Brenda's visit 6/3/05

Hi all, we're back down in the 60s after sweltering for a few days in the mid 90s. If we had air conditioning it would at least be bearable but most Washington homes aren't equipped for extreme temperatures.

Brenda's visit last week went entirely too fast. We played hard and wore ourselves out but it sure went fast. We did a lot of sight seeing near our town, including the Green River Gorge and Snoqualmie Falls. We also drove east an hour and a half to a town called Roslyn to see where the TV series Northern Exposure was filmed. In the show it was supposed to be Cicely, Alaska. The more interesting part of Roslyn was its 25 cemeteries where each nationality or lodge buried their own. Some were very old and decrepit.

For Brenda's 28th birthday on Tuesday (5/24/05) we kept tradition by eating lunch together at a Thai Restaurant. We also went window shopping at an Asian mall.

Wednesday we had a full day of activities planned starting with Salt Water State Park and the tide pools. That's as far a we got. We ended up spending staying there the whole time exploring the beach and tide pools and what we later learned was the lowest tide of the year. Some school groups happened to come while we were there and we stood nearby while their expert talked about the sea life. It was very interesting and we learned a lot.

We went to Pike's Place Market on Thursday and then to the Ballard Locks. I've been to the locks several times but this time we went on a tour with a guide and I learned a lot of interesting stuff that I hadn't known. That night we had the missionaries over for dinner. Elder Johnson and Riley had fun playing for each other on Riley's guitar. Later Brennan went with them to help teach an inactive lady. He said it went well and he got to "say some stuff" about the plan of salvation but that's about all we got out of him about it.

Friday the kids were out of school and we decided to just stay home and watch movies, relax, visit, eat, etc. It was relaxing but hot.

After dropping Brenda off at the airport on Saturday, Kelly and I took a drive out to West Seattle and Alki Point, the birthplace of Seattle. We ate fish and chips while we took in the view of Seattle from across Elliot Bay, spent a couple of hours at the beach exploring tide pools and took a marine view drive along the Puget Sound. It was a very nice day.

Not much planned for today, Memorial Day. Kelly has to work this afternoon. Riley is at a thing at the National Cemetery with the scouts where their troop is in charge of the flag ceremony. The governor will be there and I'm sure other important people as well. I wanted to take the kids out to the tide pools but low tide isn't until 5:15 p.m. so I don't know if we'll go or not. I might go take a look at the city cemetery just because I've never seen it before and what better day to do it.

Hope you all enjoy your holiday.
Love, Wendy

Brenda in "Cicely, Alaska" aka Roslyn, WA.


Elder Johnson playing Riley's guitar.


Side view of Brenda's new haircut.


Front view of Brenda's new haircut.


Brenda and a starfish she found in the tide pools.


Moon snail. You can find them by looking for exposed portions of the shell and digging them out of the mud. We saw an Asian couple digging for them and putting them in a bucket. Maybe they eat them?


Moon snail. They wrap their bodies up around the entire shell and spit out lots of slime.