Another fun weekend!

We had another fun filled weekend. On Saturday I spent the day at the AWANA Conference, Cassandra & I taught a Cubbies Round Table discussion. We got some good ideas and it was a lot of fun.
Saturday night a group of ladies from Sunday School had a recipe exchange. It was a lot of fun, but the only picture I got was Katrina taking photos... She took so many that I didn't want to invade others with more camera flashes. :-).


On Sunday my dad and I headed to the game. It was a lot of fun for such a terrible game. First, who could pass up a view of the city.


Than the 12th man flag was raised by Mack Strong, who retired last week after 15 seasons with the Hawks... the crowd went wild.


The game was uneventful, not even good enough to loose your voice over. We met a cute older couple in front of us from England. He saw an "American Football" game 25 years ago and fell in love. He choose to be a Seahawks fan cause he liked their uniforms the best. So he was on a trip of a lifetime and he was extremely happy to be there... That and he was also happy cause he had been in a bar since 9:00 am with Seahawk fans... so happy may not be the word to describe him, but it was fun. His wife just sat through the whole game. I have a feeling he will spend the rest of his time shopping with her in Seattle to pay back for the game. I talked to him after the game and he was going to next weeks. I love sitting by them what a great story! it is so exciting to see people's dreams like that come true.

The other highlight of the night was something I had never noticed before. As we were leaving I looked down on the field and saw a huge group of players, both Hawks & Saints on their knees in the middle of the field. WOW that was cool it gave me goosebumps. How cool to see a group of believers asking others on the opposing team to thank God for the game. We do it in Softball, but I never thought about seeing that at a professional game. Too cool. I got my camera out a little late...


And after such a disappointing loss, my dad and I headed for some real comfort food...


if you haven't had the chance to expierence a real burger and homemade fries, give me a call. Their milkshakes are to die for and the food is a greasy as it gets. Sure made the game hurt a little less... ahh I can feel the arteries clogging already.
Over all the best part of the day was spending it with my dad. I love going to the games with him cause he tells so many stories. Last night I got to hear about his drag racing days. He's lucky to be alive :-). It really is cool and I can't wait to pass those stories on to my grandkids when I am old.

Nothing New to Report

Just wanted to share my great morning with you... Note: I'm not a writer by trait so you made need to use a really good imagination to really understand what I'm saying!

When people find out that David and I work downtown they always ask how horrible the commute is. Today I realized it's not so bad...

Once we hit 525 heading for I-5 I always find myself looking to the east for the sun rise and this mornings was AMAZING! Imagine dark grey clouded sky, and as you look east you see a line in the clouds and then a vivid pink/blue sky and inches below that is the shaded outline of the Cascade mountains. I also caught a quick glimpse of Mount Raineer...

Then a few miles down the road, as we cross the county line another glimpse of the mountains with a glorius pink creeping futher across the sky. At this point I am itching to get to the bus barn on I5, that's when we come around a bin and Mount Raineer is right infront of you in all it's glory, it really is amazing and this morning in didn't disappoint. I couldn't get a good picture, so you will just have to imagine it's beauty.

By the time we hit Northgate, the east was a beautiful butter yellow and to the west, the grey clouds were turning pink and blue sky was peaking out. The yellow made you want to get outside and let the sun warm your face...

And the best part of the commute... the ship canal bridge. To the east you can see the sun rise come over the Cascade mountains for MILES and to the west you see the Olympics begin to bask in the sun light. It is really, really amazing. Even on most rainy days God is always there to show you His beauty and this morning was truly magnificent.

God is good! Enjoy your day, I hope you all got to enjoy the beautiful sunrise and if not maybe you can enjoy the sunset.

