We really know how to do birthdays

The Robster turned thirty-something today.

I made dinner reservations at a Brazilian steakhouse, but he said he'd rather celebrate his birthday with his favorite, IHOP. He then decided homemade crepes would be even better. Yeah, I make awesome crepes.

So we ate crepes and watched Shameless.

It was a birthday for the history books, obviously.

This Guy

Love him. Can't imagine my life without him.

Another year older, another year wiser and as good lookin' as the day I met him.

Scratch that. He's even hotter.

He's not much into celebrating his birthday. All he wanted to was to go to IHOP. Really.

Gotta love this guy.

Opening Day

Yesterday was opening day at Safeco Field, Mariners v. A's and I was not there.

Nope, Rob and his brother Marc went (to celebrate Marc's BD!) and left me at home to attend to my boring, yet oh-so-responsible life.

M's lost anyways. Maybe if I was there?? Better luck next time. ☺

What to do?

School is out. For EVER the quarter.

I've got a week and half to waste...relax...do something with until I am back in school four nights a week for ten weeks. Again.

All this free time and I've got nothing exciting planned out...but I am working on it.

I am determined to:

• not let this time off waste away
• not have sitting around catching up on all the episodes of LOST, Grey's Anatomy and 30 Rock that I've missed be the most exciting thing that I do
• dig my bike out of the garage and spend some time with it on one of the many trails by our house
• not freak out about turning 29 next week
• get in some quality time with The Robster
• hit a bucket or two of balls at the driving range
• finally drop off all those boxes marked GOODWILL that have been taking up space in our garage for the past year and a half

If I even get two of these crossed off my list, I will be happy! I know, I know...I am such an under overachiever.

From '09 to '10, Utah style

OK, so I have finally gotten around to posting about our little jaunt down to Utah to celebrate the new year. I flew down to Utah the day after we returned from Canada while Rob responsibly returned to work before joining us at 'Party Central' down in Utah a few days later.

The morning after the big snow (Tuesday AM maybe??) we ventured out into the white mess to have breakfast at Beez Cafe. I was nervous about driving in the snow, so Jordan carefully chauffeured me around.

Originally Rob and I planned to ring in the new year in Park City, but we got frightened off by the idea of driving in all the snow that had fallen up there, so we cancelled that reservation and re-booked at a hotel down in Salt Lake, a land of less snow. But alas, more snow fell all around and we wussed out of our Salt Lake plans as well.

Lucky us, we ended up spending New Year's Eve at the party house with my family making homemade pizzas, playing games and bangin' pot n' pans outside at midnight. It was fantastic...although I had to get my NYE smooch inside, because Rob was too cold to come out and celebrate with us in the snow. I don't know that he'll ever get used to the snow. ☺

After sleeping in, we all celebrated Mom's New Year Day Birthday with a yummy lunch and then an evening of Galactic Bowling...oooooh! It was lots of fun and I almost broke 100. Almost. I think that there was more goofing around and picture taking than actual bowling taking place.

Erika thought our goober car was super cool and wanted to ride along with Rob and I wherever we went, so she also got roped into a grocery stop. It actually turned out to be pretty fun because they had mini shopping carts and she was all business about loading it up. She found a juice that had Hannah Montana on the front of it and just had to get a picture with it!

We spent a lot of time just hanging out at Ryan & Melanie's. It was really nice to just relax with everyone! We sure did miss Jason & Courtney's family though!!

A few noteworthy but picture free highlights include:

• A double date with Ry & Mel. Dinner at Tepanyaki and saw It's Complicated. SO funny!!
• Discovering the deliciousness that is Cafe Rio with Tyler. Yum-my. I wish we had them in WA!
• Playing The Game of Things...thanks for introducing us to it Anne!
• Melanie and I had a girlie night...dinner and New Moon. Yes, I saw it again. And will probably see it another time or two. ☺
• Going through some boxes of stuff I left at Mom & Dad's when I moved out. Great finds, I tell ya...old clothes (Oshman's and Dilly Dally shirts), dance pictures (eek!) and a Leonardo DiCaprio poster.

  Good times, good times.

Non-stop weekend

We spent this last weekend in our home away from home, Portland. We took Rob's younger sister and cousin down there to celebrate her 18th birthday.

We did lots o' shopping. And I mean lots. Sure, I can shop with the best of them, but those two teenage girls sure WORE. US. OUT.

