I need to vent

I just ran down 15 flights of stairs. Well, more than that...15 floors. Someone pulled the emergency alarm at my hotel as a joke. It was 4:30 a.m. and my hotel has two towers of 25 floors.
All I grabbed was my cellphone.

They said a false alarm like this happened a few months ago when the hotel hosted a polio convention. They had to evacuate 200 people with polio.

No.1. I am grateful for my working legs. and my running shoes. I would have had a problem jogging the stairs in my heels or in a wheelchair.

I always wondered what I would grab in case of a fire. Well, being in St. Louis. I should have grabbed my whole purse but I just grabbed my cell phone. I guess I could have made it back home, seeing how my flight was already booked but I would have had to beg for money.
Why my cell phone? Well, my thought process was, "If there is something bad, I have to be able to tell Ben that I am alright. And that I love him."

No one else grabbed anything, except the room key. Why didn't I think of that?
Again, with the whole purse thing.

Anyway, thanks for listening blogging world. I just needed to vent.

"Food, glorious, food"

Last weekend Ben and I vacationed in Seattle. I know we live in Washington but we rarely play tourist in Seattle. We have been so insanely busy lately. Ben the workaholic that he is, has actually been overloaded. That will tell you that we have been pretty busy. Well, we had a lovely weekend of just playing. Ben kayaked on Friday while I hung out with the non-kayakers holding babies and playing Bocce ball. (I sucked. I threw it way too hard. But it was still fun.)
Then on Saturday after our good friend Dave's wedding, we went in to Seattle. Dave goes to BYU Idaho and a few of his friends came to Seattle. So, Ben and I invited ourselves to crash their party and tour Pike's Place market and the waterfront. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and Seattle never really gets old to me. It was a true, Nielsen-style getaway. Let me explain.

"Nielsen-style": the kind of vacation dictated by food.

Lunch at Fishermen's. Then to the fudge shop (we can't pass that place without getting some chocolate, If you have been to Seattle with us, you know the place. Emily ask Mackay about it.). Sampling all the food in Pike's Place. And then the Gelato. Ben's eyes lite up ...Italian Ice Cream... we had to try some. Needless to say, we were stuffed. The photos are of our new friends and the adventure in Seattle. Jake and ReNette, Michelle and Jessica were so much fun. Following my traditions, I walked away with a bouquet of Pike's Place flowers and some fruit from my favorite fruit stand.

The fun didn't stop there. I am telling you, when you get Ben rolling he just plays as hard as he works. We headed to the backyard reception and enjoyed the food AGAIN. And of course we had to decorate the car in order to send them off on their honeymoon. (We probably shouldn't have documented the perpetrators.) I felt like I was in college again, chilling out with kids my same age and just laughing.

You would think it would be back to work, but nope. Sunday, Ben, Adam, Megan and I went on a hike through the tunnel. The old Iron Horse Tunnel in Snoqualmie Pass. It is a couple mile hike through an old railroad tunnel. Don't worry Mom, there is no train anymore, it is a designated hike. It was very cool and relaxing. I love to see Ben take time off and just hang out.

What a great weekend! I am still recovering from the gluttony. :)

"On the Road Again"

It has been far too long since my last post. Well, I have been in Forks, WA. Figuratively and literally. Figuratively, I road the bandwagon to Forks with every other red-blooded American woman over the age of 12 with the time-sucking, Twilight Saga. I had a late start so I have been reading the series over the past month just in time for Breaking Dawn's release. I am glad I gave in and started reading it. It has been so much fun.

But Literally...I went to Forks this weekend. Ben and I got a call on Friday afternoon telling us the boyscouts needed a ride home from their 50-miler down the Washington coast. So, they got us "the willing couple who needed a good excuse to get out of town" a van and some cash to stay in a hotel and we started out on our little adventure. I was so excited to know the closest town to the end of the scout hike was FORKS, WA! I couldn't believe how excited I was to visit Bella and Edward. I am such a dork but I was a little giddy. I kept referencing the book. "Well, the book says La Push is about 15 miles outside of Forks." and "It should take about an hour to get to Port Angeles from here, well, that's how long it takes Bella to get there." I even grabbed my book instead of the map one time and Ben and I just laughed.

At about 10:30 p.m. we thought we might be sleeping in the van. The whole town was booked! No Vacancy in Forks, well almost... There was one hotel with a no show but he couldn't give the room to us until 11 p.m. At 10:55, the no show, showed up and we were out. But luckily, another hotel called with another no show. We ran out toward La Push, and Jacob greeted us at the border... just kidding. No, it was a tiny little cabin on Maxfield Homestead Road...(Thanks Angie.) that resembled a stable. No room in the Inn you know... There were chickens, roosters, and Lamas, surrounding the 8 little 10x12 cabins. But that is all we needed. It was so much fun.
It was a quick trip but so nice to have Ben all to myself. We really needed a mini-vacation.
And I got to go on my unofficial Twilight Tour!