Michelle and Mannie (GA)
Member Since 2009
Good Morning LL!!!
(Elsa: best make the quad shots today.... one sleepy bean!), and HAPPY CATURDAY!
LL! It's is I, Elsa, KBP!, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! Coffee is on, Lola and Bug , founders of Paw Prints Pizza, are ready to go! Want pizza? it is MEGA GOOD! They are busy getting ready for.... uh.... I dunno! but there sure is a flurry of activity in the kitchen. :shock: I suspect they are getting a jump start on the week. Mannie's treehouse is open to any kitties that wanna come and hang out. The zip lines are all set, and the creek nearby has fishies! so. well. anyways.
Coffee time! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and Double shot Breve's, with beans from high in the Brazilian Mountains.... and for my mocha fans: a VENTI Quad Blueberry infused white mocha/mocha blend with white chocolate chips melted within, swirled with a raspberry puree, topped with a strawberry infused whip garnished with caramelized berry sprinkles and white chocolate curls and a caramel drizzle.......SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of 4 berry and vanilla and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, topped with caramel 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. What a BUSY week! Wednesday and Thursday were our swim days this week. We did not swim Friday, though we had intended to go swimming in the evening. But.... a general snafu prevented that. We get to the Terrace Pool only to find they were closed for a summer swim league meet! BUMMER!!! Well, back up plan for that is to go to Lynnwood, his regular pool, and swim there but they just redid their FR night swim schedule, and we'd have to wait an hour and a half for any pool time. That unfortunately is just too long for Nicholas. At least this week I remembered the change.... He handled that disappointment very well, telling me that it really was OK, and can we just go and do something else, and have a picnic burger and fries night instead. So we did. It turned out to be a great FR night, despite out not being able to be in the pool. Swimming Wednesday and swimming Thursday was as good as it always is. The energizer fishie was in his element, and continues to have a great time in the pool. He continues to make do with the summer schedule and the no big pool situation. He tries to get in some of his "deep sea diving" ventures in what areas there that are big enough and deep enough to retrieve things from the bottom. The hot tub there has proven to be invaluable in that regard. The pool is now on their summer swim schedule, which means that the big pool that Nicholas loves is not available, due to all the swim lessons they run there during the summer. He has adapted to loosing that pool well, and has found ways to do what he likes to do in the big pool in the ones that he now has. It was nice to see him accept that without any fuss. When we went this week he asked if he could swim in the big pool yet, and I told him no, that summer schedule was still in effect. His comment: " That sure lasts a long time! BUMMER!!" I have gotten a few swim toys that he likes and we now bring a few of our own so he can continue to do what he has fun with. He continues to interact well with the others kids he meets there, so all is well, so far, in the swimming world of a three year old. We still have many many swims under the surface! Lots of fun interacting with alot of the other kids there. That is really fun to watch.
Nicholas still looks forward to our after swim even if we can't 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 we again talked Mariners Baseball, as well as all our berry hunts. We watched and fed the ducks too. Lots of mama ducks out with their babies. We were at Bothell Landing Park, which is a beautiful park and biking trail on the Samammish River. The trails are nice, river ever so pretty, and the playground passed Nicholas's inspection. We also talked endlessly about how his pools were closed. I heard alot of "What a BUMMER!" ;-) 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, baseball and trains, and pool closures. Last night, like last week, we made up this grand adventure, a trip to all these cool places, and what we would do when we were there. It was a great drive home: sunny skies, and the making of a great sunset! AWESOME TIME!
Last Sunday night I went to my son's bands gig in Seattle. Fallen Angels, show in DT Seattle. What a great time. They played well, and wow: the place was packed. it is so nice to see folks coming out to support our local bands. The kid played really well. The link has some of the videos, the rest are on YouTube. I don't know if this will work, but here's the link to one, the others should be next in cue. ?? Fallen Angels video. I'll warn you ahead of time, they are a thrash metal band... good though! The lead guitar you head is my son, Matt. The drive home last night was incredible! WHAT A SUNSET!!! the sky was on fire, so vivid and full of color.
