Michelle and Mannie (GA)
Member Since 2009
Good Morning LL!!! 
(Elsa: best make the quad shots today.... one sleepy bean!), and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!
LL! It's is I, Elsa, Lil Bit, kitteh barista!, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! GUESS WHAT! today is TPIF Day! YUPP! Thank Pizza It's Friday! Lola and Bug, aka Paw Prints Pizza, love Friday's so they decided that since it is TPIF day that anyone can have any kind of pizza they wants - anythings!!! All with extra nip cheese!!! So get your orders in early! They say this is the way Furday's should be! I am exited too that it's Furday - so... I will make my Coffee Cat special of the day! FRAPPE FRIDAY! YUM!!!! Anything you want - just let me know. OOOOOO this will be such a good day. Weird that all these pizzas look like Flags, 4th of July flags. HeeHeeHee! GO PAW PRINTS PIZZA!!! so. well. anyways. Coffee time! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and triple shot Cappuccinos with extra foam, made from beans from High in the mountains of Jamaica. And for all my mocha fans: a Venti quad dutch apple infused white mocha, with caramel whip, garnished with caramelized apple clusters, white chocolate shavings and a caramel drizzle...... SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of apple and vanilla and chocolate and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, sprinkled with crystallized apple bits and a chocolate caramel drizzle.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... mega good!
I hope everyone had a great day yesterday, and a great week. Happy 4th to everyone. happy Canada day to our friends up north, I know I missed that day here on the forum.I hope all our Canadian friends had a good one! Today we were due for cloudy not so sunny weather, but at least no rains. it was such a joy when the sun finally came up to see we had sunny clear blue skies. NO CLOUDS! So I thought I had bet take advantage of that, and hit the trails here at home at Meadowdale, while I could, while the weather was good, and before the masses that make up the 4th here head to the beach. What a nice time out! I spent the morning there, somehow managed to log about 8 miles. What a nice way to start the day. The clouds have since started to move in, but we still have some blue patches. Still no rains. This is one of the few and far between 4th of July's where I can remember that it has not rained. it always rains here on the 4th, always. How cool that, so far, this year it is not.
WOOT WOOT!
The days with the boys have been good ones! We have been very busy, that part of life has not changed, and probably never will. Wednesday was our swim days this week. We did not swim today, duh, since today is a holiday and the boys are home having an awesome 4th with their mom and dad. Wednesday 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. 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 w 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.
Monday found me out hiking.
What an adventure! I went to a place called over by Leavenworth to a place called Icicle Gorge, through which runs Icicle Creek. I love this hike. It isn't difficult, isn't too long, and the rewards are outstanding. Icicle Creek, and the Gorge it runs through. Is ever so pretty. I did a few off trail "roads" as well, that intersected with Trout Creek, and Jack's Creek. Those little side adventures were fun, something new to discover. The creeks were gorgeous: high water, fast and furious. Beautiful!! The wildflowers were still blooming when I was there today, on the last week for so for those, alot were bloomed out. Weather was great: sunshine everywhere. What a fantastic day. And I will laugh - only I could come back from a hike and a road trip with over 800 photos.... oh HAHA! Hike was about 6 miles, with minimal cumulative gain of 380 feet. Elevation was at 2800 feet. The drive over HWY 2 was ever so nice too! The images are from shots I took along the way, at various places I stopped: Skykomish River at Big Eddy, Alpine Falls at the Tye River, Stevens Pass, the Wenatchee River, and Icicle Creek. What a gorgeous day to be on the road... Weather was exceptional too: from a cool fog at Big Eddy, to a nice warm sunny 80 in Leavenworth. Truly an exceptional day. On the way home I stopped in at Zeke's Drive-In for one of their burgers. It's s small family own drive-in with really GOOD burgers. I just had to stop. I was not disappointed. MAJOR YUM! There is something to be said for burgers that good, eating them outdoors, with the mountains as a back drop. PRIMO comes to mind.
Tuesday is usually my visit Barb in Seattle day, but she had meetings and could not get away. So I thought I'd spend another day on the river, at a place that I have not been able to get to since last fall. it's been snowed in.... I also wanted to go to see how it was, as it is also one of Nicholas's favorite places to go to spend a day on the river: Jack's Pass. What an awesome day it was. I headed on up the spend part of the day on the Skykomish, at Jack's Pass. It was just too nice of a day not to be outdoors, and I really couldn't think of a better place to spend it. This part of the river is an awesome place to go and just hang out. I explored some too, logged maybe three miles. In doing so, I saw alot of wildflowers, frogs (yes frogs!) in a pond off of the river, and a couple of deer during my off trail bushwhacking.
