Michelle and Mannie (GA)
Member Since 2009
Good Morning LL!! 
(Ahhhhhh.... elixir! Thanks Elsa), and Happy Catmint Caturday!
LL! It's is I, Elsa, KBP, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! GUESS WHAT! Paw Prints Pizza is open and ready for business! They are running a Caturday Catnip special today, in honor of Catmint Caturday - lots of nip in those pies! They have even used their signature nip cheese.
Best order early! The new pizza ovens are great, and so far... they been good pies! Lola and Bug say that they makes excellent nip crust. Mannie's tree house has become the new HQ for Paw Prints Pizza! They sure host alot of pizza parties up there.... Kitties are always coming and going, mega cool! We are busy today packing all up for a trip to Camp Stu to see Rusty and do all the cool things we do t Camp Stu. It was Mannie's fav place! Come and join us!! so. well. anyways. Coffee time!! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and triple shot espressos, with beans from Starbucks Pike Place Market, their original blend, AND.... for all my Mocha fans: a venti quad peppermint white chocolate mocha, with peppermint infused whip, garnished with peppermint candy chips and white chocolate shavings. SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of mint and vanilla and cimmamum swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, topped with peppermint chips and chocolate drizzle.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... mega good!
I hope everyone had a great day yesterday, and a great week. The days with the boys have been good ones! We have been very busy, that part of life has not changed. Yesterday, like all Fridays, was very much a water day, what with swimming in the morning, and swimming again in the evening. BUSY!!!! :shock: :razz: Swimming was as good as it always is. The energizer fishie was in his element, and continues to have a great time in the pool. That swim test continues to be elusive.... one of these days we will get that done! ;-) The guards are making an effort to come over and talk with him about his pool stuff, and he has started talking with them. So maybe as that improves he will be more comfortable working with them in a class environment. I've been teaching him what I can. My DD and I have decided that even if he won't take the test, we are ok with that, as he so loves this,a dn ias doing so much more than most kids in lessons do. He continues to swim two, sometimes more, widths of the pool on his own again yesterday. We are starting to get more "big arms" swim in, which is kinda cool. He's been trying to swim on his back too. LOL: might make a swimmer after all.
His favorite thing to do continues to be retrieving objects, usually rings, from the bottom of the pool, and still takes a bucket down with him, to collect them before coming back to the surface. That is cool! He has become more social too, playing with alot of the kids that are there when he is. We still swim at the MLT pool, not his main pool, on Friday nights. I continue to be grateful to my DMIL Connie, who still watches William on Friday mornings so Nicholas and I can go to the pool. Wednesday's swim was also a good one, many many swims under the surface! He still looks forward to our after swim Friday Night Burger Feast too. That is just so fun: burgers and fries, just him and me, with lots of fun stories. Last night the weather was so great that we took our feast out onto the trail, found one of the picninc tables that have there, and ate that marvelous feast "in the woods." So much fun! We even took a few moments for him to walk the trail, and pick berries. Last night we again talked Mariners Baseball, as well as reliving his visit to the river parks. Mt Rainier was very visible last night so we talked about the mountain, hikes there. Nicholas has asked if we can go. I think we can!, and have added that to the list of really cool places to go. I still love that drive from the pool to his house: 30 minutes of little guy stories, my little back seat driver! Quite the imagination he has. He tells stories, we continue to look for rainbows and sunsets and views of Seattle. Great drive home! AWESOME TIME! The beginnings of the night's sunset was really great, and makes for such a pleasant drive home.
Monday found me out hiking!
II went to Golds Creek Pond, a repeat for me, down it a dozen times. I love that place. the hike is mega easy, and the views are incredible. Just very pretty all around. I have taken the boys there a couple of times too, we so need to go back. They have loved it in the past, so a for sure. Fun today: the geese were there with all their babies. ALot of baby geese up on the waters of the pass, just not Gold Creek Pond. The Snoqualmie RR Tunnel was an experience. Sheshhhh it is 2.5 miles long, very cold in there, and completely dark, short of light that enters near the entrances. DARK is an understatement. It didn't freak me out or anything, one can see the "light at the end of the tunnel", even thought it is a very tiny spec. Sure wouldn't recommend it to anyone that had issues with the dark or were claustrophobic. Took me about an hour to do the 2.5 - 3.0 in. I kept thinking it had better be worth it with good views when I get to the end. it was . anyways.... quite the experience that was. I just wish there had been more RR stuff there - very little to be seen, short of the tunnel itself. Wound up the adventure with a stop off at Coal Creek, which connects to Gold Creek. No trail just a 1.5 miles off trail exploration of the creek. enjoyed that alot too. The weather was fabulous that day, making for awesome hiking, and a great road trip up to Snoqualmie Pass.
