it didn't stop this guy from dipping his little paws:

bumblebee's match

Mark will not eat tuna fish from a can. He will not eat it, Sam I am. But put it in front of him, in its fresh and restaurant steak-filet form, he will eat it quicker than even I can. It is delicious. 

So here is his Indian Ocean Tuna Fishing story via photos: 

After setting out on a small fishing boat, they caught one fish a piece, and divided them between the three of them. The largest was a 40 lb-er. Here's a picture for a size comparison: 

*a crew-chief in Mark's flight, don't know his name: 

While fighting one fish, reeling it in, one of the guys had been been fighting it for about 3 minutes. Then it stopped fighting. They reeled in just the head!! Mark said there were sharks everywhere in that water. So to be able to take the entire fish and leave the head in one bite, that is one dang-big shark!! 

I will not get in that water if ever given the chance... EVER.  

So Mark packed home his tuna-steaks in a foam cooler he bought before he left and just kept packing new ice around it for the following 2 days. When he got home and cleaned the fish off even more, we couldn't smell ANYTHING. It was so fresh! I love that fresh fish don't have a smell. It's lovely. And very bearable. 

So Mark grilled two 8 oz. filets, after I marinated them. Even Buckwheat got a sample. ... he's really our King's food-tester. ha! Sweet little, lucky Buckwheat. 

making his mark

above: sunrise on fisher's dock, Diego Garcia

Mark took some incredible photos while he was on his trip! We were both impressed when we uploaded them to the computer. For simplicity reasons I divided the photos into little categories. So without further ado...

CLOUDS

above: approaching Singapore

above: Singapore, 4 days later

above: 50 miles from Anchorage (C-17 engines to the left)

above: South Pacific Sky and ocean (sort of looks like a cloud jungle!)

above: Singapore storm

BEACH

above: Diego Garcia, sunrise

above: Diego Garcia crab (not too afraid of people there)

above: sprouting coconut, surrounded by broken coral

above: golf ball sized coral pieces

above: broken coral on beach

above: paradise, Diego Garcia

above: Diego Garcia, forest

SUNRISE

above: sunrise, Diego Garcia

above: sunrise, Diego Garcia

WATER

above: tuna fishing, Indian Ocean

above: standing on dock, 'hiding' fish

above: sunrise over Diego Garcia docks