Memorial Weekend 2009 Road Trip

We drove to Port Susan this weekend to visit with Mom and Dad before they leave on their two week cruise to Alaska on Thursday. Port Susan is a camping club west of Marysville, WA. On Saturday we drove one and one-half hours round trip just to get ice cream at a produce stand outside of La Conner, WA. While some people might think we are crazy to travel that far for ice cream, this is not your run-of-the-mill soft serve sold at most places. This is hard, hand-dipped ice cream in every imaginable flavor and the scoops are huge. We tried peach, spumoni, peppermint and mint chocolate chip. YUM!

They have a great selection of plants and herbs at the produce market. Susan and I bought two of these African Daisy plants called Summertime Spoon. We bought this one in pink and another one in deep purple.

They also had a wonderful selection of fresh breads, local wines, cheeses and jams.

Bruce and Marie joined us on Sunday. This is the first time we have been together since last summer. Unfortunately Samantha had to work so she could not join us.

Toby taking a break after opening his birthday present - a new monkey.

Watching the Grass Grow

We hired a landscaping company this year to help spruce up the yard. So far they have power raked and aerated the lawn and planted two different types of grass seed. I tried to take a picture of the new grass growing, but it is still too small. Susan has been busy planting flowers. I smile every time I see them. In this picture you can see our new lights along the front sidewalk.



Birds have started checking out the birdbath, but unfortunately there are several neighborhood cats around so the birds are leery of jumping in. Just in case we never actually get any birds to use the bird bath, we bought a new beeky. That's him on the ground in front of the bird bath. When the wind blows he flaps his wings like crazy. If he wasn't anchored down, he would probably end up in the bird bath.

NASCAR DAY

NASCAR Day is an annual celebration of the spirit of giving of the NASCAR community. Corporations, schools, organizations and fans donate to The NASCAR Foundation to raise funds to help children live better lives. Since 2004, $6.5 million has been raised for the charity. We supported this years event by purchasing NASCAR Day pins for several family members. This year, NASCAR Day was on May 15, however the foundation supported activities and celebrations from May 11-18. If you are looking for a reputible organization through which to make donations, please consider NASCAR.

Request Approved

Good News! The county has approved our modification request to the original wetlands agreement. Now our contractor can begin installing the road and septic system and applying for the construction permit. YEA!

Mom and Dad Visit

We just enjoyed three wonderful days visiting with Mom and Dad. They stopped in Yakima on their way up to Port Susan from Arizona. They ran into some heavy rain on the drive home, but otherwise the trip was fine.

In the spring and summer, Yakima has a fantastic selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, most grown locally. Every spring when the asparagus is ready, local restaurants put fried asparagus on the menu. Susan is the only one who had tried fried asparagus before so we went to Majors to give it a try. It is quite tasty, so if you see it on a menu, give it a try.

We should receive a letter from the county today with their decision about the modification request to our property plan. Susan and I are busy making final changes to the layout of our house. I went to Sunnyside yesterday and toured the factory where our home will be built. It was extremely interesting. Look for more updates soon.....

House for Sale

My house in Renton is back on the market. Even though the housing market is not yet great for sellers, it is improving and I am hoping it will sell this year.