Yikes...need to play some catch up again. Here is the Happy Mother's Day Video I mentiond would get postetd....only a couple weeks late :-) Have to give a "shout out" to Little Haas who turned the big numero Uno (that 1 for those of you dont know Spanish) this week! Happy Birtday Haas!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Mother's Day Re-cap
First off, Happy Mother's day to everyone!
Thought we would share some highlights from our Mother's Day 2008. Maddie and I kicked things off by making breakfast for Mommy on Sunday AM. Maddie insisted that Steph stay in bed for breakfast. We then got ready and headed off to Church. Afterwards, we headed down to the Pike Place Market. With our great weather (NOT) we didnt think it would be too busy, but we were wrong. It was packed. Luckily we found a parking spot pretty quick on 1st ave close to the market. We meandered through the market, very impressed by all of the Tulips! With our weather, there was some concern about the tulips, but there seemed to be plenty available. We stocked up on a few bundles, and picked up a few Chocolate Crinkle cookies before heading out. Here are some pics:
Later in the evening, we piled into the Suburban with Mom/Dad Channer/Jensen and headed over to Bellevue for a Mother's Day dinner at Maggiano's. This is a newer Italian place that we have been to in California, but had not been to yet here in Seattle. We were surprised by how much space this place has. It was clearly built with events in mind as there was a massive banquet room that was converted into "large party overflow" for the mother's day crowd. Word from the waiters was that they were going to server over 1700 people that day. The food was great, but it was a bit slow...hey, when you are serving 1700 people, I can only imagine the logistics involved.
All in all, it was a great day. Happy Mother's Day!
NOTE: A special Mother's Day video from Maddie/KK to Steph is coming soon....
Thought we would share some highlights from our Mother's Day 2008. Maddie and I kicked things off by making breakfast for Mommy on Sunday AM. Maddie insisted that Steph stay in bed for breakfast. We then got ready and headed off to Church. Afterwards, we headed down to the Pike Place Market. With our great weather (NOT) we didnt think it would be too busy, but we were wrong. It was packed. Luckily we found a parking spot pretty quick on 1st ave close to the market. We meandered through the market, very impressed by all of the Tulips! With our weather, there was some concern about the tulips, but there seemed to be plenty available. We stocked up on a few bundles, and picked up a few Chocolate Crinkle cookies before heading out. Here are some pics:
Later in the evening, we piled into the Suburban with Mom/Dad Channer/Jensen and headed over to Bellevue for a Mother's Day dinner at Maggiano's. This is a newer Italian place that we have been to in California, but had not been to yet here in Seattle. We were surprised by how much space this place has. It was clearly built with events in mind as there was a massive banquet room that was converted into "large party overflow" for the mother's day crowd. Word from the waiters was that they were going to server over 1700 people that day. The food was great, but it was a bit slow...hey, when you are serving 1700 people, I can only imagine the logistics involved.
All in all, it was a great day. Happy Mother's Day!
NOTE: A special Mother's Day video from Maddie/KK to Steph is coming soon....
Monday, May 5, 2008
Trophy Lake
This weekend I headed out for the Hope Men's Retreat at Miracle Ranch. This was my first Men's retreat, and it was a great experience. There were about 30 guys from the church and we had a great speaker and great program and enjoyed some good times.
One of those "good times" was the pre-retreat golf outing on Friday. Four of us headed over to Trophy Lake Golf and Casting for some golf. This is one of my favorite courses around. First, because it is just a nice course. Second, it is in a quiet setting. And Third, because it integrated Fly Fishing and golf at one location. They have two stocked ponds on the course. In the number of time I have played golf, I have never had the chance to fish it. Well, I had my chance this weekend.
While at the turn, I inquired about fishing....mainly because after passing the 1st stocked pond off of #6, I saw some HUGE fish lurking in the shallow water. I learned that it is only $15 per hour to fish, and 1/2 price if you golf that day.....so for only $7.50 I could try this out for the first time...it was a no brainer. Ironically, I had brought my 4weight fly rod, flies, etc with me in case I had the chance to fish at the lake where the retreat was at. However, I didnt even really need that. For that $7.50 they loaned you a nice Sage Rod and Reel, a net and flies. I wasn't thrilled with the fly selection, so I took my own out with me, but I did use their rod...I hesitates on the net, but then decided to take it as well...just in case. I loaded up the golf cart and headed out to the #6 tee box.
Without rambling too much more, I will let the pictures do the talking. It was AWESOME! The fish were feeding like crazy, and within about 5 minutes I had two hit and finally landed a fish. All in all, I landed 5 fish....all as big or bigger than the one in the picture. I used a small grey parachute adams for a bit and then black wolley bugger. It was a ton of fun. My two buddies who were not as much in to fishing, were spectators while enjoying some cold beverages....Now this is my kind of "19th Hole."
One of those "good times" was the pre-retreat golf outing on Friday. Four of us headed over to Trophy Lake Golf and Casting for some golf. This is one of my favorite courses around. First, because it is just a nice course. Second, it is in a quiet setting. And Third, because it integrated Fly Fishing and golf at one location. They have two stocked ponds on the course. In the number of time I have played golf, I have never had the chance to fish it. Well, I had my chance this weekend.
