It Took Moving to Seattle....

For me (Angela) to see Brett Favre play (no less for the NY Jets). It has been snowing since Thursday here in Seattle and the city has shut down, except for those Seahawks fans. On a last minute whim Mark and I got in the Jeep and headed to Qwest Field to watch the Seahawks take on the Jets in Coach Holmgren's last home game. He was once again facing Brett Favre in the snow. Here are a few pics from the game and the snow around us. Seriously, people were skiing in the streets.

The Field during the 1st Quarter

The Field during the 3rd Quarter


Who says it doesn't snow much in Seattle

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Football 2008

Even being 2000 miles from home, I was able to attend 3 Packer games this year. I bet the Pack wishes I could have attended more, as they went 3-0 during the games I attended. I was able to see them beat the Vikings and Colts in Green Bay, and the Seahawks in Seattle.




My buddies Al and Charlie Hatfield joined me in September to watch Oklahoma State travel to Seattle to play the Washington State. The 3 of us represented Oklahoma proud, and the Cowboys destroyed the Cougars on a sunny autumn day in Seattle.

Christmas in Seattle Volume 1

So, Angela finally gave me (Mark) write access to her blog. With this valuable information, expect several skiing, hiking, and adventurous photos of the northwest! In the meantime, please enjoy the following Christmas photos as we try to enjoy our 1st Christmas away from both of our homes.

We did put up a tree this year, and I suprised Angela with lights on the house when she was away visiting her family in Tulsa over Thanksgiving. We did try to encorporate as many tree ornaments as we could to remind us of our families back in Wisconsin and Oklahoma.

Merry Chrismas, and God Bless you all!!

Needed Update

For all of you who still check this - we are still alive out here in the NW. Now that the football and rain seasons have started, we don't have much exciting going on. On Saturdays we watch the Badgers (but not today) and Sunday's excitement is where will we cheer on the Packers. This weekend is a football free weekend since the Badgers played a non-conference game and the Pack plays Monday night. What will we do with ourselves?

Well, I'll tell what we'll do. Today, we slept in - 9:00 AM and it felt so good. Then off to the gym for me while Mark took a run around Green Lake. We're having sun bursts today so get out and enjoy them. Mark has taken off to REI because he finally realized he needs a jacket with a hood. Last night it was raining sideways and he had no protection. Tonight we are "exploring" Seattle's night life with some of Mark's co-workers. I'll let you know how that goes.

Mark and I are getting ready for the holidays. Since I get to go home for Thanksgiving (Mark is enjoying Turkey day with the Hatfields here in Seattle) we are getting the Christmas decorations out this weekend. Jingle Bells!

Cruise to Canada

Mark and I took our first cruise for our 1 year anniversary. Last weekend we took a 3 night Northwest cruise on Celebrity cruise line. We left Seattle on Friday and visited to Victoria, BC and Nanaimo, BC before returning to Seattle on Monday morning. We had a blast and are ready for a longer (and warmer) crusie.

Angela with the Seattle skyline and a margarita.

Mark on the boat with the Seattle skyline

Practicing for the emergency drill - Mark took this very seriously.

The border

The Empress Hotel

The Government building in Victoria, BC

Can you tell it was cold and wet.

Nanaimo, BC

We were allowed to bring on 2 bottles of wine - ask Mark what type of "wine" this bottle contained. (Clue - is he holding a wine glass?)

Go PACK Go!

Mark and I represented the GREEN and GOLD nation today at the Seahawks v Packer game! Go Pack Go!!!

Quick Status Update

I made it through 3 days of unemployment and so far so good - alright, maybe not as good as chilling at home and doing whatever I went whenever I want. I guess we have to pay the bills which meant I did have to get a job. I started work on Wednesday, September 3 for a local company (of which I found I'm not supposed to mention the name in any blog posts - according to policy). Typical of a new employee, I feel completely overwhelmed and completely inadequate. I need to beef up on my knowledge of Washington employment law as I've heard WA called "California's cousin". MUCH different than Oklahoma!

I hope to post some pictures and blog material from my parent's visit last weekend. We had a great time and I miss them already. When do I get to come home?????

Mark is visiting Wisconsin this weekend and enjoying his first trip home since last Thanksgiving. I know he was extremely excited, but I bet he doesn't get on the blog and fill everyone in when he gets back to Seattle. For some reason he just doesn't get in to this whole blog thing like I do. Anyone remember the wedding website - he hated that too!