Wednesday, after pool time, Nicholas and I decided we needed to walk the pool trail and see if more berries were ready yet. So we packed up William and off we went in search of berries: salmonberries to start. Nicholas was so excited when he found so many more than last week, promptly gobbled them up, all 59 of them (!!) and proclaimed they were all sweet and juicy and delicious. He found some for William too, who eagerly ate what Nicholas and I picked for him. He too has decided that they are delicious! :lol: It was alot of fun. We also looked for the beginnings of the other berries that are found on that trail, and saw that the huckleberries, thimbleberries, raspberries and blackberries are beginning to make fruit. There ought to be primo berry picking and eating there in the next few months. Funny: before we headed into the pool on Friday morning he had to make a quick run through of the beginning of the trial to see if any berries were an easy grab and gobble. LOL: there were. Down the Hatch! and we did the same thing with the PM swim! He so loves those those berry hunts.
Thursday we headed up to Gold bar, to the Skykomish River at Big Eddy. Love that spot, it really is a good one for the boys. Nicholas wanted jack's pass too (lol: both???) but we settled on waiting just a few just to make sure there aren't any lingering snows etc. Besides.... he wanted Juanita beach too, and well no way could we make that if we did jack's pass. anyways - river was wodnerful. Sunny warm and just pretty! The boys had an awesome time. We found salmonberries too. The thimbleberries are just starting to make fruit, so give them a few weeks. There will be thousands there when they do. The bushes were loaded,. LOL: saw 9 trains while there and when getting there.I don't think I have ever seen that many go through in a single day. That was a big hit too. anyways - really nice time on the river. Little guy kept telling me over and over and over again how glad he was that he and William could go there. Guess one can safely day he had a good time. We did make Juanita Beach too, after our trip to the river - more of what he goes there for. Lots of play, and it was warm enough that he could swim in the water. He had such fun with that. all around - really a terrific day. I bet both those boys sleep well that night. William ha also developed a fondness for it all, he just gets so excited when he sees the parks, the beaches, the rivers, He is so very much like his brother when he was that age.
Friday afternoon after swimming we ended up at the new local park we have found. Meadowdale Park continues to be a favorite of Nicholas's. The playground equipment is really nice, with good challenges for him, and well there is that zip line. :razz: :razz: :razz: :razz: That thing is so fun. Nicholas just loves it. Yesterday he was ale to make it all work without Grammie's help. He has made a few new friends during our visits there, and on yesterday he met two more. It was nice that he is willing to play with whomever he meets there. It is so great to be able to watch him play with boys his own age. They run and climb on everything. The laughs for them are endless. William watches it all, trying so much to be part of the group. :lol: What with Swimming in the morning and these park outings in the afternoon, we have, of late, been heading home after that, late afternoon, as both boys are beat, and some serious napping is in order. I know that the day has been good when I catch Nicholas smiling in his sleep. William too!
The boys have been good. Nicholas and William continue to play well together. William is just so excited when Nicholas plays with him, and Nicholas is more than Happy to oblige. Friday was William's 1st birthday1 Where does time go..... Sunday we will be having a party for all family members so we can officially celebrate his first birthday. We will have a BBQ later in the day to also celebrate my DD's birthday. Fun times await! Nick's Pics continue, He has fun with it, so I continue to encourage it anytime he asks for the camera.
