We Love Our Coastie

Jay left for another patrol today and after seeing him off at the ship in Seattle, the boys and I headed back to the peninsula, grabbed Gram and headed out to Point No Point to watch for the ship. Forecast called for rain, but the sun decided to shine and it was a beautiful day to enjoy playtime at the beach. The boys had a blast getting dirty and wet and as always, enjoyed seeing daddy's ship go by. We'll miss you and we will be praying for your safe return, MELLON. God Bless the Coast Guard and all our Armed Forces!

Oh What A Night

I wasn't able to get tickets to the Mariners home opener this past Tuesday despite desperate attempts, so we settled for the "day after the home opener" tickets, hoping that some of the excitement from the night before might still be looming in the air at Safeco Field. Well, turns out, THIS was the night to be there. Even though I would've liked to be a part of the cheering crowd when Ken Griffey Jr was welcomed back to Safeco Field that first night, I wouldn't trade our tickets for anything! It was probably the best baseball game we've ever been to (and we've been to a lot). Not only did I get to watch both my favorite baseball players play on the same field in the same uniform, but history was made when Griffey hit his 400th homerun as a Mariner (613 career)

and Ichiro, making his season debut after coming off the disabled list from a bleeding ulcer, hit a GRAND SLAM.

In my honor maybe?

Sure. Whatever I want to tell myself. To say the least, the game was electrifying. The crowd was about half what it was the night before, but you would never have known it from the noise. We upgraded our tickets and were able to get seats four rows up from right field. The second home run hit by a Mariner landed right in front of us, in fact, you can see us in the replay. Too sweet. Not so sure Scotty fully appreciated being there with us, but the love of the game has to start early. We had a great night at the ball park and look forward to many more this season. Hopefully the Ms can keep their good luck going, but even if they don't, we'll always have memories of this fantastic game on April 15 against the Angels.

That's Okay, You're Done

This was Jay's brief attempt to allow Zac a part of the egg coloring festivities.....

Boys Night of Camping

Well, it wasn't perfect. It definitely wasn't warm. But it was the first nice weekend we've had this spring. Even with a slight chance of showers, the sun was shining through the clouds so Jay decided to go for it. Manchester State Park isn't too far from us, so if they had to come home, it wouldn't be a big deal. Zac and I joined them for a campfire dinner and then the four of us headed out on a hike through the park. A fellow Coastie friend of ours, Brian Chambers brought his 3-yr old daughter, Sarah, later that evening and joined the camp. I took Zac home and left the boys (and Sarah) to brave the cold wilderness and returned in the morning with breakfast. That's my kind of camping. Both Scotty and Zac love to explore and be outdoors. It won't be too long before Jay will be taking both boys with him.

The House Of Many Memories

A few years ago, my dad was going to sell the first and only house my parents bought when he retired from the Navy, back when people only bought one house and planned to live in it forever. It is the house that I basically grew up in and it holds so many memories. The thought of it going to some other person broke my heart, so Jay and I decided to buy it from my dad. My dad still lives in it but he is now our renter. As you can see from the pictures, it was pretty run down. After my mom died, I think my dad just didn't have the desire or the funds to keep it up. Slowly but surely, Jay and I are trying to bring it back to it's full potential. We recently had the house completely re-sided and installed all new windows. The difference is stunning. We still have a lot of work to do on the outside with the deck and the shed, not to mention all that needs to be done on the inside. But with time, a little TLC and a lot of money, we'll get her there. The house is part of my history and hopefully she'll remain a part of the family for a long time.

Our Fryar Friends

Troy pointing to Jay as he walked into the room



Our friends from Juneau, Paulette and Troy Fryar, got orders for Portland last summer and we thought 'oh we'll still be close and we'll be able to see each other often'. Well, nine months have gone by and we finally made an effort to see them for Troy's surprise birthday party. Unfortunately for all of Paulette's secretive planning, Jay had already had a "few" beers before they arrived (no surprise there) and decided to call Paulette's cell phone to find out where they were. Well, of course Troy's wondering why the heck Jay is calling Paulette out of the blue, so that tipped him off. Oh, and then our Honda with the ALASKA plates in the parking lot might've been a hint, too. OOPS. I honestly tried to hide it!! Leave it to the Wahrmund's to ruin the surprise....Sorry Paulette! :( I do think Troy was still somewhat surprised at all who were in attendance, and the awesome effort his wife put into planning it all. I am hoping it wasn't a total disappointment (way to go Wahrmund...). We had a great time and it was so good to see them again. It was as if nine months hadn't gone by at all. That is one of the great things about being in the military, all the wonderful friends you make everywhere you go and the true friends you keep in contact with even after you move away.

Trout Farm

While we were in Portland this past weekend, Jay took Scotty to a trout farm and he caught four fish all on his own. They had a great time and Scotty now has the fishing bug. He can't wait to go again.