Monday found me out hiking.
What an adventure! We have several wildfires in the area, lots of traffic closures, which is making getting to some of my fav places difficult. I elected to stay closer to home, and hike in the Darrington to Granite Falls area, where the weatehr was actually the best of all the options, in addition to traffic and wildfires. I drove all of the Mountain Loop Highway, with my hiking destination being the Big Four Ice Caves. The road trip was great - love that mtn loop drive. I stopped at as many pullouts that time would allow, even did a few very short trails off of that to the various rivers. that was fun - impromptu stuff.
The rivers follow that highway, making for some very nice views, and stop off places. The Ice Caves were great. they have receded enough that one can really explore up there now, no snow fields to hinder. Loved that, got to a section I've never been able to reach before. I ventured to the mouth of the caves, but did not go in. The danger of cave collapse has always been an issue there, so no chances taken for me, One could hear the ice melting and dripping from the entrance. I loved the steam that was billowing out of the cave, as that cold air met the hot air right outside. Very nice! Caves were fun, but I stayed outside, I had no desire to be a casualty. Sure was a fun time.
Tuesday Found me at a local beach area: Brackett's Landing, in Edmonds. I had some time before I met my friend sin Seattle for coffee, so off to the beach in Edmonds. I spent a little time walking the beach and boardwalk at the Edmonds ferry and beach/marina. It was so sunny here who would have though that the beach there would be so foggy. One could watch it roll in off of the water onto the beach. Kinda cool actually. The sounds of the fog horns out on the water were endless. Cool and very foggy at the beach, go one block east and it was warm and sunny. The weatehr contrasts within one area were outstanding! You gotta love it. Seattle was nice - it had been a few weeks since we were able to get together, sure was nice to be able to make that trip once again. Busy streets, warm and sunny in Seattle.
Wednesday, after swimming, we went to Juanita Beach. The weather was great, the afternoon was turning into a warm afternoon, like 89 (!!), so off we went! We did all 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. I had also brought a pair of swim trunks for William, so he was able to really get in the water, and play as much as he wanted. He continues to love the very small waves, and had a blast. Nicholas was there to show him the ropes, and to introduce him to sand castles. WHAT FUN! WHAT A MESS he was after that. :roll: :lol: :lol: They both were! William has really 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. He just loved it. We also had a small picnic after our beach and park time. All around - really a terrific day. I bet both those boys slept well that night. AWESOME time at the beach.
Thursday was road trip day, after the morning swim session, and time with their Grammie Connie: friends and a road trip! We had incredible weather in the forecast, and well, it just had to be an outdoor day. The boys mom and dad were taking a friend of theirs out for dinner, so I had the boys until 7 or so in the evening. All that extra time allowed us to be able to travel to a river, and spend some time without having to rush back home. It was another 85 degree day, so outdoors on a river was really a great choice. We went to the Big Eddy, on the Skykomish River near Gold Bar. That was an awesome time. Sunny, warm, river was down some, and not to cold. The river was low enough that Nicholas, and William somewhat, could wade out into it. They really did have the best of times this afternoon. it was busy there, but no matter. The river is known for it's rafting, and we were able to watch a group do their thing. Boys on the other bank were jumping in the river, into a side pool, from a log suspended over the river. Dang they were having fun. There was also a family gathering there, which in a way was nice, as Nicholas had the chance to explore and play some with some of the kids. For the most part though, he played with William, in and out of the river. An all around awesome afternoon on the river. We saw 5 trains cross the bridge that crosses the river a few hundred yards down. Way cool. We wound up our time there with a picnic on the river. Perfecto!