Normalcy in MusketeerVille! What to say about the three musketeers.... They have been good kitties, and even Lola! Well sorta on Lola... Lola will always be Lola. Crazy fun Lola. I know I write this alot, but it all continues to be true: When I got home last night I watched the usual Friday night run and romp. That is so fun to watch, and so what goes down here on FR nights. Elsa just watches, trying to decide if she wants to run too. We have been, lately, getting her to join in on one of the romps. She runs once, maybe twice, chasing Bug down the hall. Not too bad for my senior gal. :lol: :lol: This is about the only time I can ever get her to run like that. It is nice to see once in a while. There was nothing amiss when I got home, just kitties waiting at the top of the stairs. Just as it always is. LOVE THAT! Lola was rolling on the stairs, Bug was pacing, and Elsa was just sitting with that stare: where have you been? Definitely a normal Friday night for the kitties. I get a few meows, some leg rubs, they get scritches in return, and then off they go. The runs were endless last night. Lola has been fairly good, no plant issues, no torn papers, boxes remain intact. Today is shopping day so she will get a new paper bag. :lol: :lol: No doubt that will make her day. She still tries SO HARD to get outside during our warmer days, she runs from window to window hoping maybe those screen have disappeared. :lol: :lol: Yesterday she succeeded once: she is very quick and very good at leaping out the door, through those few inches of that opening... I know.... she needs a catio.... She continues too to pound on all glass and plastic surfaces. What a hoot. Still walking the railing and the frig door. Crazy fun Lola! Bug continues to warm up to company more and more as the days go by. Sure is nice to see that. He has come to sit by William at times when he sleeps. hat so reminds me of Mannie and Nicholas. Elsa is still dong well, darn active for an almost 18 year old. She sleeps alot, but what the heck: part of being a cat. She' continues to be a very good lap cat of late: nice! :lol: With the warm weather she has been out in the yard alot. Lola is SO JEALOUS!!, and lets me know it whenever she sees Big Sis out in the yard. :roll: It is interesting that Bug just doesn't seem to mind at all. He is more than content to be a house cat. Kitties are good, and All are sound asleep as I write this.... Stay good kitties! Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
Have a great day everyone! I am off to get those chores done, do my laundry, fill the kitty pantry, and try and relax some. No rains today and abundant sunshine, so I hope to get out on a through the woods to the shore walk. YAHOO! Made it last weekend. It is so nice that the woods and the shore are as close as they are! The walks there have been great. There is alot to do today too to be ready for William's birthday party and Erin's BBQ tomorrow. It looks like this will be a busy day.
KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN cat_pet_icon
(Ahhhhhh.... elixir! Thanks Elsa), and Happy Catmint Caturday!LL! It's is I, Elsa, KBP, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! GUESS WHAT! Paw Prints Pizza is open and ready for business! They are running a Caturday Catnip special today, in honor of Catmint Caturday - lots of nip in those pies! They have even used their signature nip cheese.
Best order early! The new pizza ovens are great, and so far... they been good pies! Lola and Bug say that they makes excellent nip crust. Mannie's tree house has become the new HQ for Paw Prints Pizza! They sure host alot of pizza parties up there.... Kitties are always coming and going, mega cool! We are busy today packing all up for a trip to Camp Stu to see Rusty and do all the cool things we do t Camp Stu. It was Mannie's fav place! Come and join us!! so. well. anyways. Coffee time!! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and triple shot espressos, with beans from Starbucks Pike Place Market, their original blend, AND.... for all my Mocha fans: a venti quad peppermint white chocolate mocha, with peppermint infused whip, garnished with peppermint candy chips and white chocolate shavings. SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of mint and vanilla and cimmamum swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, topped with peppermint chips and chocolate drizzle.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... mega good! I hope everyone had a great day yesterday, and a great week. The days with the boys have been good ones! We have been very busy, that part of life has not changed. Yesterday, like all Fridays, was very much a water day, what with swimming in the morning, and swimming again in the evening. BUSY!!!! :shock: :razz: Swimming was as good as it always is. The energizer fishie was in his element, and continues to have a great time in the pool. That swim test continues to be elusive.... one of these days we will get that done! ;-) The guards are making an effort to come over and talk with him about his pool stuff, and he has started talking with them. So maybe as that improves he will be more comfortable working with them in a class environment. I've been teaching him what I can. My DD and I have decided that even if he won't take the test, we are ok with that, as he so loves this,a dn ias doing so much more than most kids in lessons do. He continues to swim two, sometimes more, widths of the pool on his own again yesterday. We are starting to get more "big arms" swim in, which is kinda cool. He's been trying to swim on his back too. LOL: might make a swimmer after all.
