March Madness

Is your bracket filled out?  Who do you think will win? Do you even care? Does anyone else besides me and Clark want to join the ASU 942 Crew?  I know we're not students anymore, and we don't live in Tempe anymore, and we're really old now...but... we still want to be part of that crew.

I think Florida will win the tournament even though I would love to see Arizona or Wichita State come out on top.  Clark had Duke going all the way, so his bracket has been screwed up since Friday.  I just love a good upset, don't you!? 

Gotta go, the Wichita/Kentucky game is on.

Back to our old stomping grounds part II: phone photos

We started off our trip in Seattle, where we were supposed to spend the night and enjoy the next morning exploring Pike Place market and getting delicious foods from local vendors.  But according to the news, a huge storm was brewing over the pass and so the the morning after we arrived, we had to leave right away to make it over the pass.  Good thing we did, because the pass then closed for two days... 

Luckily, we were able to see my older brother Cedar when we got in.  We took him out to dinner at Red Mill  Burgers and then he somehow convinced us into going on the Seattle Great Wheel. 

 

At lunch, the next day (after crossing the pass) Clark spotted this sign in a Quizno's.

The City Hall in Mattawa used to be a car wash, me thinks.  They should have kept the car wash going.  That way people could easily kill two birds with one stone: go to City Hall and get their car washed!

 IT IS STILL WINDY IN PASCO, HERE IS PROOF JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE US.

 What is going on here? I'm not even sure... several nights spent at my sister's house, watching the kids go nuts.  Not really, but I kind of think they were really excited about our visit.

If there was a single reason to move back to the Tri-Cities (aside from family, of course), it would be Viera's Bakery.  The original bakery is still in downtown Pasco, but we tend to visit this bakery off of 68 out of convenience.  We literally bought dozens of donuts and pasteries while we were in Pasco.  DOZENS.

 Custard horn, anyone? Or two, or three?

One of my closest friends moved back to the Tri-Cities in July with her husband (she had been living in Spain the last 6+ years). Though they've been married for 4 years, Clark and I just finally met him!  So, at least we know that if we moved back to the Tri-Cities, we would have immediate best friends!

One afternoon we spent at the bowling alley in downtown Kennewick. And at the adjoining arcade.  So fun to watch kids bowl and play video games.

I just love the next sequence of photos: Teya imitating Grandpa, though she wasn't playing a real game.

A visit to Pasco is never complete without visiting Griggs.  Found some pseudo moon boots.  Clark also found some real snow boots and Doc Martens.

What!?  Could it be? Clark's old house looks exactly the same.

Chickens roaming around my parents yard.  

This is what the flash bang powder looked like before it exploded and bent up the steel poles.  It was so awesome, wish you could have been there.

I love this picture, I wish we would have taken it with a real camera and not a phone camera.

Our Super 8 hotel hallway still smelled like a rock concert, in spite of these "notices" posted in the reception area of the hotel. 

What a fun time. The end.

Back to our old stomping grounds

That's right. We went back to Pasco for a visit in late February.  It's still there and the mighty wind still blows strong in the "Tri". 

 I've always loved the windmills in Eastern Washington.  We had to stop off to get some photos. 

 HOME!

There was plenty of shooting to be had.  We know how rare .22 shells are, so thanks, Dad, for letting us enjoy some of your limited supply! 

I miss these faces so much already...

This little guy loves showing off all his skills...

Dad showing us that he hasn't aged a bit.

More target practice...

Chase was pretty impressed that the bullets made it through steel.

The flash bang powder bent this steel pole. My Dad was so psyched, you can see the excitement in his face!  

Clark set off the explosion in one attempt.

My sister, still looking fantastic, even with four little ones! I don't know how she does it...

Cole showing off....again ;)

It was so good to get away, even if the weather wasn't ideal (why are we not traveling to sunny, beachy islands during the winter!??!). With the exception of my little brother Scott, his wife, and their new little girl, we were able to see my entire family AND some great friends we haven't seen in a while!  More photos to come in an additional post.  I sure love these people and I'm glad we had the opportunity to spend lots of quality time with all of them!

Snow Days

With another impending winter storm upon us, I thought it would be quite appropriate to blog about the snow days we've had thus far. 

The night of one of the bigger storms (14 inches snowfall), Clark and I played a competitive game of chess.  Clark won. This was taken just before dark, and it just kept snowing and snowing through the night.

 

The morning after...didn't make it into work that day.

 

Clark and I started to get a little cabin fever after being cooped up in the house all day, so we took a walk around our favorite cemetery.  We weren't the only ones with this idea...

 

12 degrees, poor Clark needs some snow boots and long johns.

I stayed plenty warm in my long johns-- thank you, Janet!

This massive icicle just finally melted yesterday.  It took down the rain gutter and an a/c unit as it plummeted to the ground.  

 

Last weekend we took a quick trip to Baltimore.  We bundled up Georgie and did some sledding on a nearby hill with the kids.

The snowy weather has been great (especially when I don't have to go into work!) but I'm ready for spring.  My running is at an all time low and it's killing me.