They were gorgeous! I heard the loud snap of branches as I was walking, knew I had stumbled onto something. Cool! It was then that they poked their heads around the corner, and leaped off into the woods. That alone made my day. What an awesome time on a very pretty river. A very fast, very high, very furious gorgeous river. Nicholas my man - time we went back and introduced William to the beauty of Jack's Pass.
Wednesday, after swimming, we went to Juanita Beach. The weather had improved enough, the sun was beginning to poke through, and it was turning into a warm afternoon, like 80 (!!), 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 was introduced to very small waves, and had a blast. Nicholas was there to show him the ropes, and to introduce him to burying oneself in the sand. A few other boys were doing it, so Nicholas tried too. Of course William had to come and see what all the laughter was about. WHAT A MESS he was after that. :roll: :lol: :lol: All around - really a terrific day. I bet both those boys slept well that night. 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. AWESOME time at the beach.
Thursday was a debatable weather day, lots of clouds and pending rains, at least for the morning. so... another indoor day to start. Per Nicholas's choice we were off to the Seattle Aquarium. Both boys love that place. William is so taken back by all the colors of the tropical fish tanks, and the water fall there. That too has always been a hit with Nicholas. When we arrived there was no one there, not like last week when the Aquarium was on kid overload. Summer programs have kicked in, and alot of kid care places visit the aquarium, it was just so busy! Lots of tourists too! We were lucky this trip: no kids groups, and the tourists waited until 1 PM! YAY! That meant that the tide pools were not busy, so both boys got to spend alot of time with the anemones and the starfish - a lot of touch and feel. AWESOME stuff! When it did get busy, both boys didn't mind, we just focused on what we could see, where they could get close enough to enjoy. After the Aquarium we spent some time on the Water Front park, walked the boardwalks, and had lunch #2 outside. That was fun, as the skies had cleared some, the sun was out, and well... it just felt great! While there we had a burgers and fries lunch. ;-) :razz: :razz: My DH had brought some home for both boys, so they could have some during the week, since there could not be a FR night burger feast. It was actually kinda gun to have a Lunch Burger Feast instead. The drives to these places are always such fun. We have the boys, their bears, Nicholas's never ending stories. All rolled together to make the Many faces of travel.
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 re all well! YAY!!! They are all well, enjoying warmer weather here, and open window,. I still haven't done the catio fior 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. 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. 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. Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
Have a great day everyone! Enjoy your holiday. Be safe, keep your kitties safe. it is relatively quiet here now, not too many fireworks... I am sure that will change shortly. BOOM BOOM!
KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN cat_pet_icon
(Elsa: best make the quad shots today.... one sleepy bean!), and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!LL! It's is I, Elsa, Lil Bit, kitteh barista!, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! GUESS WHAT! today is TPIF Day! YUPP! Thank Pizza It's Friday! Lola and Bug, aka Paw Prints Pizza, love Friday's so they decided that since it is TPIF day that anyone can have any kind of pizza they wants - anythings!!! All with extra nip cheese!!! So get your orders in early! They say this is the way Furday's should be! I am exited too that it's Furday - so... I will make my Coffee Cat special of the day! FRAPPE FRIDAY! YUM!!!! Anything you want - just let me know. OOOOOO this will be such a good day. Weird that all these pizzas look like Flags, 4th of July flags. HeeHeeHee! GO PAW PRINTS PIZZA!!! so. well. anyways.
Coffee time! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and triple shot Cappuccinos with extra foam, made from beans from High in the mountains of Jamaica. And for all my mocha fans: a Venti quad dutch apple infused white mocha, with caramel whip, garnished with caramelized apple clusters, white chocolate shavings and a caramel drizzle...... SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of apple and vanilla and chocolate and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, sprinkled with crystallized apple bits and a chocolate caramel drizzle.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... mega good!I hope everyone had a great day yesterday, and a great week. Happy 4th to everyone. happy Canada day to our friends up north, I know I missed that day here on the forum.I hope all our Canadian friends had a good one! Today we were due for cloudy not so sunny weather, but at least no rains. it was such a joy when the sun finally came up to see we had sunny clear blue skies. NO CLOUDS! So I thought I had bet take advantage of that, and hit the trails here at home at Meadowdale, while I could, while the weather was good, and before the masses that make up the 4th here head to the beach. What a nice time out! I spent the morning there, somehow managed to log about 8 miles. What a nice way to start the day. The clouds have since started to move in, but we still have some blue patches. Still no rains. This is one of the few and far between 4th of July's where I can remember that it has not rained. it always rains here on the 4th, always. How cool that, so far, this year it is not.
WOOT WOOT!The days with the boys have been good ones! We have been very busy, that part of life has not changed, and probably never will.
Wednesday was our swim days this week. We did not swim today, duh, since today is a holiday and the boys are home having an awesome 4th with their mom and dad. Wednesday 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. 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 w 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.Monday found me out hiking.