Rob says he got a taste of what it would be like for us to have girls, 'following them around the mall, opening his wallet every time he turned around' and he 'hopes for boys who like to stay home on the weekend and watch sports'. Ha!

There was a big figure skating competition going on in the mall's skating rink so Rob and I spent a good chunk of time resting/watching it while the girls ravaged the mall. The younger skaters was so cute! There was a little guy that did a pirate routine that I thought was adorable.

Nordie's had a New Moon party going on, so of course we had to stop by and blow a kiss or two to Edward and Jacob! Oh, and on that note...I can't wait to see New Moon this Friday!!!

In keeping with Portland tradition, we caught a late movie. I was bummed that there weren't a lot of kid friendly movies in the theaters, but luckily 2012 was age appropriate for them and, we all thought it turned out to be pretty good.

A short drive later and we were back home, just the two of us, loaded down with lots of new goods, full of tasty grub and ready for a three day long nap! We had such a great time with the girls, even though they made us we aren't that young anymore. ☺

This week...

My mane got a big chop last night. It makes me a little sad.

My bangs look like they were cut by a right-y kindergartner...with left-y scissors. I am trying to make do. :)

All I keep hearing from people is 'they will grow out soon'.

Thanks.

Oh, and I got walked in on by my boss while taking pictures of my new do.  He laughed at me.  Charming guy he is. :)

On a more positive note...we are heading off to Sin City this weekend to meet up with some friends and family and we are so stinkin' excited!!

Nothing big on the agenda so far...we're crashing at Caesar's and plan to take advantage of the pool.

I am hoping to convince Rob to take me to Phantom, but I am not holding my breath. Apparently, if you've seen it once, there is no reason to go again. I think that's debatable.

Oh, and a Happy Birthday to my bestie (and new neighbor!!!) who turns twenty-something tomorrow!!

One Year Down

I got a surprising email this morning...an alert informing me that this blog is one year old today. I then started to skim back through some old posts and relived the past year...good times!! I am sure glad that Mel had the patience to help me set our blog up!

It's no secret that this blog has been down in the dumps/on the back burner/left for dead lately, but that will not be the case for long. With the summer coming I have decided to cut back on the classes that I am taking so that Rob and I can spend some time together and hopefully get out and do things worthy of some blogging...so expect some posts documenting our fun summer...I hope!

Peanuts & Cracker Jacks

Saturday we attended a friends birthday celebration hosted at the Terrace Club at Safeco Field. The Mariner's played the Boston Red Sox...and lost, but it was still a great game to watch! While I think that watching baseball on television is the slowest sport ever (well, next to golf!), baseball games are my absolute favorite to attend! The energy of the crowd and the environment as a whole is so fun!

An old Seattle favorite is back in town...Ken Griffey Jr. up at bat. There were so many Red Sox fans in attendance. It was funny to watch the groups of fans cheer on their teams and taunt each other.

Rob even made sure that we had our Cracker Jacks to make the experience authentic. While I don't care so much about the Mariner's, the games are sure fun to go to! We were given tickets to go again this Thursday, but sadly I have an exam that I cannot get out of...bummer!

Holiday Round Up

My little holiday trip to Utah was fun. I stuck to my usual Utah itinerary...went to a ton of movies (five, actually: Yes Man, Doubt, Seven Pounds, Four Christmases and Twilight...again ), played with nieces and nephews, did a little shopping, and just hung out. Oh, and got scarf-jacked at the airport. Super sad about that still. :( Ironically there was no family game night to be had...maybe next time! And after making a big fuss about finding my camera to take along with me, I didn't end up taking any pictures but we did have a family portrait taken (our first one in over five years!).

I eagerly returned home to Rob with some lovely memories, a great new scarf and a wicked cold. Me, being the incredibly festive person I am, filled up on cold medicine and zonked out at 9:00 PM on New Year's Eve then woke up early this morning to take Rob and his brother to the airport for a quickie boys trip to Vegas. Now that I have the house to myself I have comfortably donned my PJ's all day while watching back issues of Lipstick Jungle, painting my nails, snacking on turkey bacon (my favorite, but the smell drives Rob crazy, so I try not to cook it when he is around...considerate, huh.) and trying to summon up some energy to do laundry or something. No luck on the last one yet, maybe tomorrow.

Today is also my Mum's birthday, so here's a little Happy BD for you Mom...hope your day is fantastic! Hope everyone had a great New Years!