We did it anyway

Our friends Ryan and Courtney told us when we moved here that you can't let the rain get in your way - you just have to get out and do it anyway, so we did. Long ago we purchased tickets to Chateau Ste. Michelle concert series to see Chicago (yes, some of you may be asking "why?", while others are saying "cool"). These concerts are put on rain or shine, and guess which one we had...that's right....rain...surprised?....I didn't think so. Mark and I debated if we would go or not and finally we decided the money was already spent and how would we rather spend our $120...dry and watching TV, or wet and listening to Chicago. We choose the dry option. That was our decision up until 6:30 PM (concert started at 7:00) when Mark looked at the radar and thought the rain was about to pass so we headed out to the winery. It's a really good thing Mark is an engineer and not a meterologist because the rain was not over. We made the best of it and sat in the rain fully equipped with rain gear and a bottle of wine. It was a little cold, a lot wet, but we did it anyway.

Working Girl

It's offical - I'm employed. I accepted a position as a Field HR Manager for Personnel Management Systems, Inc. PMSI provides outsourced HR solutions for small companies who don't have the need for a full-time HR person. I'll be going to different companies and providing their HR support (almost like a consultant). My days of unemployment end on September 3 when I report for my first day. At least I have another 2 weeks to enjoy, although its raining right now and has been for the past 2 days. The picture is of the wine Mark brought home the day I accepted.

Another NW Weekend

As the summer draws to a close (let's face it folks, out here summer is only July & August), Mark and I have been trying to fit in all we can. Work on the house has stopped and we're enjoying as much outside as we can. This weekend was no exception.

Friday
Mark had the day off so we started to day with eye doctor appointments and then cupcakes and coffee for breakfast. Yes, cupcakes!!!! Then off to Alki Beach where we took in the sights and ate a picnic lunch. Alki beach is featured in the movie Sleepless in Seattle - its the beach where Tom Hanks takes his son to play football on the beach (they go by boat). After Alki we headed toward home, but stopped at Green Lake (the little lake not to far from us) where we rented a paddle boat and hung out in the glorious sun. It was then time for happy hour - margaritas and chips and guac. We called it a night early so we could be ready for Saturday.

Saturday
The Hatfields came into the city and we all headed down to Seattle's Chinatown/International District (the I.D. we learned is what it is called for short) to see the sights, eat some authentic chinese food and browse an asian market. The food was good, but a little scary at first as we were rookies with the I.D. experience. Then we headed to Green Lake so Jillian and Charlie could swim and jump off the high dive - expert jumping skills! After 3+ hours in the sun we were all tired and headed home.

Sunday
This was our most NW day as we got up early and headed to Whidbey Island to see Deception Pass. We ferried over to the island and then drove up the island to Deception Pass state park. We hiked to a beach and walked half way across the Deception Pass bridge. Once we drove across the bridge we hiked again on a trail to Lighthouse Point. Again, with my hiking abilities we can only do a few hikes and this was rated #1 easy hike in our book. If I wasn't a little worried about going on a moderate hike, this easy hike had us pulling our guide book out several times as we took wrong turns constantly. The scenery was beautiful and we saw a bald eagle along the way. We ended the day with a beach bon fire for Charlie Hatfield's 7th birthday party which included hot dogs and a Star Wars cake.

We had a great weekend with great friends. We hope to do a few more outdoor activities before summer really ends - Lisa Hatfield introduced us to Glamping - google it - so we might try that next weekend! Until the next post - enjoy the pics!


Me on the ferry ------------ Mark on the beach



Mark & the bridge --- I did look up the tree before standing in front


I wanted proof that I hiked ----- Mark up the trail


View from the trail ----- View from lighthouse point


View from lighthouse point ----- Look close for the eagle. We actually saw him fly

Deception Pass bridge ------- Mark's thinking pose

Charlie & Jillian----- The boys and their fire

Charlie is a self-proclaimed "spyro" - I think you all know what he means.

Fast Fact about Our New Hood

Anybody out there a fan of Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel? Little did Mark and I know that the Northwestern and its captain Sig Hansen live in our little part of Seattle (the Ballard area). Apparently when not out to sea the captain can be found at a couple different bars Mark and I had already checked out prior to this knowledge. Who knew? The boat was actually docked about 1.5 miles from our house the other weekend during Seafood Fest - we didn't go check it out, but now I wish I would have taken a closer look. We'll let you know if we have any crew sightings.

For Kimberlina

Daisies from our backyard. Kim, these are picked in your honor.

The Guest Bedroom is Ready for Visitors

BEFORE

AFTER

We are ready for visitors - the first to arrive our Angela's parents for Labor Day weekend and we can't wait. The only thing left is some curtains which we hope to have before we entertain.