What do you get with 3 balls of string and 60+ hours of work?

You get this: (The dress, people, not the baby...)

The Trip, Part 3

Saturday we decided to wake up early so that we could drive into DC and do some touristy stuff. We made really good time and got to DC around 10:20 in the morning. After a few stressful minutes of trying to find a parking spot we got out and started walking the memorials. We didn't have a lot of time so our main focus was to see as much as we could in three hours. We saw a LOT! It's Memorial Day weekend so it got pretty busy. There were people everywhere. It was awesome. All these people there remembering the price of freedom. There were times it simply took my breath away.

The White House


WWII Memorial


Lincoln Memorial


Washington Memorial


"The Flaming Sword of Justice" aka a WWI Memorial. I named it so because that's what it looks like.


Memorial day brings out the biker vets and their families. I don't know if you can see them well in this picture but here are thousands of bikes parked on the mall. There were biker vets everywhere, it was so awesome! They all wear these vest with patches on them on what war, if they were POW/MIA, their units, and how many years they had done the trip to DC for Memorial day.


Oh, and here is General. Look closely, the guy on the right is wearing his toy dog in a sling. The dog is wearing goggles. His name is General. That dog got his picture taken more than Lincoln himself I'm sure.


My favorite memorial was the Korean War Memorial.


Jefferson Memorial. It's not on the mall directly, we had to drive a few blocks to get to it, but luckily parking there is good. It's incredible how big these structures are. So much time and labor were put into them.


And yes, there are more pics of James than me. He's just more photogenic. Well, I'm going to wrap up here. There are a ton more pictures. It was a really great trip. The weather was SO nice, not too hot and just right warm. Oh, and did you know that North Carolina SMELLS good!! Such a nice change after living in smoggy LA and moldy Seattle!

The Trip, Part 2

Thursday we drove from DC to Durham. The drive was very pretty. Virginia is beautiful. North Carolina is the same. There are trees everywhere. It was very disconcerting in Durham and surrounds. Everything is hidden by a green belt. It was hard to navigate at first, but we soon figured it out. I cheaped out at the car rental place and decided not to get the GPS. Silly idea. We ended up buying a map and had a few interesting side tours while looking for apartments.

We stayed with a friends parents in Durham. They have a beautiful house in the country of North Durham. They were incredible and generous. Oh, and they had deer running through their community. How cool is that?!?

Friday was spent looking at more apartments. (And yarn stores, we hit up Hillsborough and Fiber Loft) We figured out that N. Durham wasn't exactly where we wanted to be and focused more on SW Durham near Chapel Hill since that is where James would be working. We found some good apartments and we have an idea of where we would move if the transfer did go through.

Friday night I met up with some knitting friend that I met on Ravelry. We had a good time. One of the ladies is opening her own yarn shop (Fiber Loft). I got to go in and I bought some really cool hand spun and dyed yarn.



After we hung out at the shop we went out for dinner and some sightseeing. We ended up at Duke Gardens... gorgeous and while we were on Duke campus we went to see the Chapel.

The Gardens


The Chapel





All in all Friday was a very pleasant day and we could see ourselves living in that area. All though I have realized that living in the Northwest has spoiled me with all the yummy yarn stores here.

The Trip, Part 1

On Wednesday we left our kids in the hands of the very capable grandparents and we flew to DC. The flight was long and boring. I knit, James read. I know, exciting. Anyways we got to DC and my friend Tami picked us up. She so rocks! She let us stay at her house for the night. We were getting settled in and funny story... I cut my hand on a tiny piece of glass. It hurt like no one's business. I went into the bathroom to run it under some cold water. And then I started feeling woozy. I called to James and the next thing I knew James was holding me on the bathroom floor trying to wake me. Yes, I was felled by a tiny piece of glass! Want to see the big bad owie that made me faint? Here it is!



Awesome, huh. I feel like a complete moron. I mean, who passes out at this type of stuff? Oh yeah, me.

Here I am with my friend Tami. I thinks she's totally awesome. She's a really good friend and I'm glad that I got to know her better.

Pleased as Punch!

So, little known (or widely known, depending on how you know me) fact is that as much as I am at the yarn store I really don't knit at all. I mostly crochet. And since I have professed rather vigorously that I DO NOT KNIT... here is where I get to eat my words.

I finished this today. Yes, FINISHED. As in actually knit something and didn't take it apart after a few rows. You see, I prefer to crochet. It's faster and if you make a mistake it's not nearly as hard to fix it as it is if you were knitting. That being said, I just love how knit items turn out. They just look more "finished" and not so "homemade" looking. I've always said that I don't have the patience to knit. I guess I must have learned some somewhere.

Here it is, a purple fingerless glove to wear to Gabe's T-Ball games.

A Surefire Way to Get FAT!

So, while hanging out on Ravelry one day I came across a little known thing called Cakewaffles. Mmmmm..... cake.



To make Cakewaffles is very easy. Mix up a box of cake mix exactly as it says on the back of the box. Turn on your waffle iron. Next you put some batter in the waffle iron and cook it for the same amount of time as a regular waffle. Serve warm topped with your favorite toppings. I specifically love Devils Food Cake with Whipped Cream and Strawberries. I've also heard that the Yellow Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream is also very good.

I know you all want to try them.

It's not the Aquarium of the Pacific.

But beggers can't be choosers when you need something to do with your kids.

The Seattle Aquarium is actually not that bad. We got there late in the afternoon. We saw them feed the octopus. All the mammals were out playing. The girl and the boy loved it. We should have bought a family pass though.

Here we are in the bubble. The boy thought this was awesome. The girl didn't want to leave. I must admit that I love to sit in these types of places and just hang out. I needed a break! We window shopped on Queen Anne. Had lunch at the 5 Spot. Hit up the Trader Joes for snacks when we got to the Aquarium. Went to the park. By the time we actually made it to the aquarium I was beat!

The boy riding on a whale.

This seal was HUGE!

Nobody puts Baby in the corner. Except Baby herself...

Kerney Park

James and I discovered this park yesterday while on a foray in Queen Anne. It's a smallish park set on the side of the hill overlooking the majestic Seattle downtown. It's a great view and I can only imagine how beautiful it is on an actually sunny day. The view is very famous. It's the one all those "hollywood" types use for stock footage of the city. Here is a good example as modeled by my extremely cute children.



At this park is a little play area that while looking down on it you think... "oh, my children will like that". But what you don't know is that they have a few pieces of equipment that are the FUNNEST things you have ever been on.

Example #1, #2 and #3 the "teacups". Fun little things you sit in and they spin you around and around. No pushing required. Perfect for my lazy self. All of us tried it. I didn't get a pic of James doing it, I was too busy spinning!


Oh, here is a pic of James spinning. Yes, this is a very cool little park.


More gratuious pics while at the park.