Sunriver: Snowblasting

Ok, ok, it's really called the Snowblast Tubing Park, but I truly believe we should all call tubing, snowblasting. Why? Simple math. Snow + having a blast = snowblasting. At any rate, you start with a few glorious minutes of relaxing on your tube as the rope tow brings you to the top, then you jump off and go down a GIANT hill, breaking the sound barrier within seconds! I'm not even kidding people, we created some sonic booms on our tubes, especially when we went down FOUR AT A TIME. So if you ever find yourself at Mt. Bachelor, heed this advice: go snowblasting. It's breathtaking (literally and figuratively - at times you go so fast that you can't catch your breath due to the wind resistance!).

Stephanie and Lizzie finding the perfect tube for optimal (fast!) speed.

Lizzie and Lianna ready to take on the hill.

Stephanie rope-towing up the hill.

What you can't really see in this picture is that the snowblasting hills are at about an 85 degree angle. I don't lie. And that hay? That's to make you slow you at the end, so you don't launch into outerspace or something.

Before we parted ways to ski and snowblast, all the ladies at Mt. Bachelor. Good times.

Swedish Winter

One of my Swedish relatives posted a picture of her home on Facebook recently. It looks magical! It's not uncommon in Östersund to get several feet of snow at a time. Makes our Seattle freakout look a little pathetic ("But we have hills!" says the Seattleite). But honestly, doesn't this make you want to warm up some hot cocoa, cuddle up by the fire and gaze outside at the winter whiteout?

Hairsicles

Last weekend, we went snowshoeing again. We couldn't help ourselves. The fluffy white snow was calling our names, "Erika! Joe! Come play!" (If only we knew it would hit us hard later!) So we packed a picnic, hot cocoa and headed east. But I apparently forgot to pack my common sense because my hair turned to ice. Next time, tuck it in your hat, Peterson. I had hairsicles.

But seriously. We love snowshoeing and want anyone and everyone to join us sometime. Except for the man running up the hillside in snowshoes. I would consider that self-inflicted torture. (Says the girl who willingly did this.)

Seattle and Snow

If you haven't already watched the Seattle snow parody videos, then you're missing out. They are hilarious! I never really comment on YouTube videos, but I couldn't help myself because I felt like there were some major omissions in their first two videos. So here's my comment verbatim (as you can see as the current top rated comment here!):

"Seattle just isn't prepared for this. We only have like 15 snowplows for the ENTIRE city."

"We just don't have enough de-icer."

"Remember that one year when we were being so eco-friendly and wouldn't use salt on the roads? We need to protect our fish."

"Why does the Metro bus always have chains on 24 hours before the snow starts?"

"I just keep drinking coffee to keep my hands warm."

"Should I leave a note? It was just a baby tap on their bumper... Uh, damn guilty conscience."

Well, today they posted a third installment - using many of my ideas! Watch to see just how many they used :)

The exact place you do not want to be during a Seattle snowpocalypse.

That place is in an airport trying to go home, even if it's home of the snowpocalypse. I left for Spokane for work on Tuesday with a sneaky suspicion that I might encounter some challenges when trying to get home today. My suspicion was spot on. Our flight was canceled this morning, but luckily we made it to the airport early enough to be booked onto another flight, which was (not surprisingly) delayed.

As Katie and I waited in the terminal, watching the tractors clear the runway, we were thinking of our Plan B: if we can't leave via plane, should we rent a car and drive? Nah, too dangerous to cross the pass. Should we visit the self-proclaimed Vegas of Spokane? Yes, that's it. That would be our Plan B.

But eventually, when we made it on the plane. The flight took forever as we circled and circled before they could finally clear a runway for us. When we touched down, I saw what we were up against. Several inches of snow (don't make fun of us, you midwesterners) and it was hard for the crews to keep up.

Then, the cab ride home. In a Prius. A Prius! Those puppies are definitely not made for the snow. He dropped Katie off at the bottom of Queen Anne hill (he laughed at the thought of actually driving up the hill) before he slowly inched along to my place. Making it home never felt so good.

But I have to admit - it wasn't that bad. A lot of people had it worse than us. It was just unexpected - a trip that should have taken less than two hours start to finish took us almost six hours. Hope others made it to their final destination safely!

Speaking of Seattleites and snow, have you seen these clips? Quite funny.

Pub Squat

This weekend we attempted to go on a pub crawl through Fremont, but it turned into more of a pub squat. Several hours at 9 Million and then a few more at Norm's. We blame the weather - SNOW! - for not wanting to move from our warm, cozy booths.

Keeping with tradition, Autumn stole my camera (or iPhone) to document the evening. She discovered a great new use of the photobooth app - start rolling the camera and aim it at everyone around the table. Most people had no idea what the heck she was doing, but I caught on quick - hence, the cheesy smile. (Must remember this for future gatherings!)

But one my my favorite discoveries is the photo strip of Autumn... and Autumn alone. LOVE it.


More to come on the pub squat!

A Snowy Getaway

On Saturday, we trekked up to Snoqualmie Pass to celebrate Tom and Emily's birthdays. We stayed at this amazing cabin, which sleeps 12, but we managed to fit close to 20. It was quite an eventful night, including tons of food, karaoke (yes, someone actually has a legitimate karaoke machine), dancing, games (umm, Bananagrams is so fun!), drinking, and tubing - which may or may not have resulted in an epic face plant by the birthday girl. I didn't witness it myself, but like most embarrassing moments, it was caught on camera. Overall, good times.

After the snowy getaway, we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of Fall in Seattle again. Isn't it weird how quickly the seasons change? Before we know it, it'll be Christmas! Until then, I'll enjoy the last few weeks of Fall.

Sunriver teaser

It was radicawesoool. That's radical, awesome and cool, all in one. Details to come, but I will tell you this: these ladies are amazing and I love them very much.

It's beginning to look a lot like SPRING.

The blossoms are blooming in Ballard. The sun is rising a little bit earlier and setting a little bit later. Seattleites are braving the weather in shorts at times (showing their ghostly pale gams at Alki last Saturday). I can't stop thinking about Yahtzee-playing picnics at Greenlake.

I realize that today isn't the prettiest out there, but here's to hoping that these blossoms prove that Spring is just around the corner.


The alternative could be the Snowmageddon that DC is experiencing. I guess Seattle was spared this year since we had our own healthy dose last year. (I'm not going to lie, I wish we had gotten some snow this year, but now I'm ready for Spring. So now - no snow, please. Thank you.)

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