Skiing at Fern Ridge

Mark's business partner and his wife took us out skiing on Monday night. Oregon keeps on surprising me with it's beauty! I don't think I've ever seen a prettier lake than Fern Ridge. It was freezing all day long and overcast, but by the time we got to the lake that evening, it had warmed up, the clouds had burned off and their was hardly a ripple on the water. It was the perfect night for skiing. I haven't had water like that in years. It was so FUN!!!! Mark and I skied until we couldn't hold on to the rope any longer and there was hardly any daylight left. Glenn even barefooted! He's an animal out there. The kids LOVED the boat! Macy jumped in the water a few times to test her life jacket. It worked! :)

Me skiing. Check out that water. Sweet!

Mark and I air chaired! Mark has done it before, but it was the first time for me. I got up on my first try! Glenn and Jeenie were great couches and awesome drivers! It's a trip when you get up out of the water! I crashed and burned several times. I have yet to master it! So fun, though!

Mark

Me, getting up the first time.

Me, getting some air.

Mark and I have a new motto: THE FAMILY THAT SKIIS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER! We've vowed to get ourselves a boat! Thanks to Glenn and Jeenie for such a fun night (& the hot chocolate and cookies).

Mark's partner, Glenn, chillin' with the kids.

Fair Time

We LOVE the Benton County Fair! We look forward to it every summer! We don't know why? This year we bought wristbands for the kids and they seriously rode every kid ride 20 times! They had the look of pure JOY on their faces. The Dragon Coaster was their favorite! We were there for six hours and Mark and I (the parents) were begging to go home! Every day the kids still ask if we can go back! Second to Disneyland, it's like the happiest place on earth! :)

Cooling off with snow cones!

Part III Seattle

Okay, so our trip is almost over! Lots of details, I know! Last day in Seattle, we grabbed breakfast again at the market. This time, we found this sweet little crepe place hidden in some back corner. We ordered a fresh peach crepe to share smothered in whipped cream. Oh, my goodness! Best crepe EVER!

So, even though we are NOT coffee drinkers, we love a good raspberry steamer. Here is Mark standing in line at the original Starbucks. It was worth the wait! There is a Starbucks on every corner in Seattle. People like their coffee.

Oh, and another great thing about Seattle. The first Nordstrom store established in 1901. Love their service & we just happened to catch their Anniversary Sale!

This was such a fun trip! I recommend that everyone should visit Seattle at least once! It's such a great city! Thanks to Mary and Micah and everyone who helped watch our kids so we could get away! It was a very Happy Anniversary! Here's to 50 more!!!!

More of Seattle....

Saturday morning we woke up and walked down to Pike's Market Place. This is the famous "fish throwing" market that Seattle is known for. It was packed with people, yummy food to eat and the most gorgeous flowers. I was in LOVE with the flowers and they are so cheap - $5 or$10 will get you a beautiful bouquet. We spent the whole morning at the market sampling fresh peaches, chocolate dipped cherries and flavored almonds. Then we found the mini donut shop our friends told us about! Fresh, homemade donuts that melted in your mouth. So Good!

These are the donuts. Chocolate with sprinkles. Yum!

Later that day, we walked down to Safeco Field to watch the Seattle Mariners play against Tampa Bay. Mark played hard ball to scalp some tickets. I was impressed. We thought we were getting a great deal until we realized the game was already in the 5th inning. Oh, well! We were 20 rows off the field and in the shade. It was a great game and the Mariners WON 3 to 2! We're fans now!

We happened to be in town on the weekend of the SeaFair Torchlight Parade. It was a 3 hour parade that ran down 4th street in Seattle. There were tons of parade balloons like this. Everything was lit up since the parade ran well in to the evening.

We watched the parade for a bit and then decided to walk up to the Space Needle to see Seattle at night. The Space Needle was pretty impressive, built for the World Fair in 1962. The ride up on the elevator takes your breath (literally) and the views are spectacular.

SEATTLE

Mark and I just celebrated our 10th Wedding anniversary together! I would never have ever dreamed that that boy whom I met 14 summers ago... the one that made some sly remark about me being from Mountain Crest and him being from Sky View and then something along the lines of "...now that we're graduated, I guess we can be friends" would end up being the man I would marry. Now here we are 10 years later, 3 moves later with 7 years of schooling behind us, 3 kids, a mortgage, a minivan and a dental practice. We've had to make some pretty big decisions along the way, like any couple. Decisions that we prayed so hard over. We followed our hearts and our dreams and somehow created this life that we live and love so much! I've been so grateful to have Mark by my side through it all. Mark is my very best friend and the greatest person in the world to be married to. He's handsome, hardworking and so funny! He makes me laugh out loud every day which is the reason I married him in the first place! He is kind, thoughtful, sensitive and full of surprises, keeping life fun, interesting and light. He's perfect for me and such a wonderful father to our children. I'm so glad I have him to spend the rest of my life with and so glad he chose me to be his bride 10 years ago!

So, with that all that said, of course we had to celebrate! Ten years is a big deal! I've been wanting to see Seattle since we moved here. What an incredibly beautiful city! The views were INCREDIBLE, the food AMAZING and the shopping FABULOUS. There was so much to do and see. I think we walked over six miles in one day. We loved the lively downtown and the crowds of people everywhere. We stayed at the Sheraton which was right in the middle of it all. Thanks to our wonderful friends who watched our kids so we could get away!

The view from our hotel window.

My handsome hubby!

Us! We still look like kids! :)

A fun little surprise from our friends...the Horvaths! Thank you! We love you, guys!

For dinner Friday night, we went to a place called Salty's on the other side of the bay with incredible views of the city. The food was amazing! I felt like I needed to be pinched. It was the most perfect evening.

We had the best table in the house. I could not get over this view of the Seattle city skyline!

A little friend that wanted to join us for dinner.

Sunset

Okay! The food was delicious! Did I mention that? Crab cakes for appetizers. Their famous clam chowder, halibut (so fancy) and crab macaroni and cheese! To die for!

City Lights