His favorite thing to do continues to be retrieving objects, usually rings, from the bottom of the pool, and still takes a bucket down with him, to collect them before coming back to the surface. That is cool! He has become more social too, playing with alot of the kids that are there when he is. We still swim at the MLT pool, not his main pool, on Friday nights. I continue to be grateful to my DMIL Connie, who still watches William on Friday mornings so Nicholas and I can go to the pool. Wednesday's swim was also a good one, many many swims under the surface! He still looks forward to our after swim Friday Night Burger Feast too. That is just so fun: burgers and fries, just him and me, with lots of fun stories. Last night the weather was so great that we took our feast out onto the trail, found one of the picninc tables that have there, and ate that marvelous feast "in the woods." So much fun! We even took a few moments for him to walk the trail, and pick berries. Last night we again talked Mariners Baseball, as well as reliving his visit to the river parks. Mt Rainier was very visible last night so we talked about the mountain, hikes there. Nicholas has asked if we can go. I think we can!, and have added that to the list of really cool places to go. I still love that drive from the pool to his house: 30 minutes of little guy stories, my little back seat driver! Quite the imagination he has. He tells stories, we continue to look for rainbows and sunsets and views of Seattle. Great drive home! AWESOME TIME! The beginnings of the night's sunset was really great, and makes for such a pleasant drive home. Monday found me out hiking!
II went to Golds Creek Pond, a repeat for me, down it a dozen times. I love that place. the hike is mega easy, and the views are incredible. Just very pretty all around. I have taken the boys there a couple of times too, we so need to go back. They have loved it in the past, so a for sure. Fun today: the geese were there with all their babies. ALot of baby geese up on the waters of the pass, just not Gold Creek Pond. The Snoqualmie RR Tunnel was an experience. Sheshhhh it is 2.5 miles long, very cold in there, and completely dark, short of light that enters near the entrances. DARK is an understatement. It didn't freak me out or anything, one can see the "light at the end of the tunnel", even thought it is a very tiny spec. Sure wouldn't recommend it to anyone that had issues with the dark or were claustrophobic. Took me about an hour to do the 2.5 - 3.0 in. I kept thinking it had better be worth it with good views when I get to the end. it was . anyways.... quite the experience that was. I just wish there had been more RR stuff there - very little to be seen, short of the tunnel itself. Wound up the adventure with a stop off at Coal Creek, which connects to Gold Creek. No trail just a 1.5 miles off trail exploration of the creek. enjoyed that alot too. The weather was fabulous that day, making for awesome hiking, and a great road trip up to Snoqualmie Pass. Wednesday, after pool time, Nicholas and I decided we needed to walk the pool trail and see if more berries were ready yet. So we packed up William and off we went in search of berries: salmonberries to start. Nicholas was so excited when he found so many more than last week, promptly gobbled them up, all 59 of them (!!) and proclaimed they were all sweet and juicy and delicious. He found some for William too, who eagerly ate what Nicholas and I picked for him. He too has decided that they are delicious! :lol: It was alot of fun. We also looked for the beginnings of the other berries that are found on that trail, and saw that the huckleberries, thimbleberries, raspberries and blackberries are beginning to make fruit. There ought to be primo berry picking and eating there in the next few months. Funny: before we headed into the pool on Friday morning he had to make a quick run through of the beginning of the trial to see if any berries were an easy grab and gobble. LOL: there were. Down the Hatch! and we did the same thing with the PM swim! He so loves those those berry hunts.
Thursday we headed up to Gold bar, to the Skykomish River at Big Eddy. Love that spot, it really is a good one for the boys. Nicholas wanted jack's pass too (lol: both???) but we settled on waiting just a few just to make sure there aren't any lingering snows etc. Besides.... he wanted Juanita beach too, and well no way could we make that if we did jack's pass. anyways - river was wodnerful. Sunny warm and just pretty! The boys had an awesome time. We found salmonberries too. The thimbleberries are just starting to make fruit, so give them a few weeks. There will be thousands there when they do. The bushes were loaded,. LOL: saw 9 trains while there and when getting there.I don't think I have ever seen that many go through in a single day. That was a big hit too. anyways - really nice time on the river. Little guy kept telling me over and over and over again how glad he was that he and William could go there. Guess one can safely day he had a good time. We did make Juanita Beach too, after our trip to the river - more of what he goes there for. Lots of play, and it was warm enough that he could swim in the water. He had such fun with that. all around - really a terrific day. I bet both those boys sleep well that night. William ha also developed a fondness for it all, he just gets so excited when he sees the parks, the beaches, the rivers, He is so very much like his brother when he was that age.
