RSS Feed

April, 2009

  1. Flower Fest

    April 26, 2009 by Katie

    (WARNING: Prepare for an onslaught of photos.  We’ve been camera happy lately)

    Making every attempt to soak up the sunshine and savor the spring weather, we started our week with an evening stroll to Lake Union to sit and watch the sailboats and seaplanes play.

    i love seattle!Lake UnionSeaplane

    And to end our week, we decided to head out of town and take a trip north to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

    Who says you can’t drive a convertible in the rain?

    staying dry

    We got some weird looks from other drivers, but seriously, when you’re going 100 65 mph, the raindrops seem to avoid the interior of the car.

    The sun came back out and we arrived in Mt. Vernon, greeted by glorious fields of daffodils.  I had a Coldplay song going through my head the entire time :)

    daffodil field

    I have to admit, I wasn’t performing to the best of my best ability as navigator, but we finally found our way to one of the many tulip fields.

    Acres and acres of tulips! Gorgeous! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but needless to say, I was very excited to be there.  

    who's excited?

    (nevermind my crazy hair…that’s what happens when you spend 2 hours in a convertible at high speeds)

    We held an extensive photo session, with the obligatory ‘act like you’re a tulip‘, ‘lets take lots of self portrait pictures of ourselves‘ and ‘senior portrait‘ poses.  

    senior portrait 1

    senior portrait 4

    happy in a sea of red

    senior portrait 3

     

    senior portrait 2

    Awwww…..my love.

    smoochtoken poserainbow of tulips

    In an effort to avoid traffic on I-5 and take in a fun, scenic route, we headed south on Pioneer Highway through the farmland along Skagit Bay.  I got a little homesick for Kansas as we passed by the hayfields and cows, making sure to savor the wonderful aromas of freshly cut grass and cow manure.  It’s nice to know that I can always take an hour drive north of Seattle and get (somewhat) back to my farmgirl roots. moo cow

    We were famished and hadn’t eaten lunch when we left the tulip fields in the late afternoon, so we drove in search of a good, hearty, home cooked meal.  

    BINGO!!  Gerry Andal’s Restaurant & Lounge in little Stanwood, WA.  We annihilated everything on our plates.

    Gerry Anday's   small town home cookin'

    We continued south on Marine Drive along the coast of the Puget Sound.  After a stop to take some pictures, we made a short trip to the Seattle Premium Outlet Stores in Tulalip, then hopped back on I-5 for the fast way home, where we crashed on the couch for the rest of the evening.

    sunny drivinMission Beach

    baby blue

    All-in-all, an absolutely perfect day.  I personally can’t think of many things better than riding along with the wind in my hair, Ryan Adams music playing, and my husband by my side. We are so blessed. 


  2. Cars, cars, and then some.

    April 21, 2009 by Todd

    If you ask most (if not all) of my friends or family, you’ll find out that I’m not a morning person. Most Saturday mornings I don’t wake until the sun is way above the horizon. But on some Saturday mornings, I find myself getting out of bed before even Katie. Why? Cars.

    Every nice Saturday morning, a group of car enthusiasts with beautiful cars meet up at Redmond Town Center — which is an outdoor shopping mall. The management at RTC is wonderful enough to help block off part of the parking lot and let these enthusiasts hang out, check out cars, and socialize.

    dsc00374
    A picture taken from the Microsoft offices in Redmond Town Center. You can see Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, and a few others.

    Here’s the one Katie alluded to a few posts ago. It’s a numbers matching Shelby GT500KR Mustang. With original tires.

    Shelby Mustang

    dsc00395

    dsc00397

    dsc00396

    dsc00393

    The next one up is an Ariel Atom This one has a GM motor, an upgraded supercharger, and suspension upgrades. I’ve actually seen him quite a few times driving down the street as I’m walking to work.

    Ariel Atom

    dsc00438

    dsc00445

    dsc00444
    This is the interior — he added in the power outlets and the other things to let him have *some* conveniences in it.

    dsc00442

    Next up is the SSC Ultimate Aero, currently the fastest production car in the world, at 257mph. This is the actual car that set the record. The company who makes it, Shelby SuperCars (not related to Carroll Shelby), is based in Eastern Washington. They auctioned this one off, and so they brought it down to show off before sending it to auction. When most of the other cars (Ferraris, Lambos, etc.) idled, they were quiet until the driver put his or her foot down. When this idled, it was like a sledge hammer to the ear drums. This car was built for one reason : speed.

    dsc00418

    dsc00430

    dsc00426
    Monster brakes.

    dsc00420
    The interior. Much nicer than I expected.

    dsc00424

    dsc00435
    The actual certificate. Google Maps link for Highway 221 where the run (probably) took place. I’m not sure exactly where on Hwy 221 it was, but this looked really straight.

    dsc00419

    And finally, just a few of the other cars there.

    dsc00389
    Ferrari F40.

    dsc00431
    Ford GT.

    dsc00403
    Porsche GT3RS.

    dsc00427
    A few different cars, notably a Porsche Carrera GT.

    dsc00392
    Austin-Healey

    dsc00409
    I believe this is a Mercedes Benz CLK DTM

    dsc00390
    Ferrari 550, among others.

    dsc00363
    Ferrari F430 Scuderia

    dsc00368
    Panoz Roadster. Had a Ford 4.6L V8 motor.

    dsc00372
    Finally, Sir Mix-A-Lot‘s orange Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 parking.