Bryan Adams

Yes I have wierd taste in music. Country is usually my first choice when I'm in the mood for music, and the only thing that trumps country is Bryan Adams. I love that man's music. Now some of you may not realize that he has continued to put out albums, so it's not just the old stuff that I like, it's the new stuff. His albums are FANTASTIC. So when I heard he was coming back to town (Kim & I saw him two years ago, and my sister Kim and I saw him about 15 years ago in Tacoma), I was floored. But it was in a small venue and tickets were pricey. I continued to check wishing I could go, but there were other things more important that Bryan... So the day before the concert, on a whim, I checked ebay, I got two tickets for $20.00. HOLY COW!!! Kim couldn't go, so I sent out an email to our Sunday School class practically BEGGING someone to go with me. Well, my good friend Cassandra emailed me and offered to go. Yahoo! So off we went...



The opening act was DREADFUL to say the least. It was George Thorogood & The destroyers (the greatest bar band). Oh they were bad.. if we had only known!!

Bryan on the other hand was AMAZING. I just LOVE watching him perform.



About two-thirds of the way through Bryan said there were too many empty seats in the front so he said we should all come down. I ditch Cassandra (and my camera!) and headed down. I ended up in the 11th row and it was AMAZING. For the encore Bryan's band left and it was just him and his guitar. So awesome. I can't wait to see him again. Kim and I maybe doing a road trip to Vancouver next time he plays there (he's from there, so he plays there more often than most).
It was a great night and SOOO much fun!!!!

New Building

Ok, so I've been putting this off. Here are some pictures of our new workspace...

When you get off the elevator on the 16th floor you see this:




And our Conference rooms...




On the 16th floor is our reception area, it's a beautiful round room with a colorful light up desk. On 15 is my department and next to the elevators is the 7 dwarfs on one side & sleeping beauty on the other (I know it's suppose to be snow white). On 14 is another department and it has Bambi & thumper.

Below is a panaramic view of my desk. It's a little cluttered but I'm still working on the best way to organize in...












and then there's my totally cool phone


Hope you all enjoyed a glance into what I look at every day.
If your ever downtown give me a call and you can get the full tour.

FOOTBALL!

Yahoo! I have really found a LOVE for football. Daivd and I got to go to our first game this season....
I didn't get any shots of us, but I did get some good ones of the field. It was a once and a lifetime shot to see Carson Palmer play. We really enjoyed it and some of the plays were bitter sweet. I have Houshmandzadeh and David has Carson Palmer on our fantasy football teams. But it was still a nail biter and in the end the Seahawks pulled it out. I love going to the games. The excitment and the cheering. it is so much fun and I can't wait for the next game!

Quotes

Since we moved office I have learned that I love quotes. I have them ALL over the place... places that I don't even notice any more. I thought I would share a few of my favorite with you.

"Whatever we accomplish is due to the combined effort. The organization must be with you or you don't get it done... In my organization there is respect for every indvidual, and we all have a keen respect for the public." -Walt Disney (I have a whole book of his quotes on my desk, but I really like this one)

"A- Accept God's plan; B- Believe He will meet your needs; C- Crucify your selfish desires; He may not be there when you want Him, but He is always on time."

"I don't know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone"- Bill Cosby

"Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in love, your faith and purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

"What comes from the heart, goes to the heart." -Frank Thomas (one of the orignal 9 old men, disney animators)

" Be committed to the welfare of others, above yourself." Fred Williams said this, but not sure if he was quoting a book or the bible.

"I am precious in His sight"

and my favorite, those who have been to Disneyland would understand...

"Disneyland is more than just a place, it's a state of mind."

I have more, but these are by far ones I read on a daily basis. Seems silly, but they are encouraging to me.

Enjoy your day!!

I'm old

It's official. I drank my first cup of coffee today. Not the fufu starbucks stuff with all the loaded flavors. I real cup of black coffee and I enjoyed it. Now note two things, one, it's chalked full of sugar. And two, baby sips. I have tried big gulps and learned I am not ready for that yet. It feels SO good. I am waking up just by the smell of it. I took a photo but I don't have my cord with me to upload.

Good News!!!

Great news!! No more wheely cart! No more crutches!!
I can now put weight on my foot and I only have to suffer one more week in the boot and then it's a real shoe!! I can't believe it!!!

