Pumpkin Patch 2.0

After a successful first pumpkin patch trip this year, my second trip was equally as fun. This time, we headed north to Stocker Farms - our go-to pumpkin patch. After scouting out the right pumpkin for our doorsteps, we headed to Erin's place for some good grub and vino. We stayed until our eyes couldn't stay open, which I think is a sign of a good night :) Once again, thanks for hosting, Erin!

Autumn holding a pumpkin.

 Also striking a pose with an orangie.

What can I say? It's what we do best.

 I'd be lying if I didn't admit this guy was heavy.

Lesson learned: buns make you taller!

The thing I love about ghords the most: they are seasonal through Thanksgiving!

Zip n' Dip

As soon as we decided on Kauai for the honeymoon, I knew I'd have the opportunity to check something off of my 30 before Thirty list. (More on that later!) Thanks to Merith's suggestion, we discovered Princeville Ranch Adventure's Zip n' Dip tour: a series of 9 ziplines with a little dip in a waterfall-fed swimming hole. It was so. much. FUN!

You do eight full zips, then have a little swim/lunch break, then tackle the King Kong - a 1200'  zip across a 10-story-ish deep valley. It was incredible. Climbing the tower to get to the ziplines was not so incredible in the wind - it has to sway at least a foot in each direction! I'm not even afraid of heights, but it gave me the jitters - I felt safer on the zipline than the tower! So if you ever find yourself in Kauai, give this adventure a go. You won't regret it!

Those helmets are hot, huh? 

Joe getting pumped for the first zip!

 (picture take upside down, so I felt it was necessary to share that way too!)

 Dip time!

The King Kong tower!

Pump, pump, PUMPKIN patch

 

Ahh, the pumpkin patch. An annual tradition that started back in 2009. Not surprisingly, I went to two pumpkin patches this year. Since Steph couldn't make it the pumpkin patch outing hosted by Erin, she wanted to get her fix in sooner. So Merith and I graciously offered to join her. (Twist our arms, right?) We ventured out to the middle of nowhere in Carnation on a cloudy Saturday morning to pose with pumpkins, pick out our favorites for our doorsteps, take the mandatory jumping photos, have a bite to eat and ask strangers to put their kitten on a pumpkin for a mini-photo shoot... 

Oh wait, does that last one need some explanation? Well, the short of it is: someone spotted a kitten in a man's shirt pocket. A gravitational force pulled me toward the kitten and I asked him if I could pet her. (We learned his daughter named her Sprinkles!) Then Merith brought it to the next level and asked if we could put the kitten on a pumpkin to take photos of it. Bold, Merith, bold. But he and his wife kindly obliged! That's when I captured the moneymaker above. I'm thinking it's a prize winner, don't ya think?! If there are any kitty calendar creators out there, I take offers...

All in all, a fabulous fall outing. Pumpkin Patch 2.0 to come soon!

P.S. Pumpkin patchin' from the past.

 

 

Four months later: The 4th of July!

After taking such a long blog break, it's hard to even know where to begin to catch up. So rather than be methodical about what to post, I'm just going to post whatever photos inspire me at the moment. Right now, with the weather cooling even more, I've been having dreams of summer. And what better summer event to reminisce than the 4th of July?

All of the usual suspects at this 4th - Samish Island, Knutzen family and their cabin, Steph/Mads/Kami, Joe, Mom, Dad and Kam on the firetruck in the parade, fireworks, good food, crazy fireworks, Maddie's patriotic jello shots and more. But the latest amazingly adorable addition to the 4th: Baby Lila! Kami's little bundle of joy who was only a little bump last year :)

So in no particular order, my 4th of July... 4 months later! 

Queen's Bath

Let me tell you, when you have five months of pictures to share, it's really hard to know where to even start. So for now, I'll leave you with this photo Joe snapped of my admiring Queen's Bath. It was a little rough in the water that day, so we didn't get to go in, but it was just so pretty! I could have watched the waves crashing there all day. If you're ever in Kauai, be sure to check it out!

Honeymoon Teaser

Eventually I'll do an official honeymoon post, but for now I'll leave you with one of the many sunsets we witnessed in Kauai. It was pink, purple, orange, blue and yellow and the way it reflected off the water made your jaw drop.

