mini vacay

I just spent a long weekend with my dear friend hailey. we met up for girl's weekend in phoenix. her last hurrah before her second baby comes. thanks to derek for watching vivien while we lunched and shopped and ate our way through one of our favorite cities.

our first stop, aunt chilada's. our all time favorite mexican restaurant. it was a little too chilly to sit outside on their fabulous patio but we made do inside with our flour tortilla chips, spicy salsa, and chingalingas. it was so good, we had to go back later in the weekend for another meal. heaven.

isn't the backdrop to the photo classy?

we stayed at a fabulous condo owned by a friend of hailey's. it was in scottsdale, near kierland commons. while it wasn't in an area well known by us, it was close to most of the major freeways. plus the condo was awesome! it had double masters which meant we had our own rooms and bathrooms. a big thank you to patti for her generosity!

we started our first full day out right, getting beautiful. we stopped in for a mani/pedi before starting our marathon shopping.

meet my new friend kosy.

then we hit hailey's favorite store. the proprietor used to have a booth at an antique mall frequented often by us (more on that later). since we've both moved away from phoenix, she moved out of the mall and opened her own store. the shabby look is so up hailey's alley...she was successful in finding some pieces for vivien's room.

not too shabby

inside shot

we spent the afternoon at the movies seeing bride wars (totally enjoyed it!) and four christmases (pretty funny in parts) and ended up at another favorite restaurant, my big fat greek restaurant. we dined on flaming cheese, spicy hummus and the best gyro pitas I've ever tasted. we were talked into dessert and it didn't disappoint. warm greek donuts topped with vanilla bean ice cream and honey.

the tzatziki sauce at this place is to die for. I've never found it as good anywhere else.

saturday was dedicated to the mother ship...

merchant square antique marketplace.

the best antique mall with the best prices and the best wares. don't get me wrong, I don't love all the booths there but I can find at least something I like in 85% of them! my prize purchase was a gift for my sister's birthday. sshhh, I can't tell you.

hailey and her box of treasures

I was needing to take a rest at this point. aren't these things fabulous?

quick trip by tokyo house to share our favorite orange chicken bowl and crab puffs after another movie showing,
this time bedtime stories (WAY cuter than I thought).

sunday morning was spent with my cousin justin eating a delicous breakfast at mimi's cafe and then I met up with my friend saundra and her husband for an afternoon of prosecco, pasta and prattle. this is where hailey and I split ways. she went with her friend karen and then took off for home. saundra and jeff were nice enough to do airport drop-off duty.

saundra and I worked together at NAI horizon while I lived in phoenix.

and just as quickly as it began, it was over. our time was wonderful and I am missing my friend already. thank you, hailey. for a wonderful weekend, for being a good friend, and for sharing my love of food, movies and shopping!

best buds.

love you.

the norwegians were here

third installment: weekend two
buca di beppo and a volcano

now it was time to head to our celebration family dinner at buca. besides celebrating the norwegians, we also had three birthdays among us. lisa, ashley and einar. we sat at the pope table which was pretty great. it wasn't totally private but we were off the beaten track a bit which was nice.

besides the fact we love this place, our experience this time didn't start out great. the group before us were VERY delayed in their exit which put us quite late in getting seated. about 6o minutes late. to be honest, I was disappointed in how the restuarant handled the situation at first but they made it up to us and I'm back to being a buca lover. who knew some cheesy garlic bread and a massive dessert platter is all it would take.

we were totally stuffed but we're a family that knows how to celebrate with food.

now it was volcano time.

this is a tradition my aunt started with the grandkids long ago. there is ice cream and many toppings. instead of making single personal sundaes, everything gets piled into one communal bowl and we all grab spoons and dig in. I think the kids are more about the gross factor and not so much into the actual eating of it. it actually wasn't too bad.

hey, don't knock it until you've tried it.

the group at buca. eddie was there, he's just hiding off to the right.

one of the birthday girls we were celebrating.

these two little boys had a blast playing under the table after dinner.

our dessert platter, compliments of the buca owner.
the cheesecake was my favorite.

this stuff is pretty good.

the pope. on the pope's table. funny and creepy at the same time.