What a fun weekend!

We had a fun weekend...
On Saturday we went to the Caceres for a fun afternoon on their property in Lake Stevens. We brought David's brother Nathan with us, he is here from Kentucky and will be around for the next week before he heads home to get ready for his third deployment in Iraq.



Here is me and Katrina, I just adore her. She is an amazing woman of God. (and no I'm not just saying that cause you read the blog!).


They had two good size, blow up, waterslides in their back yard. Josiah spent most of the afternoon on them.


Here's Samuel, Michael & Katrina's oldest son. I enjoyed talking to him about all different kinds of things. He is also a good blogger, you can see his post on the Caceres' blog, linked up above.


Here's Micah, their youngest. He's enjoying the Chocolate fountain and luckily I got this shot in, once he realized I had the camera he hid from me. He is really a cutie.


Simeon McLeod also enjoying the chocolate fountain. It was hard to gage who loved all that chocolate more... the kids or the moms.


Below is Alex Bartlett taking a wap at the pinata. My favorite part of this picture is Katrina in the background giving Micah tips on the best way to hit the star... I thought I was competitive.



Here's Josiah taking a wap at it. Nathan decided to hold the pinata once the top broke so the kids could keep hitting. He had more guts than I would.


We had such a great time and we all slept like logs that night.

David & Nathan

David's aunt just posted this on their blog from their wedding 20 years ago... The top one is David, the blonde kid is a cousin & the one on the bottom right is David's little brother Nathan. WOW, Josiah really got the Lewis genes.

My Weekend

It's really sad when you base the excitment of your days on whether or not you have anything interesting to put on the blog.... And even sadder when your friends notice that your life is so slow that the blog hasn't been updated. The sad fact is life is going crazy right now. At work we are moving buildings so my mind is swarming with logistics... the worst part is those in charge of everything are being tight lipped, so I've gotta help 100 people move with very little information- fun times.

On top of this choas, I offered to take Gabe for Saturday night & all day Sunday. Yes I was NUTS. We had our annual family picnic on Sunday and between my foot, a two month old and sheer exhaustion from not sleeping the night before I didn't get too many pictures, so here is what I did get...
Here's my mom with Gabe...


My Uncle Tom has a very quirky sense of humor, right before this pic he thought he'd scare my 3 year old cousid Caiden with a can of whip cream. Caiden didn't like Whip Cream on his face so my uncle Dan decided to get him back...

My Grandma Branley holding Gabe. It's always a good thing when their are new babies at the family picnic.



It was a really fun day. Tiring too. I slept like a log that night.

Best Husband Ever!

I hate to brag....
David had to run to our other building for work and completely surprised me with Market flowers.... I love flowers from the Market they are always so PRETTY and smell so WONDERFUL.


BTW, I posted this in hopes that I don't get into too much trouble for the clown nose photo below :-).

Keeping Busy

Ok, first let me give you a little background. The last two weeks have been complete CHOAS at work, by the time I get home my mind is so fried I can't even function. So last week when I found out about our Softball party I didn't even put two and two together that I had other plans that night... and to be honest, I didn't even put the two together until 10:00 last night when I saw I missed a call from Kim and my mouth hit the floor. I stood them all up, what a huge DORK I am. But in all honesty, I needed the break and being social would not have done that for me, so the other thing was a lot more fun and just what I needed (I feel TERRIBLE for not showing up to the party... sooooo sorry Kim!). I guess it just goes to show you that I really am a space case most of the time (Remember my hair is colored red, when I was a kid it was blonde).

So now onto the relaxing a FUN night we had. My mom and I both won tickets to the Everett Aquasox minor league team last night, so off we went. First, if you have ever been to a game you know to fill out all the contest stuff cause they do something inbetween every inning. So I grabbed all the forms, sat down & filled them out for all six of us.