Friday was another "free to travel " day since Nicholas did not swim his usual FR morning swim (we went Thursday instead). We ended up making it a local trail and park day. Getting anywhere further out is difficult due to multiple freeway and road closures, fires,etc. we started our day with a stop in at the Mesika Trail, by the Lynnwood Pool. We thought it would be fun to check on the berries there, see if more had come into fruit, do a berry run at the pool trail this morning before heading to Meadowdale Park. That was so fun. Nicholas found that hidden patch of wild raspberries last week, remembered where it was, so this week he once again climbed on in and ate them all, probably 50 of them in there,
He did save a few for his brother, who was busy with the huckleberries, and some early blackberries. It was fun. We ended up doing the whole trail, with alot of play time throughout of walk. The afternoon was spent at a 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 able 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 several 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: It is so wonderful that we can find such great places to visit so clsoe to home.
PHOTOS note: I have been struggling with the Picassa upload since 5AM this morning.... They simply would not upload. I finally narrowed it down to errors within the video files, and being not the most savvy computer person, I really have no clue why. as I really haven't changed anything in the way I process them. So.... I ended up deleting all the video files so that I could get this condo finally posted! so so frustrating! Anyways - the vids are all on FaceBook anyways, and are all available there. If by chance I am not on your friends list, and you want to add me, just let me know, or send a friend request to Michelle Be Roth. I will accept it.
Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
What to say about the kitties.... They have been good kitties, and even Lola! Well sorta on Lola... Lola will always be Lola. Crazy fun Lola. I wrote most of this last week, but it still holds true. They are all well! YAY!!! They are enjoying warmer weather here, and open windows. I still haven't done the catio for Lola and Bug, the expense is a deterrent. I do hope to be able to get that done for them, especially Lola, soon. Bug seems to be indifferent to being able to go outside, he never ever even tries. Lola I've had to haul back inside way too many times to count... she is a master at escaping. Elsa still has her outdoor privileges. She's always been an outdoor kitty, loves it there. She's a good girl though, and never leaves her yard. Long gone are her days of touring the neighbors yard, and being the mouse population controller of the neighborhood. This senior gal likes it in her own back yard now. anyways....soon I truly hope for a catio and a kitty run for Lola and Bug. it will be nice for Elsa too in that I can let them all be out when I am not home. Lola continues too to pound on all glass and plastic surfaces. What a hoot. Still walking the railing and the frig door. Still eating my plants. She knocked over several last week, broke one of my big ones into two pieces, middle of the stalk. sheshhh! Crazy fun Lola! Bug continues to warm up to the boys more and more as the days go by. Sure is nice to see that. I had one morning where I could hear Nicholas giggling ever so quietly. Seems he had tried to pet Bug, and Bug let him, over and over again. YAY!!
He still comes to sit by William at times when he sleeps. That 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 that 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! I keep waiting for Lola to find something to stir the pot with here, but she hasn't. Maybe being 2 now she is mellowing, maybe. Though she is part Maine Coon, so I suspect that we will alwyas have slot of that Spunk. I sure hope so anywyas. 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. Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
Have a great day everyone! Enjoy your Caturday. I have shopping and laundry to do. oh what fun. not. My son Anthony will be by for a bit this morning, to share breffis, and spend a little time. SWEET! I hope that later today I will be able to walk the trail here, to the shore. 30% chance of rains today, and even with that the temps remain in the mid 70's. it should still be a nice day to be out. Paws crossed!
KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN cat_pet_icon
(Elsa: best make the quad shots today.... one sleepy bean!), and HAPPY CATURDAY! LL! It's is I, Elsa, KBP!, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! Coffee is on, Lola and Bug , founders of Paw Prints Pizza, are ready to go! Want pizza? it is MEGA GOOD! They are busy getting ready for.... uh.... I dunno! but there sure is a flurry of activity in the kitchen. :shock: I suspect they are getting a jump start on the week. Mannie's treehouse is open to any kitties that wanna come and hang out. The zip lines are all set, and the creek nearby has fishies! so. well. anyways.