Friday afternoon after swimming we ended up at the new local park we have found. Meadowdale Park continues to be a favorite of Nicholas's. The playground equipment is really nice, with good challenges for him, and well there is that zip line. :razz: :razz: :razz: :razz: That thing is so fun. Nicholas just loves it. Yesterday he was ale to make it all work without Grammie's help.
He has made a few new friends during our visits there, and on yesterday he met two more. It was nice that he is willing to play with whomever he meets there. It is so great to be able to watch him play with boys his own age. They run and climb on everything. The laughs for them are endless. William watches it all, trying so much to be part of the group. :lol: What with Swimming in the morning and these park outings in the afternoon, we have, of late, been heading home after that, late afternoon, as both boys are beat, and some serious napping is in order. I know that the day has been good when I catch Nicholas smiling in his sleep. William too!The boys have been good. Nicholas and William continue to play well together. William is just so excited when Nicholas plays with him, and Nicholas is more than Happy to oblige. Friday was William's 1st birthday1 Where does time go..... Sunday we will be having a party for all family members so we can officially celebrate his first birthday. We will have a BBQ later in the day to also celebrate my DD's birthday. Fun times await! Nick's Pics continue, He has fun with it, so I continue to encourage it anytime he asks for the camera.
Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
What to say about the three musketeers.... They have been good kitties, and even Lola! Well sorta on Lola... Lola will always be Lola. Crazy fun Lola. I know I write this alot, but it all continues to be true: When I got home last night I watched the usual Friday night run and romp. That is so fun to watch, and so what goes down here on FR nights. Elsa just watches, trying to decide if she wants to run too. We have been, lately, getting her to join in on one of the romps. She runs once, maybe twice, chasing Bug down the hall. Not too bad for my senior gal. :lol: :lol: This is about the only time I can ever get her to run like that. It is nice to see once in a while. There was nothing amiss when I got home, just kitties waiting at the top of the stairs. Just as it always is. LOVE THAT! Lola was rolling on the stairs, Bug was pacing, and Elsa was just sitting with that stare: where have you been? Definitely a normal Friday night for the kitties. I get a few meows, some leg rubs, they get scritches in return, and then off they go. The runs were endless last night. Lola has been fairly good, no plant issues, no torn papers, boxes remain intact. Today is shopping day so she will get a new paper bag. :lol: :lol: No doubt that will make her day. She still tries SO HARD to get outside during our warmer days, she runs from window to window hoping maybe those screen have disappeared. :lol: :lol: Yesterday she succeeded once: she is very quick and very good at leaping out the door, through those few inches of that opening... I know.... she needs a catio.... She continues too to pound on all glass and plastic surfaces. What a hoot. Still walking the railing and the frig door. Crazy fun Lola! Bug continues to warm up to company more and more as the days go by. Sure is nice to see that. He has come to sit by William at times when he sleeps. hat so reminds me of Mannie and Nicholas. Elsa is still dong well, darn active for an almost 18 year old. She sleeps alot, but what the heck: part of being a cat. She' continues to be a very good lap cat of late: nice! :lol: With the warm weather she has been out in the yard alot. Lola is SO JEALOUS!!, and lets me know it whenever she sees Big Sis out in the yard. :roll: It is interesting that Bug just doesn't seem to mind at all. He is more than content to be a house cat. Kitties are good, and All are sound asleep as I write this.... Stay good kitties! Normalcy in MusketeerVille!Have a great day everyone! I am off to get those chores done, do my laundry, fill the kitty pantry, and try and relax some. No rains today and abundant sunshine, so I hope to get out on a through the woods to the shore walk. YAHOO! Made it last weekend. It is so nice that the woods and the shore are as close as they are! The walks there have been great. There is alot to do today too to be ready for William's birthday party and Erin's BBQ tomorrow. It looks like this will be a busy day.
KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN cat_pet_icon
Belated to Birthday Wishes to Erin and William!
OMG The biggest food tent at the MN State Fair was the grilled corn on the cob. Also the healthiest, as opposed to the deep fried cheese curds! :lol: :lol: :lol: They actually had the longest line!