Monday, June 27, 2011

At the end of a long day, sitting in the backyard as a light rain falls, eating like royalty as the dogs run around like maniacs.

Yes.  I have a lot to be thankful for.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

2 years ago, I spent this day at Seattle Pride - which resulted in me meeting the man of my dreams.  

I find it kind of perfect that we spent much of today outside, with our dogs, at our house, working on our wedding invitations.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

On Saturday morning, Brian and I to spend some time with little Baby A while his folks ran in the Seattle Rock and Roll half marathon.  We had a blast...

We had a lot of friends running in the marathon - apparently, they all set personal records.  We got there early and found a great spot to see them right before the finish line!

It was a pretty fun way to spend a Saturday morning :)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

I had a very long week this week.  I had my boss traveling with me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just exhausting.  Regular days stretch out hours longer than usual because you're entertaining someone and going over a ton of work stuff.  Anyhow, I ended this very long week at a party with three of my hotels over in Spokane.  It was IHG Celebrate Service week and the 3 properties came together to throw a party of all of their employees to celebrate all that they do for us every day.  It was special to be a part of their celebration.  I know a lot of those employees and it was really nice to have the opportunity to thank them for all their service.  In my current job, I don't often get the opportunity to to say thank you to all the line employees - I had forgotten how special that  can be.

Here is a shot of one of the GM's launching the evening.

These hotels really went all out for this party.  They had special awards and a full dinner for the employees and their families.  For the kids, they brought in a babysitter, a clown and a petting zoo.

What a nice way to say thanks.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

It's funny how trimming up the trees in the yard has made them look so much taller...

So, we've spent a ton of time cleaning out the yard and trying to turn it into a place where we can actually start spending time (as opposed to just an over-grown dog run).  With the trees finally dealt with, we decided that maybe we could try one of  these...

It has some really pretty side panels, but we thought those might need to wait for a while.  The plan over the next month or so will be to tackle the pavers on the lower patio and expand that seating area. (i.e. get the table off the dirt)  I may not get all the big-picture outdoor plans done this year, but I think we'll definitely be able to have a decent outdoor living area sooner rather than later.

And just for my mom, check out the idea below that I came up with for "fencing" along that drop-off.  I found these massive ceramic pots for a steal - figured we could plant something pseudo-tall in them and that should give us a perfect temporary solution.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Guess who just turned 9 months old?

Monday, May 30, 2010

Sometimes, the best way to end a three-day weekend is with a yummy Porter, some bad trivia and good friends.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

How did we spend Memorial Day weekend?

Glad you asked.

We did yard work.
Lots and lots of yard work.

Let me clarify: we did the math and came to the conclusion that we gathered 464 gallons of yard debris.

And that was just the front yard.

Of course, once we got all that cleaned up, we found out that we have some beautiful ground cover hiding under all that nastiness.

I'm pretty much just thankful that we aren't "those neighbors" anymore...

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

There are many times when I feel very lucky to have such an over-acheiving region to support for work.  This past week was definitely one of those times.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Sorry for the lack of posts.  I just haven't been feeling inspired for quite some time.  Oh well.  Here is something I was thankful for...

Sunshine (finally).

Here's a shot of the some of the massive rhododendrons in our backyard.

Sunshine meant playing fetch with the boys.  They haven't quite mastered the art form yet, so right now, we still need 2 (muddy) tennis balls if we're going to attempt it.  

But they're getting the overall concept (At least, Venn is getting the overall concept.  Daijo loves to chase the ball, but if he gets it first, then he has to take it away to play with it by himself, but that's practically another post by itself)

Fun times.