What an adventure! I went to a place called over by Leavenworth to a place called Icicle Gorge, through which runs Icicle Creek. I love this hike. It isn't difficult, isn't too long, and the rewards are outstanding. Icicle Creek, and the Gorge it runs through. Is ever so pretty. I did a few off trail "roads" as well, that intersected with Trout Creek, and Jack's Creek. Those little side adventures were fun, something new to discover. The creeks were gorgeous: high water, fast and furious. Beautiful!! The wildflowers were still blooming when I was there today, on the last week for so for those, alot were bloomed out. Weather was great: sunshine everywhere. What a fantastic day. And I will laugh - only I could come back from a hike and a road trip with over 800 photos.... oh HAHA! Hike was about 6 miles, with minimal cumulative gain of 380 feet. Elevation was at 2800 feet. The drive over HWY 2 was ever so nice too! The images are from shots I took along the way, at various places I stopped: Skykomish River at Big Eddy, Alpine Falls at the Tye River, Stevens Pass, the Wenatchee River, and Icicle Creek. What a gorgeous day to be on the road... Weather was exceptional too: from a cool fog at Big Eddy, to a nice warm sunny 80 in Leavenworth. Truly an exceptional day. On the way home I stopped in at Zeke's Drive-In for one of their burgers. It's s small family own drive-in with really GOOD burgers. I just had to stop. I was not disappointed. MAJOR YUM! There is something to be said for burgers that good, eating them outdoors, with the mountains as a back drop. PRIMO comes to mind. Tuesday is usually my visit Barb in Seattle day, but she had meetings and could not get away. So I thought I'd spend another day on the river, at a place that I have not been able to get to since last fall. it's been snowed in.... I also wanted to go to see how it was, as it is also one of Nicholas's favorite places to go to spend a day on the river: Jack's Pass. What an awesome day it was. I headed on up the spend part of the day on the Skykomish, at Jack's Pass. It was just too nice of a day not to be outdoors, and I really couldn't think of a better place to spend it. This part of the river is an awesome place to go and just hang out. I explored some too, logged maybe three miles. In doing so, I saw alot of wildflowers, frogs (yes frogs!) in a pond off of the river, and a couple of deer during my off trail bushwhacking.
They were gorgeous! I heard the loud snap of branches as I was walking, knew I had stumbled onto something. Cool! It was then that they poked their heads around the corner, and leaped off into the woods. That alone made my day. What an awesome time on a very pretty river. A very fast, very high, very furious gorgeous river. Nicholas my man - time we went back and introduced William to the beauty of Jack's Pass. Wednesday, after swimming, we went to Juanita Beach. The weather had improved enough, the sun was beginning to poke through, and it was turning into a warm afternoon, like 80 (!!), 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 was introduced to very small waves, and had a blast. Nicholas was there to show him the ropes, and to introduce him to burying oneself in the sand. A few other boys were doing it, so Nicholas tried too. Of course William had to come and see what all the laughter was about. WHAT A MESS he was after that. :roll: :lol: :lol: All around - really a terrific day. I bet both those boys slept well that night. 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. AWESOME time at the beach.
Thursday was a debatable weather day, lots of clouds and pending rains, at least for the morning. so... another indoor day to start. Per Nicholas's choice we were off to the Seattle Aquarium. Both boys love that place. William is so taken back by all the colors of the tropical fish tanks, and the water fall there. That too has always been a hit with Nicholas. When we arrived there was no one there, not like last week when the Aquarium was on kid overload. Summer programs have kicked in, and alot of kid care places visit the aquarium, it was just so busy! Lots of tourists too! We were lucky this trip: no kids groups, and the tourists waited until 1 PM! YAY! That meant that the tide pools were not busy, so both boys got to spend alot of time with the anemones and the starfish - a lot of touch and feel. AWESOME stuff! When it did get busy, both boys didn't mind, we just focused on what we could see, where they could get close enough to enjoy. After the Aquarium we spent some time on the Water Front park, walked the boardwalks, and had lunch #2 outside. That was fun, as the skies had cleared some, the sun was out, and well... it just felt great! While there we had a burgers and fries lunch. ;-) :razz: :razz: My DH had brought some home for both boys, so they could have some during the week, since there could not be a FR night burger feast. It was actually kinda gun to have a Lunch Burger Feast instead. The drives to these places are always such fun. We have the boys, their bears, Nicholas's never ending stories. All rolled together to make the Many faces of travel.
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 re all well! YAY!!! They are all well, enjoying warmer weather here, and open window,. I still haven't done the catio fior 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. 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. 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. Normalcy in MusketeerVille!Have a great day everyone! Enjoy your holiday. Be safe, keep your kitties safe. it is relatively quiet here now, not too many fireworks... I am sure that will change shortly. BOOM BOOM!
KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN cat_pet_icon