Is there another place on earth that regularly has this good of sunsets daily?! I'd like to know, so I can add it to my dream travel list. Wouldn't that be amazing? A travel quest for the world's best sunset?! Oh yes, one can dream.

I'm baaaaaack!

Holy moly, it's been since July! Clearly, that's the longest I've gone since I started this little ol' blog back in 2009. I'd venture to say that 2013 has been one of the most eventful years, yet not well documented on Petes Speaks. (Speaking of, I'm technically no longer a Peterson, but I'll always be a Petes in the eyes of many. Or at least Maddie.) 

So for the next few months, I'll try to keep you posted on some things current and also catch you up with what's happened in the last three months. Like maybe the fact that I GOT MARRIED. Yeah, I'm pretty darn lucky.

Friday Date Night

Last Friday, Joe and I planned an heading up to our local Phinney Farmer's Market for a little dinner and to peruse the fresh eats (berries, veggies and fresh bread galore!). We had some delicious food from the Istanbul food truck - I got the chicken schwarma, which was fab. We also treated ourselves to some homemade popsicles from Six Strawberries. The strawberry rhubarb pie is to die for!

One thing led to another and we decided that after more than a year of living in our neighborhood, we'd go on a little pub crawl. So after the market, our next stop was the 74th Street Alehouse where we got two tasty local brews.

Then we headed to Prost for a couple of our fave German beers. They have one with "banana notes" that I always get.

Next, we headed to Bleubird Creamery because I heard they sold Rachel's Ginger Beer, but they were all out. (Wah wah) But luckily, they have their own little brewery, so we decided to share a beer float! Theo chocolate stout with theo chocolate ice cream. By far, the BEST decision of the night. (As evidenced by Joe's excitement below?) It was phenomenal. Seriously, I'll dream about this float for months.

We wrapped up our night at Carmelita, which is slated to close in September. We each picked out a refreshing cocktail. Mine had muddled cucumbers in it, which gave it quite a nice flavor.

All in all, a fantastic date night! Now I can finally tell our 80-year-old neighbor that we did a neighborhood pub crawl. Apparently, when she went on a crawl, she wound up trying her first jello shot?! It seems like our night was slightly more tame than hers :)

Dancing Queens

Apologies for being MIA lately. With summer activities, a new job (!!) and wedding planning, the ol' blog has been on the back burner. I'm not making in promises it'll get any better this summer, but I'll do my best :) 

But for today, I'll share some pics of my beautiful cousins from their LAST recital! They were phenomenal! It's been fun to go back and watch them grow into such incredible dancers - even though they are wrapping up their time at the dance academy, I have no doubt that dance will continue to be a be part of their lives.

Audrey is off to college and Jenna will be starting her senior year. Pretty crazy, huh? I know I'm young, but when people who I once babysat start going off the college, it really makes me feel a little more old. 

Jenna's solo.

Audrey's solo. 

Our New Paintings

My mom was nice enough to hand down a couple paintings by Maurice Utrillo that were my grandma's from back in the day. We're pretty sure they are prints or lithographs, but they certainly look original to me! The simple gal in me went with a very basic brown frame and off white mat and I think both choices make the paintings pop! We opted for a "museum style" hang, so it's hanging from our crown molding ledge. At first I wasn't so sure, but now I'm really digging it!

Thanks for sharing with us, Mom! They fit perfectly in our home. And it's nice to have a little more Nama in our home :)

A Day Trip Escape

For Memorial Day weekend, we got the itch for a day-trip adventure and an escape from the city. In Seattle terms, that translates to: Bainbridge Island. It feels like an escape, but is only a 30-minute - and gorgeous! - ferry ride away. When we got there, we promptly picked up some coffee, then leisurely walked the downtown and along the marina, and even did a little wine tasting. 

Then we thought we might drive north to catch the Kingston ferry for a little change of pace. Along the way, we found a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint (yum!) and a casino. Yes, we hit up the Clearwater Casino. We each allowed ourselves $10 for slots. Well, lady luck was visiting because after paying for a beer a piece, we still left $10 ahead! Score. 

When waiting for the ferry, we got the obligatory ice cream cone. A perfect way to end a day of gluttony :) All in all, it was another fantastic day spent with my sweets!