Evie’s First Time Bowling

A rainy Saturday was rolling in to the Puget Sound area, so we decided it was the perfect day for a trek outside. We ventured south to Redmond to get in a quick photo shoot for a friend, then we decided that Northwest Trek was the place to go when it was going to be wet and windy. Unfortunately, our truck decided to alter our plan a bit as it developed a strange ‘hesitation’ on the freeway about Renton. We’re about 90% positive it is a fuel filter issue, but I’ll call the dealership later today to check on it. That said, we decided not to take the 30-40 mile drive further from home and head north.

About the time we hit Bellevue, we decided it was time for lunch. Given we were in Bellevue and I had just mentioned Lunchbox Laboratory, it made perfect sense to head there for some food. Once again, the burgers were amazing, the tater tots were fantastic and the chocolate shake was perfect. Lunch was a home run. While we sat and enjoyed out lunch, the thought of going bowling came up and we decided it was the perfect time to try it. We headed over to TechCity Lanes in Kirkland.

After about 30 minutes of playing in the ‘best arcade on the Eastside’ we were ready to start bowling. I put quotes around that because it was in no way the best arcade even in Kirkland as far as I was concerned. Half the games were broken, another chunk didn’t give out the tickets that they were supposed to and the few that worked were pretty darn boring. That said, it was time to get rolling.

We played for an hour – or loosely translated – about a game and a half. Evie did really well for her first time. We had a ‘roller’ rack and bumpers put up for her, but she really did well with just the rack. The rack allows you to place your ball on it, then just push it hard to get it down the lane. No worrying about footwork, letting go of the ball or anything like that.

Overall, for a day that didn’t go as planned, we had a blast. Evie really enjoyed her first time bowling. Ara enjoyed beating me in the only game we finished and I had fun just being there. It turned out to be a pretty great rainy Saturday.

Snow Day!

This week has just been crazy regarding the weather. Last week, we had 20 degree temperatures and clear skies. Saturday night and in to Sunday, we had about an inch and a half of snow. By the middle of the week, temperatures were back in to the mid-50’s. Now, for the weekend, they are calling for severe winds and downpours. Fortunately, we did have that weekend of snow, and the rarity of having it on a weekend meant a snow day for me!

The storm started out Saturday night, about 10:00. There wasn’t much to see early on. Everything had been in a deep freeze – we call 20 degrees in Seattle a deep freeze – for about a week, so it started to stick pretty quickly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really coming down very quickly so it looked like Snowmageddon  was going to pass up Monroe again.

Over the next few hours though, it began to stack up a bit. This first image is about an hour and a half in to the snow fall. Just a little bit sticking to the dirt and the dry areas.

About 45 minutes later, the grass was pretty well covered and the pavement was beginning to show signs of snow as well.

Finally, after about 2 hours of the snow falling, we had a solid 1/2 and inch on the ground. From the rate that it was coming down, it seemed like there should be quite a bit more, but I guess we get what we get when storms like this come in.

The next morning, we awoke to a blanket of perfect snow. I’m not sure how I beat everyone else up that morning, but it was beautiful. The only footprints to be seen anywhere were the ones belonging to the dog walkers. It was just beautiful.

The snowfall was perfect. The ground was white, the cars were covered and the trees looked amazing.

The evergreens across the way from us looked like a scene from a Christmas card. Just lightly frosted and contrasting so well against the gray and white sky.

After about an hour of not wanting to venture out, Evie finally decided that it was a good idea for me and her to head outside and play. She plopped down 10 feet from the door and made her first snow angel of the day. She made it extra big, with a crown.

She then thought it was time to just roll around a bit before we took a walk around to see how pretty everything looked. She wanted to build a snowman… Insert the Frozen Song here… but she was afraid that it would get knocked over by the big kids. I came up with a speedy solution.

We took packed snowballs and smashed them up against a tree. This created a “ball” on the tree. We did a few more and had an instant base for a snowman – stuck to a tree. He was completely safe from those big kids knocking him over.

After the success of our Tree Snowman, Evie was wanting to move along. It was about this time we noticed that the pavement was getting a bit wetter, and the snow was starting to slowly melt away. We decided that it might be time to try and build that real snowman before we headed inside. We balled up the wet snow the best we could and Evie ran inside to get a carrot for the nose. He turned out pretty good if you ask me.

After we finished our snowman, it was becoming apparent that this snow was not going to last much longer. Just walking through fresh parts of it was leaving wet footprints. It was time to get out of the snow before we became completely drenched. We headed inside and watched the snow slowly melt. It was the perfect ending to a great snow day.

Super Bowl XLVIII–Bring It Home

This weekend had such a build up around the Seattle area. For the first time in a long time, a local sports team had a chance, no a very real possibility of bringing home a major sports championship. This happened only once in my life time, back in 1979, the Super Sonics won the NBA title.

But on this Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks changed all of that. With a 43-8 trouncing of the Denver Broncos, the 12th Man received their long awaited prize of a Lombardi Trophy to call their own. This certainly would be a day that Seattleites can look back on and say, “I remember where I was when the Seahawks won their first Super Bowl.”

The game was lopsided from the start with Denver’s offense fumbling the first snap into the end zone for a safety. This was followed by the Seahawks marching down the field for a Field Goal, and then another. By the end of the first half, the Hawks were up 22-0 and nothing was going right for the Broncos.

The coolest part about this Super Bowl as the crowd we watched it with. They weren’t all football fans, in fact many of them weren’t even knowing what was going on in front of them. There was one common bond that everyone in attendance had though, a love for Jesus. The halftime show was cut off and the Resurgence video of Pastor Driscoll interviewing a few of the Seahawk players was shown instead. Check out the link to watch this great interview.

After the half ended, the game resumed and the Seahawks came out firing on all cylinders once again. The rout continued until Denver practically surrendered to the Hawks defensive pressure. Even with injuries to Richard Sherman and a few other defensive backs – I honestly lost count with how many were up and down in the final 10 minutes – the Broncos had nothing to challenge the Seahawks.

The game over, Paul Allen, the owner of the Seahawks came up to give a speech that thanked everyone in the organization, the fans and just about anyone else he could throw out in the 15 seconds he had. He was obviously impressed with the entire experience and I’m sure he can’t wait to do it again next year. So, with Super Bowl 48 in the books, it’s time to look forward to Super Bowl 49 and a repeat, right?