While at the turn, I inquired about fishing....mainly because after passing the 1st stocked pond off of #6, I saw some HUGE fish lurking in the shallow water. I learned that it is only $15 per hour to fish, and 1/2 price if you golf that day.....so for only $7.50 I could try this out for the first time...it was a no brainer. Ironically, I had brought my 4weight fly rod, flies, etc with me in case I had the chance to fish at the lake where the retreat was at. However, I didnt even really need that. For that $7.50 they loaned you a nice Sage Rod and Reel, a net and flies. I wasn't thrilled with the fly selection, so I took my own out with me, but I did use their rod...I hesitates on the net, but then decided to take it as well...just in case. I loaded up the golf cart and headed out to the #6 tee box.
Without rambling too much more, I will let the pictures do the talking. It was AWESOME! The fish were feeding like crazy, and within about 5 minutes I had two hit and finally landed a fish. All in all, I landed 5 fish....all as big or bigger than the one in the picture. I used a small grey parachute adams for a bit and then black wolley bugger. It was a ton of fun. My two buddies who were not as much in to fishing, were spectators while enjoying some cold beverages....Now this is my kind of "19th Hole."
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Baseball bat meets Kenzie
during Maddie's softball game last night! Ouch!!!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Opening Weekend for Fishing
This weekend we headed up to the cabin for Opening Day of fishing season. Rumors around the lake last summer were that this was 'the' weekend for the kids, with a fishing derby dedicated to them. So, over the last two weeks we stocked up on spinning gear and powerbait and headed up after our softball game on Friday. As advertised, the lake was buzzing even on Friday night as everyone anticipated the morning kick off.
I think we woke up around 5:30 to find boats already working the water. I got up and started getting things geared up, and Maddie emerged around 6:30. We talked with the locals who said that they stock the lake with about 1500 7-9in trout and about 150 brut stock (18-22in). The goal was to just catch something by Noon so we could enter in the derby. Needless to say, it was a bit slow for us newbies to this spinning game. Given our experience catching perch last summer, Maddie thought it would be as easy as casting and reeling them in. We did have 2 fish on but we couldnt land them. Papa J finally caught a 9 incher that got us eligible for the derby. When it got to 11:30 and we only had the 1 fish, we had to "borrow" one from the 16yr old neighbor girl for Kenzie. Lucky for Kenzie this was an 11 incher, which ended up getting her 3rd in the 0-5 age group! But, as you can see from the picture, she was more in to her Kit Kat! Check out the slide show for all the pics.
Here are a few individual ones. On Sunday we headed out in the boat and caught 3 fish..even Steph got one. You can see what the size is like. Before you push your nose up, check out the picture of a kid from Maddie's school (total coincidence that he was there), Hunter, who reeled in this 21 incher...Good enough for 1st place overall in the entire derby! Lastly, and the picture doesn't do it justice compared to in person, is a picture of an Osprey who just swooped down to catch a fish out of the lake. It is pretty cool to see this live. Great time had by all....looking forward to more weekends trying to catch the big one.
I think we woke up around 5:30 to find boats already working the water. I got up and started getting things geared up, and Maddie emerged around 6:30. We talked with the locals who said that they stock the lake with about 1500 7-9in trout and about 150 brut stock (18-22in). The goal was to just catch something by Noon so we could enter in the derby. Needless to say, it was a bit slow for us newbies to this spinning game. Given our experience catching perch last summer, Maddie thought it would be as easy as casting and reeling them in. We did have 2 fish on but we couldnt land them. Papa J finally caught a 9 incher that got us eligible for the derby. When it got to 11:30 and we only had the 1 fish, we had to "borrow" one from the 16yr old neighbor girl for Kenzie. Lucky for Kenzie this was an 11 incher, which ended up getting her 3rd in the 0-5 age group! But, as you can see from the picture, she was more in to her Kit Kat! Check out the slide show for all the pics.
Here are a few individual ones. On Sunday we headed out in the boat and caught 3 fish..even Steph got one. You can see what the size is like. Before you push your nose up, check out the picture of a kid from Maddie's school (total coincidence that he was there), Hunter, who reeled in this 21 incher...Good enough for 1st place overall in the entire derby! Lastly, and the picture doesn't do it justice compared to in person, is a picture of an Osprey who just swooped down to catch a fish out of the lake. It is pretty cool to see this live. Great time had by all....looking forward to more weekends trying to catch the big one.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Birthday Weekend Summary - Part 1
The complete details of the birthday weekend for Miss Maddie will have to be done in a couple installments...just too much to cover. From her kid "flip flop" party, to a night out with the Nanas and Papas, to her Family Party on Sunday...just a lot to cover. One of the many highlights of the weekend was her new bike she got. Her old one is about 2-3 years old and with her just recently learning how to ride, it was clear she needed a new one. If you remember a month or so ago, we did a little video of her 1st bike ride. Well, here is Act II of that, this time with a little help from her little sister, who is not eager to learn to ride as well (after some modifications - aka Training wheels - to Maddie's old bike.)
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Happy Birthday Maddie
THis was her morning party with hot chocolate from cafe ladro and
lemon cake from starbucks!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)