Sunday, October 11, 2009

A Fun Week...

We had the pleasure of having our niece and nephew (Glen's kids) stay with us this past week as they relocate from Scottsdale allllll the way up to Anchorage! Glen is taking over as the Executive Chef of the Anchorage Sheraton. They arrived on Saturday and Glen headed out with Jasmine the dog as his co-pilot for a 4-day journey in the car.

Due to some camera shyness, I didn't take a lot of pictures of my houseguests this week. I didn't want them to feel like I was documenting every minute of their stay, so we just lived life in the moment. But this is a shot I just had to have: Allison and Cody (October 9, 2009)

If you're going to come visit us in Seattle, chances are you're going to take the 41 second elevator ride to the top of the Space Needle. And then you're going to pose for me with the beautiful view in the background. There's no getting around it.

It was a tad cloudy for us on Friday, but it was still pretty. Hayley was off school, so she went with us. We toyed with the idea of heading over to Pike Place Market, but we knew we didn't have time. Before leaving the Needle, I did manage to talk the kids into posing for one of my favorite shots. Trust me: The only way to get this shot is to lay on the ground and have the subjects practically stand on top of me. They thought they looked stupid, but I believe I was the one laying on the ground!! Yesss, yesss. (Spoken in true Stewie fashion!)

Cody and Allison have been such troopers this week. They've cheered at two of Hayley's volleyball matches that frankly did not go so well and sat through two of Brian's bowling matches (they went better.) I dragged them with me on mundane errands, but we managed to get some serious shopping goals met! Cody and I finally tracked down a sharpening stone (from an old man in the mall that tried so hard to disuade us from buying one!) and then Cody sharpened my knives (even though the old man said he wouldn't be able to do it. Take THAT old man!) Dan and Cody planted a tree and Allison and I sewed pajama pants. Top Chef Cody wowed us with his Banana's Foster and they both fell in love with Willie Lunchmeat and Abby. And Josie Grandma, for the record, Cody agrees that Molly is a big barrel kitty! And she is not amused. We even took the kids to Mass tonight and then we all pigged out at Mongolian Hot Iron Grill before heading home for Drumsticks and a super funny game of Scattergories. (World Leader Bo Bice anyone? Historical figure Prince...yeah, Little Red Corvette Prince? Apple Schmear as a sport? How about the Liberty Statue? Meal-making as a hobby? Ping Pong Showdown...teethguard...karpool, krak and Khloe Kardashian? Anybody...anyone???) Oh my goodness, there was some serious laughing at the game table tonight.

So, tomorrow we've planned a huge farewell breakfast: Diane's scratch pancakes, bacon and sausage (because who can really decide between the two??) and eggs. Coffee, natch. We'll get the kids packed up and head down to Seatac. I don't want to say goodbye to my "kids" but I will. Facebook enables us to keep in touch in an instant and besides, they're starting a new adventure in their new home. We wish Glen, Cody and Allison the best of luck and they know they're always welcome to stay with us again.