einar and his birthday balloon.
they don't have balloons for birthdays in norway. it was a special treat!

these boys became fast friends.
who says you need to speak the same language to fall in love?!

the infamous volcano.

this was a long, fulfilling day. what could we possibly do tomorrow to top it? stay tuned.

to be continued...

the norwegians were here

second installment: weekend two
pike place market and seattle center

saturday dawned bright and sunshiny and wonderful. we started the morning with a walk to kerry and marshall parks and then slowly made our way down queen anne hill walking residential streets and picking out our favorite houses.

we hopped on the bus and rode to downtown. we started at the north end of the market so kristin and rune could get their morning coffee at the original starbucks store. like all the other tourists, we stalked the store so we could get photos of them as they came out with their drinks. they loved it!

we strolled through the market, admiring the fall dahlia's and shopping for treasures. johanne got some jewelry and kristin and rune got some artwork to remind of them seattle. we watched the fish being thrown, rode the pig and ate the best corndogs EVER. and followed those up with a couple dozen of the mini donuts. who goes to the market without getting those mini donuts?

my advice of the day, always, always, always get the cinnamon sugar mini donuts when visiting the market. you can watch them being made and the guy working there always does these tricks and throws the donuts way high up the air and still makes it in the bag. they are a market must. you can thank me for the tip later. :)

after taking the monorail back to the seattle center, we spent the new few hours having the time of our lives at the amusement center. I have never before gone on any rides or spent any time in this part of the the center but it sure was fun. the lines were pretty much nonexistent and einar had the time of his life! totally worth it. but doesn't look like anyone was suffering does it? I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

us girls at marshall park overlooking magnolia and elliott bay.

very happy people.

I never tire of the market. ever.

a boy and his pig.

my norwegian family.

johanne and einar posing for me.

einar is just getting warmed up on the kiddle bumper cars.

for this! now he's prepared to kick it with the big kids.

these guys were hilarious to watch. so much fun!

kristin isn't a fan of "rickety" rides so I was her stand in with rune on this.

look at einar's face. priceless.

einar is really in that dragon near the window even though you can't see him very well. I just thought it was a cool photo.

last time kristin was here, she went down and tried to touch the dome in between songs without getting wet. she was not successful. she opted not to try again this trip. :)

but the afternoon is still young.

to be continued...

the norwegians were here

my posts on the engedal's visit will center mostly around the two long weekends I spent with them. they were in the u.s. for almost two weeks but much of their time was spent in pasco. I spent the first weekend of their visit in tri-cities and the second weekend took place in seattle before their flight home. (sob)

so, without further adieu...

first installment: weekend one

I took friday off which was great and gave me two full days to spend with everyone. it had been nine years since we'd seen each other but it was like no time had passed. well, at least with kristin and rune. the kids on the other hand, it was like the twilight zone. when did my sister get old enough to have such grown-up children? sofie was 3 and johanne 1 when I last saw them. einar wasn't yet a glimmer.

here are the stats:
kristin and rune
ages *ahem* contingent on high school graduation around 1988 (ish) :)

sofie
(pronounced *so-FEE-a*)
age 13. she is smart and techie and my favorite instant message buddy.

johanne
(pronounced *yo-HA-na*)
age 10. she loves high school musical and hannah montana and makes the best funny faces.

einar
(pronounced *A-nar*)
age 7 (just turned!). he LOVES, seriously LOVES, legos and star wars...and bumper cars.

that first friday was the day we introduced the kids to toys r us. it was like einar had died and gone to heaven. we spent like two hours going down all the aisles and trying out the hula hoops and guitar hero and buying lots of lego sets. it was really fun to watch their faces light up!

nothing better to follow up a little shopping spree than with a burger from red robin. the milkshakes and guacamole burgers were the biggest hit.

kristin and I spent the afternoon touring our old high school. it had been 20 years since kristin graduated and I hadn't been back in over 13. there have been so many changes since then...and more to come. it was really fun walking down memory lane and getting the juicy tidbits from our second mom (or my mom's "very best friend in the whole wide world") laurine while she walked us through. one thing never changes, it still smells like school. not in a bad way, just in a olfactory, good memory kind of way. I could walk in that school blindfolded and still know where I was. how does that happen? weird.

