Seattle... Phase II

Mini road trip?  Sure, why not?!?

Last weekend, when Dustin and I went up to the Seattle area for a wedding we took Josh with us, but we didn't bring him back.  He stayed behind to catch a flight to Virginia to see his girlfriend, Ashley, who moved east for a new job a couple months ago.  Great plan... except when he flew back to Seattle without a rig to get home.

In comes Phase II of the plan -- Road Trip!

I offered to drive up and get Josh [after all, we took him up, so it was only fair to help him get back], on one condition... someone would drive with me.  So I called my bestie, Keicia, who happens to be a PRO at road trips [note: She lives in Montana, Fiance' lives in Spokane, Mom lives in Lake Stevens, In-Laws live in Lewiston..... she travels a LOT] and we planned our quick trip to retrieve Josh.

Keicia arrived in Burbank shortly after I got home from work on Friday.  We let Porter play with his girlfriend, Keicia's spunky little boxer puppy [Roxie], for a few minutes before dropping him off for a sleepover with my sister and her dog, Koa.

We packed along Roxie, her spunky spit-fire boxer puppy, and planned to spend the night in Lake Stevens with Tammy and Lori.  We arrived just in time for some snacks, wine, beer and dinner!  Roxie pestered the two munchkin dogs [we're allowed to call them bitchy because by definition they're both bitches] and begged for any scrap of food that she could get, we ate a delicious dinner and homemade cookies, enjoyed fun conversation sitting on the deck until the sun went down, played an intense game of 'Oh Hell' [a card game that is definitely more fun when at least one person doesn't quite understand the rules], and laughed much of the night away.

Aside from my favorite pair of flip-flops breaking [also the ONLY pair of shoes I took to Seattle] and hearing the phrase "swollen vulva" [one of the bitchy dogs was in heat -- maybe explaining part of her moodiness ;) just maybe] more than I ever have in my life, it was the best night in a long time!  I got to spend the whole day with Keicia, enjoy a fabulous dinner that I didn't have to cook, be surrounded with great company, play with an adorable puppy, and sleep in a comfy bed!

We DID end up retrieving Josh after a quick visit with his Aunt Lori [who rescued him from the airport in the wee hours of the morning after his flight landed] once we found the right apartment.  Then we had a nice little lunch and hit the road!  Josh and Roxie both enjoyed a nap along the way, too!

After making it safely home Porter was excited to see us, but not as excited as he was to see his girlfriend, Roxie, again.  They played as long as they could before Keicia had to kidnap Roxie and go back to Lewiston.  Porter might be big.... but he's a big baby at heart and knows that he has to be gentle and that the little one gets to 'win' when they play!  [For now.  When she's full grown, it's on!]

All in all, this has been a great weekend.... and it's only Saturday :)




[Thanks SO MUCH to Keicia for going with me, to Tammy and Lori for hosting us, to my sister for watching Porter and to Josh for being the reason we got to go on our little road trip!]

Kidney Stones, Foul Balls and Wedding Bells

The last several days have been a roller coaster ride of emotions... That, along with a road trip and lack of sleep makes for an eventful experience!

So let's start at the beginning.  Thursday.  Dustin texted me around 10am, nearly giving me a heart attack.  This is all he said:  "Gary may take me to ER"  That's it.  Horrible, I tell you!  Do not EVER text someone something like that without an explanation.  Just don't.  It's mean.

I finally called and spoke with Dustin to find out that he was in a lot of pain due to what was almost certainly a kidney stone.  He was laid out on the concrete floor at work trying find a comfortable position to ease the pain.  --  I drove out to see him during my lunch and he thought he was starting to feel a bit better. --  Unfortunately, that didn't last long.

Just after I had left work, Dustin called asking if I would take him to the ER.  After several hours, blood work, a CT scan, and lots of pain meds we knew that it WAS a kidney stone.  We went home and thus began a sleepless night for me.  [I don't sleep well when I am stressed or worried... and I don't sleep at all when I'm stressed AND worried]  Knowing that we were supposed to leave for a weekend in Seattle the next day didn't make things much better.  Each time I looked at the clock I saw less time left to try to sleep.

ER - before pain meds... poor guy

Thankfully, pain meds kicked in and Dustin slept most of the night and even felt well enough to go into work for part of the day.  Then, we were off to Seattle!



I have a *cousin* [we haven't quite figured out the technical term of our relation... but have settled on being cousins as an easy explanation without whipping out the whole family tree] who works for Root Sports, the station that films and broadcasts the Seattle Mariner's Games.  We have been lucky enough to get tickets from him several years in a row, and this time we were able to take Josh and Didi with us :)

Party Foul via Foul Ball

The game was a blowout, but what was even more entertaining was Dustin's failed interaction with a foul ball.  When we arrived at the stadium, Didi and I told the boys that if a foul ball was hit our way, it was their job to catch it or keep it from hitting us [at the very least].  They both ASSURED us that it was impossible for the ball to land near our seats [20 rows up behind home plate].  Let's just say that they were wrong.  Somewhere in the bottom of the 7th inning, the batter hit a foul ball and it was headed straight for us.  The father and son sitting behind us reached out [Dustin wasn't paying much attention, apparently] and knocked the ball down, and it took out Dustin's full glass of [$10] beer.  Thankfully, nobody was hurt, we got a lot of laughs out of it, and the 'Mariners' bought Dustin a replacement beer.

After the game we found our way to a local bar and enjoyed a few drinks before settling in for the night.  Thankfully, there was a sudden downpour accompanied by thunder and lightening, which helped cool down Didi's top floor apartment.  Unfortunately, that didn't help Josh [who forgot the air pump for his inflatable mattress] who ended up sleeping on the couch, which is about 3 or 4 feet shorter than he is.

Josh > Couch

Saturday morning we got up and walked to breakfast before returning to Didi's apartment to get ready for Dani & Tom's wedding.

So helpful... most of the time!

Dani & Tom had a beautiful wedding ceremony in a small church in downtown Seattle followed by a wonderful reception in their back yard, sitting on the edge of the cutest little lake.  The ceremony and reception featured perfect touches from the Bride and Groom and their families, including Tom's Polish roots.  The whole evening was perfectly described by Bryce as 'intimate' when he gave a touching speech at the reception.... followed by speeches from many members of the wedding party leaving few dry eyes.  Dustin and I were truly honored to be included in their special day!

After the wedding we retreated to the Wittman Bed & Breakfast [aka Connor and Kristin's house, with scones provided by the one and only Brynn!] for a much needed night's sleep.  After a sleepless Thursday night, followed by sleeping on the floor Friday, I couldn't wait to spend the night in a real bed... even if it wasn't my own just yet.

Sunday we got up and made the drive back to Tri-Cities and picked up our big boy from my parents house.  He must have had a fun weekend, too, because he was soooo tired.  Dustin and Porter and I all settled in for a relaxing afternoon... nap included!

In between unpacking, naps and snacks, we watched the Mariner's game we went to that we had recorded... we found Dustin and Josh in the crowd a couple times!

Josh... tall guys are easy to find!

I spied Dustin walking up the stairs.... to get the beer that the foul ball demolished.

All in all.... it was a good weekend.  It most certainly improved from the way it started!  But I'm definitely ready for a less eventful week or two to come!