Mom Visits and More
Mom came to visit us again this year, and we really enjoyed her company. On Scott's birthday, he took the day off of work and we went into Seattle for some festivities, including the Ballard Locks. Here's the welcome sign at the Locks.
Mom at the Locks
A boat arrives and prepares to be lowered from the freshwater of Lake Washington to the saltwater of the Puget Sound.
This is the barrier that keeps the fresh and salt waters separated.
They sprayed mist to discourage the birds from catching any salmon; it created a rainbow with the summer Seattle sun shining on it.
The Locks open, and freshwater spills forth into the saltwater until it reaches equilibrium.
Mom and Tracy inadvertently wore matching outfits!
For lunch, Scott wanted to try out the World Class Chili place at the Pike Place Market. We met our friends Ray and Christina there, with their kids.
Claire made Scott a huge birthday card. It was great.
Happy Birthday, Scott!
For dinner, we invited a few friends over for chicken tikka masala, cake, and games.
Jeff and Katy enjoy dinner...and just in case you were wondering, Katy (who is expecting) has apple juice in her wine glass, not wine!
Mom sits back with a glass of wine, and celebrates her son's birthday.
The birthday boy and his wife
Scott received not one, but TWO bags of Reese's Pieces for his birthday, one from Jeff and Katy, and the other from Tracy. It was completely unintentional, but not without reason. For the backstory on the Reese's, visit Scott's blog.
And to take the theme even further, Tracy had a Coldstone cake made for Scott's birthday, complete with Reese's Pieces that she brought into the store for them to add into the cake and on top. Thanks for accommodating our quirkiness, Coldstone!
We all played a long, riveting game of Agricola, which Scott pre-ordered way back in December 2007, and then waited eight months to play. It was well worth the wait, especially for the animal shaped pieces that were made only for the pre-ordered games.
Agricola is a game where each player (2-5 players) is a farmer who attempts to build his house, grow and feed his family, plant and sow, raise animals, and more. There are practically endless possibilities with the various occupation and improvement cards. It's one of our favorites, that often ends up on the coffee table for days at a time!
The next day we went blueberry picking at our favorite blueberry farm, Bybee-Nims Farm in North Bend. This just might be Tracy's favorite activity to do.
Mom amidst the bushes
Katy and Jeff
Bybee-Nims is amazing--you can lose yourself while picking blueberries, only to look up and find yourself at the base of awesome Mt. Si.
Andrew, Heather, Jeff, Katy, Scott, Tracy, Mom. Altogether, we had a total of about 40-pounds of blueberries. Time for pie, and cobbler, and muffins....