it's kind of the end of an era in pasco though. I realize that the school is overcrowded and they need more space, I do not dispute this fact. but I am sad that a second high school will divide my hometown. not all of pasco will be united by the shout of "go bulldogs" any longer. I am a little sad about it.

give me time, I'll come around.

saturday was the day of the open house. we had invited some friends over so kristin would have a chance to introduce the kids and visit with people. some she hadn't seen in almost 20 years! it was a really lovely time.

afterwords, the kids introduced me to a norwegian tradition called saturday candy. kristin said that when she was growing up, kids weren't allowed candy or sweets except on saturdays. it is less strict now but still something a lot of people follow. we had taken the kids to the bulk food section at the grocery store so they could pick out whatever they wanted. we saved it for after dinner but it was sure fun to share in this sweet tradition!

let me tell you a little something about my soul sister, sofie. she loves mexican food almost as much as I do. maybe even more, actually. to be specific, enchiladas are our favorite thing on the menu. oh, we try other things but we always come back to our safety net of cheesy goodness, the mightly enchilada. I love that girl!

kristin had remembered eating at casa chapala (el chapala) now so that's where we spent a chunk of our time on saturday night. jamie and nathan (family friends and my parent's neighbors) joined us for our mexican food outing. although it might not have been exactly as kristin remembered, the service was great and the food pretty darn good. dad and sofie spent most of their time playing hangman. that was pretty fun to watch. ever saw a norwegian speaking granddaughter play a word game with her english speaking grandpa? not all the words translated perfectly but it was really endearing. those two developed quite a bond.

alas, sunday came too soon and I was headed home again. but not without the promise of seeing everyone again in a mere five days. thank goodness because this weekend was not near enough time.

red robin family shot

burger bonanza

ah, the thrill of school lockers.

mom and kristin by the hall of fame.
why is the cool norwegian girl not up there? :)

our official entrance onto the school grounds. I think kristin saved hers.

wish we could have made it to a home game.
the bulldogs were playing out of town that friday.

this is the new phs "mall" or cafeteria to us old people. how fancy?!
I took this shot for johanne...doesn't it look like it could be a scene from high school musical?

johanne dishing out her saturday candy. treasures await in tiny plastic bags.

einar's saturday candy included a kitkat with batman on it (another love of his) and a star wars something or rather. he was in candy heaven!

our mexican family photo. this is what brings a family together.

the pefect hangman for a perfect evening.

mexican food creates a very sleepy boy.

to be continued...

velkommen to usa

my "sister" kristin is visiting with her husband and children from norway. they are still here so things have been busy and fun and crazy.

stay tuned for many posts about our adventures.

wannabe art collector

I found it while strolling through the many art galleries in cannon beach.

this was my favorite by far but so many of them were as lovely. maybe it is the birds, or maybe the leaves or simply the expression on her face. and the title, "rites of passage." lo-ve.

how I wished I could have afforded to take her home with me!


read more about the artist here.

and see more of her work here.

a beach vacation, revisited

at long last, here are some photo memories of our beach vacation.

we've already booked the houses (there will be two!) for next year. would you like to join us?! :)

beach

pretty much my view for most of the week.

our early morning, low tide stroll turned into an "oregon trail" fording the river real life story .
katie says thank you, dad.

the smelt were running (or whatever they say) and there were so many birds.

jeanne, dad and dick on a beautiful, misty beach morning.

beach food

bruce's candy kitchen.

I spoke of our beach love of ice cream here.
we didn't disappoint. I think we had some every day. it is a very important part of our beach vacation.

the motherload.

beach fun

we can't get to the beach fast enough on our first day. a fire is a must.
dad, brad, me and mom

a man and his kite.
we've had that thing for something like ten years and its still plugging along.

the game of life.
did I win? I think so but I can't remember. I was the banker though, I love that job.
we also played endless games of solitaire and some chinese checkers.

beach sunsets

pure heaven

a big THANK YOU to my parents for making this trip possible.
I am so grateful.