Coffee time! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and Double shot Breve's, with beans from high in the Brazilian Mountains.... and for my mocha fans: a VENTI Quad Blueberry infused white mocha/mocha blend with white chocolate chips melted within, swirled with a raspberry puree, topped with a strawberry infused whip garnished with caramelized berry sprinkles and white chocolate curls and a caramel drizzle.......SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of 4 berry and vanilla and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, topped with caramel 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. What a BUSY week! Wednesday and Thursday were our swim days this week. We did not swim Friday, though we had intended to go swimming in the evening. But.... a general snafu prevented that. We get to the Terrace Pool only to find they were closed for a summer swim league meet! BUMMER!!! Well, back up plan for that is to go to Lynnwood, his regular pool, and swim there but they just redid their FR night swim schedule, and we'd have to wait an hour and a half for any pool time. That unfortunately is just too long for Nicholas. At least this week I remembered the change.... He handled that disappointment very well, telling me that it really was OK, and can we just go and do something else, and have a picnic burger and fries night instead. So we did. It turned out to be a great FR night, despite out not being able to be in the pool. Swimming Wednesday and swimming Thursday was as good as it always is. The energizer fishie was in his element, and continues to have a great time in the pool. He continues to make do with the summer schedule and the no big pool situation. He tries to get in some of his "deep sea diving" ventures in what areas there that are big enough and deep enough to retrieve things from the bottom. The hot tub there has proven to be invaluable in that regard. The pool is now on their summer swim schedule, which means that the big pool that Nicholas loves is not available, due to all the swim lessons they run there during the summer. He has adapted to loosing that pool well, and has found ways to do what he likes to do in the big pool in the ones that he now has. It was nice to see him accept that without any fuss. When we went this week he asked if he could swim in the big pool yet, and I told him no, that summer schedule was still in effect. His comment: " That sure lasts a long time! BUMMER!!" I have gotten a few swim toys that he likes and we now bring a few of our own so he can continue to do what he has fun with. He continues to interact well with the others kids he meets there, so all is well, so far, in the swimming world of a three year old. We still have many many swims under the surface! Lots of fun interacting with alot of the other kids there. That is really fun to watch.
Nicholas still looks forward to our after swim even if we can't 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 we again talked Mariners Baseball, as well as all our berry hunts. We watched and fed the ducks too. Lots of mama ducks out with their babies. We were at Bothell Landing Park, which is a beautiful park and biking trail on the Samammish River. The trails are nice, river ever so pretty, and the playground passed Nicholas's inspection. We also talked endlessly about how his pools were closed. I heard alot of "What a BUMMER!" ;-) 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, baseball and trains, and pool closures. Last night, like last week, we made up this grand adventure, a trip to all these cool places, and what we would do when we were there. It was a great drive home: sunny skies, and the making of a great sunset! AWESOME TIME!
Last Sunday night I went to my son's bands gig in Seattle. Fallen Angels, show in DT Seattle. What a great time. They played well, and wow: the place was packed. it is so nice to see folks coming out to support our local bands. The kid played really well. The link has some of the videos, the rest are on YouTube. I don't know if this will work, but here's the link to one, the others should be next in cue. ?? Fallen Angels video. I'll warn you ahead of time, they are a thrash metal band... good though! The lead guitar you head is my son, Matt. The drive home last night was incredible! WHAT A SUNSET!!! the sky was on fire, so vivid and full of color.
Monday found me out hiking.