Jason

Today marks the birthday of my big brother. We were pretty good buddies when we were younger, but don't get to see each other too often these days. He keeps pretty busy being daddy to 3, finishing up dental school (while getting a Masters at the same time!) and getting into oral surgery school. He is so driven and has always been an incredibly hard worker. Take a break and enjoy your day Jason. Happy Birthday!!

Parker

Today my nephew Parker turns 1 year old! Last year at this time I was in Utah when my brother Jason called my parents so tell them that Courtney would be having Parker that evening. Mom and I decided that we weren't doing anything else, so why not drive down to Las Vegas to see the new little one. Thirty minutes after the call we were on the road to Vegas. That was such a fun little road trip!!

I haven't seen little Parker and his family since the 4th of July, and cannot wait until I see them at Christmas time! It's a bummer to live far away from family, but it is a great feeling knowing that you will get to see them all together soon. Oh, the anticipation!! :)

Dearest Daddy-O

Doesn't my Dad look dashing in a tux?! I think so! :)

It's amazing how moving away has brought me that much closer to my Dad. Perhaps it's also just me growing up? Over the years I have realized what I great friend my Dad is to me. Sure we can make small talk as good as anyone else, but I feel that I can really talk to him about things that are important to me, which I don't do with many people. He is incredibly real with me, which I appreciate immensely. I always assumed that I was more like my Mom than Dad, but as I get older I notice more and more things about myself that are defnintely Dad-like, and I embrace them. I really treasure the relationship that we have together.

He was a pretty cute kid too.

I love you Dad. Happy Birthday!

Melanie

My very amazing sister-in-law Melanie is celebrating a birthday today (the 25th. I started the post last night so that date reads the 24...oops!). Melanie is such a riot! I always have so much fun with her. It is such a bummer that we live so far away from each other. As I was searching for a picture of Mel to use, I had so many fun ones to choose from - she isn't one of those people who is shy in front of the camera...it's great! The pictures I chose have great memories associated with them. The first one is a picture of Melanie on her first trip to visit us up in Seattle. We were messing around in the Seattle Aquarium gift shop and she modeled a few 'hats' for us (me and Mom). Gosh, I am giggling just looking at this picture...she always makes me laugh!! :)

This one is my favorite! You know those colored malt Easter egg candies? We were licking them and then using them as lipsticks...I think that this is a pretty common practice, right? I always did it growing up. Well, Melanie picked one that matched her outfit, applied it and then cheesed it up for a picture. Now, tell me that doesn't sound like someone who is a fun Mom!

These pictures really capture the Melanie that I love. She is so sweet, fun, caring and up for anything...even bowling the day before she has a baby (with no complaints at all...in fact, it was probably her idea to go in the first place).

Mel, I am so glad that you are a part of our family; I couldn't have asked for a better sister. I could talk and laugh with you for hours about nothing...I really miss you!! Cannot wait for you to come visit us next month! Happy Birthday!!!

Molly

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my good friend Molly who happens to be turning twenty-something today. I know, this isn't an excellent shot of the two of us, but it brings back good memories of when we lived together for a few months in Seattle. I am so glad that she was up to the move, and I will always be grateful to her for that. Happy BD Molly...you're a great friend! :)

Tyler

Tyler in Seattle posing @ Pike's Place Market

Out of my entire family good ol' Tyler is the one who has made his was up to the Northwest to visit me most often. Because of this I am inclined to believe that he loves me the most (for which I am extremely grateful). In return I will dedicate this entire post to him. In honor of this special day (which coincidentally happens to be his birthday as well ) I just want him and everyone else to know how proud I am for all that he has done.

As he embarks on his new journey in Arizona I am so excited for him to partake in all of the amazing new experiences along the way. I'm so thrilled that he made the decision to follow his dream. I have yet to decide if it's because he is bored, or if he really does love me, but Tyler calls me more than the rest of my brothers combined...it's fantastic! I am so grateful for the relationship that we have and am glad that I am able to confide in him so easily.

Ty Ty, you are an amazing, loving, handsome brother and you have a very special place in my heart. I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Chase

My little, big brother Chase. For several years now he has towered over me, but he is still my little brother. He keeps saying that he wants to come up and visit us, but nothing yet. Come see us Chase...we miss you! Today he turns twenty years old...twenty! I cannot believe that he is that old. It is so strange to thing of him as a man becasue I have such vivid memories of him as a toddler, and now he is a grown up...wow! He is such a loving, caring person with an amazing heart and I am so blessed to have him in my life. It would just be better if I could see him more often (hint, hint Chase...come see us). Happy Birthday little brother!