Jake's Weekend...

Well, we didn't end up getting a chance to go to the beach, but overall it was a pretty good weekend. Due to crappy weather, we opted not to take the drive west to the coast -- what's the point of watching the sunset if you can't see it? Instead, we vegged out and soaked up the last relaxing weekend that we'll have for awhile. With the movers coming in a little over a week, the madness is about to start! Aside from our date in Seattle, it was a weekend spent at home with movies and the basset -- can't complain with that.

As for our date in Seattle, it couldn't have gone any better. The traffic was a bit slow heading north, but that's nothing new though. Once we got there, it was smooth sailing. We were immediately seated when we got to Morton's and had an amazing meal there. James actually savored it -- by that, I mean he took his time and ate it slowly...usually he engulfs his meal in a matter of seconds, but not that night! If you're looking for the perfect steak, skip Ruth's Chris and head to Morton's. In the past we always went to Ruth's, but this knocked Ruth's out of the water. While we both agreed that we like the atmosphere of Ruth's a little more, the food was better at Morton's. Just thinking about it makes me want another filet. Yum!

Anyways...It was great. By the end of the dinner, we agreed that this may have to become a yearly thing -- perhaps part of how we might spend Jake's Angelversary every year. We're sentimental saps in that regard and tend to find things like specific meals/restaurants or outings to go along with anniversaries of any kind -- whether it's for our kids, wedding, Army, etc. Who knows what we'll end up doing when Livy's 1 year Angelversary comes around, but we know what we'll associate with Jake's...a nice night out at Morton's -- assuming there is one remotely close to wherever we're stationed at the time.

While we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner, I can't say much for the desserts offered at Morton's though, since we opted to skip it. Seattle has a crepe stand near the convention center that's been calling my name for awhile now. I miss them from our days of living in Europe, so I've been really wanting to try this place out. I didn't find out about it until this past February when my sister was in town, and every time we've been up in Seattle since then, it just hasn't worked out for us to try it. Well, Saturday night was the night. After we finished up at Morton's, we headed straight to the crepe shop for dessert. Much to our surprise, there was some kind of arcade convention going on, so we were also given a little bit of entertainment while we waited for our order. People from all walks of life showed up for this 3-day event! We saw people decked out in a full body of armor, robot costumes, elvish ears and hair (reminded me of something from Lord Of The Rings), etc. It was interesting to stand and observe the crowd. We definitely stood out like a sore thumb. Skirt, tie, etc. while everyone around us looked like they were straight out of a comic book or video game. Oh how I love Seattle!

To go along with my claim to being a sentimental sap...when it came time to order the crepe, we went with what we ordered while in Paris -- strawberries, Nutella, and cream. In Germany, we only ever got crepes with bananas and Nutella, so the one we got in Paris stood out. We have awesome memories from our first night in Paris, sharing that crepe under the Eiffel Tower. (Ahhh...I'd love to go back!) So, of course, that's what stood out when we saw the choices. While it wasn't as amazing as the ones overseas, I would definitely go back if we weren't moving soon!

Once we were done with our dessert and people watching, we walked around the shops for a bit, then decided to head back home to the basset. It was a great night spent together. While we wish Jake could've been there, it was the perfect way to remember him on his day.

Even though we couldn't soak up the beach due to weather, we enjoyed the rest of the weekend together. Oh, and we ended it on a great note! We got the call (this morning) informing us that we got the house we wanted at our next duty station! That's a load off! Now we have a forwarding address and a place we can call home immediately. I'm super relieved to have the whole house hunting thing behind us now!

Here are some pictures from Jake's Angelversary...

Before we headed out...

Oba was NOT excited about us leaving. He kept crying and eventually went and tried to hide behind the china cabinet in hopes of avoiding the cage. Poor Oba...

Crappy picture without a flash, but yummmmm...

Us at dinner...

Waiting for our dessert to be made...

"Enforcer"...I think he was part of the security team for the arcade convention -- or maybe not, but we saw lots of guys with that shirt on...

Ok, now I want another one...

A few pictures after we got home -- Oba, of course, was sprinting around the house celebrating his freedom at this point!