Well right after the game started we here: "David Lewis & Doug Branley please report to the Comcast information booth"... Uh-oh... I'm in a LOT of trouble. Their eyes got HUGE... we didn't know what game they would be playing. My mom and I sat in our seats and laughed... what if it was the grocery cart game, where they raced carts around the basis... what if it was the trike race... uh oh... they are going to kill me.
Lucky for me it was the remote control car, which made me excited, the prize was $100.00 and my dad, who can't even work his TV, was going against David, which means David was a shoe in to win!


And their off, David takes an early leave, Doug... he can't get the car going... David's car hit's first base in no time, but not before trying to run over the right fielder... Doug can't get the car to get past second, it's stuck, or is it the operator, probably both. David rounds first and heads back and has a close collision with Doug, Doug still struggling to get past second, oh the Staff member has taken the remote control over and is returning Doug's car to the starting line...David wins by a LANDSLIDE.
It was a lot of fun.
We were also in the wheelchair seating and we got to enjoy Webby the Aquasox mascot for a bit.




Ok so later that night we here "Betty Branley, please report to the comcast booth" I am NOT kidding, I thought she was going to FREAK out. She won the prize from the WA Lotto. So she got a gift pack. It was a lot of fun. here are some random photos of the rest of the night.

Family Photo...


We all got clown noses when we left the park... David & Josiah were the only one's daring enough to get infront of the camera *insert evil laugh here*



overall it was a well needed family time. we had a great time and I need to remember the AuqaSox next year for some affordable family fun.

Another fun filled weekend!

We had another great weekend in the Lewis household. On Saturday I spent the afternoon with Kim shopping for dresses and David took his final physical test with PUD (Public Utilities District- he's trying to get into the lineman apprentance program).
Then on Sunday we had our company picnic at the zoo. It was a lot of fun, but with me not walking and on my little scooter we only got to wander a little before my knee was screaming at me...

Me, Alex & Josiah being Catepilars...


Josiah & I


Getting pics of the boys is getting harder and harder, here are some of Josiah, he is more than willing to pose for a few photos... and trust me I didn't direct him.

Which one is the monkey?








And the highlight of my weekend...
Alex came home from Grandma Billies!!! Although he left this morning for his annual camping trip with his dad... Yes... he needs a haircut.


Overall it was fun but tiring. I am looking foward to this weekend when all we have to look foward to is a softball tournament... oh boy I can't wait for a nap :-).

One thing I forgot

After the party and everything we were walking through the mall and Kim pointed this out...


They were holding hands.... oh it was SOOO cute, I couldn't believe it.

This last weekend.

This last weekend was a BUSY one for us. Friday I took the day off, mainly to fight my ticket. For those who have been on the edge of you seat waiting to hear what happened. I instantly jumped at the chance for a defferment- that means as long as I don't get another ticket for one year it stays off my record.
On saturday we spent the whole day running errands. I was wiped out by the time the day was done. We hit three malls in ONE day! that's is a lot for us.
We went to the Army Surplus store and Josiah ran up to the statue of the army guy out side and yelled "Mom take my picture", David responded "Josiah, mommy doesn't have her camera". My mouth dropped... I ALWAYS have my camera.


Saturday night my dad's company (Community Transit) had their annual company picnic at the Aqua Sox game so Josiah & I tagged along since David was going to be "hanging out with the guys" that night.

Josiah got a spider web painted on his face at the picnic...


It ended up turning very cold at night. We curled up in blankets for most of the game. Hard to believe that it is August.



We sat in the wheel chair seating at the game and they are by far the best seats in the house. We were right next to the opening of the opposing teams dug out and feet from first base. We spent the evening keeping Josiah busy and at the end of the game one of the opposing team game out of the dugout and handed Josiah a bat. Josiah was so happy. Don't worry- we will be hanging on his wall, it will not be a toy :-).



We had a great time and the fireworks were fabulous! I can't wait to go back. Only going without a five year old might be a lot more fun. I didn't get to see much of the game, I was too busy keeping Josiah busy and my poor dad had to make so many trips to the potty :-).