  3. Family Fun

    April 17, 2009 by Katie

    Well, my parents are off on their return roadtrip back to Kansas.  It’s always sad to see them go, but we had fun while they were here.  It was especially nice to spend time with both of our parents at the same time. Knowing that God is the reason we are together (seriously, we are SO different that only He had the power to have us fall in love),  we’re also sure that God put us together because of our parents.  We just marvel at how similar they are and how well they all get along.  Very thankful for that.    

    I have lots of pictures, so I’ll limit the words. (Besides, if you’re like me, you usually prefer to look at pictures and skip the wordiness anyways.)

    We were picked up in Spokane by four smiling faces, eager to see their children.  Mom H even had strawberry pie made….delicious, thanks!

    Up and at ‘em on Friday morning, no trip to Coeur d’Alene is complete without a stop (or two) at Java….

    harrisesstrahms

    bowl of soul

     

    …and a walk on the world’s longest floating boardwalk at Lake Coeur d’Alene.

    dadslake couer d'alene

    straharris clan

     

    We headed north to somewhere in the backwoods near Sandpoint, Idaho to visit the Bird Ranch.  Dr. Forrest Bird invented the respirator and he has a large collection of planes and cars on display, which really delighted my dad.

    bird museumpilot

    helipadi got you

    bi-plane prop

     

    iron lungtop gun

    bird

    Mom & Dad H did a great job of hosting us and finding this hidden museum.  We said our goodbyes and drove back to Seattle on Friday evening, completing the first 1/2 of Mom and Dad’s roadtrip.  

    Saturday, we took a ferry ride.  Which meant that Todd took a nap, Mom read, Dad wandered around, and I took pictures :)  We had lunch on the pier and stopped by Pike Place Market for some dinner fixins’.   I got my strawberry & rhubarb deliciousness…yummy!

    ferry rideSeattle Sound

    fresh pickat the Market

    Family game night.

    brain gamecloodle

    We went to church on Easter Sunday, and then spent the rest of the rainy day seeing Seattle’s spring flowers at the Volunteer Park Conservatory (thankfully inside)….

    happy

    Volunteer Park ConservatoryEaster flowers

    in the desertyellowdelicate flower

    ….and the beautiful Yoshino cherry trees on the University of Washington campus.

    Cherry Blossoms at UW

    I had never been to either of these locations, so it was nice to be able to enjoy those with my parents.  I feel like they’ve been to all the ‘touristy’ places around Seattle, so it challenges my hostess creativity to come up with new places for them to see.  We celebrated their recent anniversary with some lemon cake (eaten on some of our pretty wedding plates they delivered to us).

    anniversary cakelemon layer cake

    Thanks for delivering our wedding presents, being great guests, and putting up with our nonsense. We’re always glad to have you visit!

    kerry park


  4. Our Mini Vacation

    April 9, 2009 by Katie

    We are off on a very mini vacation, of sorts. I’m writing this as we’re waiting at the airport to catch a short flight to Spokane, WA. Actually the bus ride here took just as long as the flight does- a whole 45 minutes.

    Mom and Dad S have spent the past 4 days on a road trip from KS to Idaho, where Mom and Dad H live. They were kind enough to fly us there so we could all ‘hang out’ and then we’ll drive back to Seattle with them on Friday.

    A short trip indeed, but I’m excited to have us all together again, since that hasn’t happened since our wedding.

    Not sure what the Easter weekend will bring for activities with Mom and Dad, (and since this is their 6th visit, they’re not really tourists anymore), but we’re looking forward to having them out here in the beautiful Northwest for another visit.


  5. You Light up my Life

    April 2, 2009 by Katie

    Today is a very special day.

    I know my mom might be embarrassed that I’m posting these pictures, but they make me so happy, so I’m sharing them with everyone.  

    just married

    Styling in their 1978 wedding attire.  

    My dad is very dapper in his 3 piece suit with giant bow tie.  What is that color? Flesh?

    I joke, because I know some day my own kids will probably look back on our wedding photos and wonder why Todd is wearing sneakers and why I had a strapless dress and a flower in my hair.  It’s fun to see how styles change.   

    And yes, I did try my mom’s wedding dress on in hopes of altering it and wearing it for my own wedding, b/c I love the ruffles at the bottom.  It fit great —albeit a little short— but with the sleeves and the high collar, I felt like I was suffocating.  You looked lovely though, mom. 

    wavy hair

    Loving the matching wavy hairdos.  It’s pretty obvious now where I get my thick auburn hair from. 

    But aren’t they just a gorgeous looking couple?  And I’m not just saying that because I am, uh, from them……  My mom was the same age I was when I got married, and so was my brother.  I always thought that was a neat coincidence, of sorts.

    I’m so thankful to have parents who are celebrating their 31st wedding anniversary today.  In fact, Todd and I are both blessed to have parents who have been married over 30 years.  It’s a wonderful thing to strive for and they are all an inspiration to us.  

    So Congrats & Happy Anniversary, Dad & Mom!  We’ll celebrate when you visit next week!