What an adventure! We have several wildfires in the area, lots of traffic closures, which is making getting to some of my fav places difficult. I elected to stay closer to home, and hike in the Darrington to Granite Falls area, where the weatehr was actually the best of all the options, in addition to traffic and wildfires. I drove all of the Mountain Loop Highway, with my hiking destination being the Big Four Ice Caves. The road trip was great - love that mtn loop drive. I stopped at as many pullouts that time would allow, even did a few very short trails off of that to the various rivers. that was fun - impromptu stuff. Tuesday Found me at a local beach area: Brackett's Landing, in Edmonds. I had some time before I met my friend sin Seattle for coffee, so off to the beach in Edmonds. I spent a little time walking the beach and boardwalk at the Edmonds ferry and beach/marina. It was so sunny here who would have though that the beach there would be so foggy. One could watch it roll in off of the water onto the beach. Kinda cool actually. The sounds of the fog horns out on the water were endless. Cool and very foggy at the beach, go one block east and it was warm and sunny. The weatehr contrasts within one area were outstanding! You gotta love it. Seattle was nice - it had been a few weeks since we were able to get together, sure was nice to be able to make that trip once again. Busy streets, warm and sunny in Seattle.
Wednesday, after swimming, we went to Juanita Beach. The weather was great, the afternoon was turning into a warm afternoon, like 89 (!!), so off we went! We did all 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. I had also brought a pair of swim trunks for William, so he was able to really get in the water, and play as much as he wanted. He continues to love the very small waves, and had a blast. Nicholas was there to show him the ropes, and to introduce him to sand castles. WHAT FUN! WHAT A MESS he was after that. :roll: :lol: :lol: They both were! William has really 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. He just loved it. We also had a small picnic after our beach and park time. All around - really a terrific day. I bet both those boys slept well that night. AWESOME time at the beach.
Thursday was road trip day, after the morning swim session, and time with their Grammie Connie: friends and a road trip! We had incredible weather in the forecast, and well, it just had to be an outdoor day. The boys mom and dad were taking a friend of theirs out for dinner, so I had the boys until 7 or so in the evening. All that extra time allowed us to be able to travel to a river, and spend some time without having to rush back home. It was another 85 degree day, so outdoors on a river was really a great choice. We went to the Big Eddy, on the Skykomish River near Gold Bar. That was an awesome time. Sunny, warm, river was down some, and not to cold. The river was low enough that Nicholas, and William somewhat, could wade out into it. They really did have the best of times this afternoon. it was busy there, but no matter. The river is known for it's rafting, and we were able to watch a group do their thing. Boys on the other bank were jumping in the river, into a side pool, from a log suspended over the river. Dang they were having fun. There was also a family gathering there, which in a way was nice, as Nicholas had the chance to explore and play some with some of the kids. For the most part though, he played with William, in and out of the river. An all around awesome afternoon on the river. We saw 5 trains cross the bridge that crosses the river a few hundred yards down. Way cool. We wound up our time there with a picnic on the river. Perfecto!
Friday was another "free to travel " day since Nicholas did not swim his usual FR morning swim (we went Thursday instead). We ended up making it a local trail and park day. Getting anywhere further out is difficult due to multiple freeway and road closures, fires,etc. we started our day with a stop in at the Mesika Trail, by the Lynnwood Pool. We thought it would be fun to check on the berries there, see if more had come into fruit, do a berry run at the pool trail this morning before heading to Meadowdale Park. That was so fun. Nicholas found that hidden patch of wild raspberries last week, remembered where it was, so this week he once again climbed on in and ate them all, probably 50 of them in there,
PHOTOS note: I have been struggling with the Picassa upload since 5AM this morning.... They simply would not upload. I finally narrowed it down to errors within the video files, and being not the most savvy computer person, I really have no clue why. as I really haven't changed anything in the way I process them. So.... I ended up deleting all the video files so that I could get this condo finally posted! so so frustrating! Anyways - the vids are all on FaceBook anyways, and are all available there. If by chance I am not on your friends list, and you want to add me, just let me know, or send a friend request to Michelle Be Roth. I will accept it.
Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
Have a great day everyone! Enjoy your Caturday. I have shopping and laundry to do. oh what fun. not. My son Anthony will be by for a bit this morning, to share breffis, and spend a little time. SWEET! I hope that later today I will be able to walk the trail here, to the shore. 30% chance of rains today, and even with that the temps remain in the mid 70's. it should still be a nice day to be out. Paws crossed!
KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN cat_pet_icon