umm.. Hello?

Wow.  Really?  March was the last time I posted in here?!  Yikes.  I really do want to get back into it... I'm going to try.  Again.  I know, how many times have I said that?! Honestly, it's been an amazing, busy spring & summer.  I rarely log into my laptop at home, so blogging has taken a back seat to enjoying the sunshine and friends and family.

However, I have much to update.  Stories to tell, and photos to share... Where shall I begin.  I'll start with a quick recap of my friend, Michelle's visit, way back in February.  Michelle and I worked together in AZ.  I introduced her to Rachael when Rach moved to Arizona.  They hit it off, and became friends as well.  We were thrilled when Michelle decided she wanted to come spend her birthday weekend with Rachael & I.

Rach & I picked Michelle up from the airport Friday night.  We went back to Issaquah, where Rach was living at the time, and grabbed a pizza and a couple pitchers of beer.  The pizza place had a magician that seriously blew our minds.  He was quite entertaining, and spent a good deal of time at our table showing us his many card tricks.

After grabbing some food, we proceeded to bar hop, and people watch.  The three of us really do have an affinity for a good dive bar.  We were determined to hit up all 3 of them in the little downtown strip of Issaquah.  It really was quite entertaining. Witnessed a brawl at the first place, ran into our magician friend at the second place, and were mesmerized by the oddity of the third.  All in all, it was a very good night.  We had a great time!

Part of the magician's card tricks. Mind.  Blown. 

Cheers!!

So happy to have Michelle visit!!

So many laughs were had that weekend.

The next day, we got a bit of a late start, but headed to Pike Place Market, and proceeded to eat our way through the market.  Started with coffee & crumpets at The Crumpet Shop, then onto mac & cheese from Beecher's.  Then, a couple yummy piroshkies at Piroshky Piroshky.  Of course, in between, we took in the sights of the market, including the gum wall.  When we had our fill of the market, we cruised up to Kerry Park on Queen Anne, for an amazing view of downtown, before heading to Freemont to see the troll. We were all pretty beat from the night before, so we grabbed a drink and appetizers at Ray's Boathouse, then headed back to Rachael's to watch a movie.  Which I slept through.

Yummy crumpet with Nutella

Gum wall!

Obligatory selfie in front of the gum wall

What to choose at Piroshky Piroshky?

It was cloudy, but I still love the view from Kerry Park. 

Freemont Troll

The next day, Rachael had a prior commitment during the day, so Michelle and I headed back to downtown Seattle, and did the Seattle Underground Tour. I've done the tour 3 times now, and I still am in awe every time.  I do think the quality of the tour really depends on the guide.  The first time I went was by far, the best.  But this guide was pretty good too.  That night, we decided to show Michelle one of our favorite areas of Seattle - Ballard.  Rachael met us for dinner at Zayda Buddy's.  Then we hit up Kings Hardware for some skee ball and beer.  Finally, capping off the night at Macleods. 
 

This is a shot looking up at the sidewalk in Pioneer Square.  The purple glass in the sidewalks provided sky lights in the underground. 

Smith Tower

Yummy bloody mary at Zayda Buddy's

Skee Ball!

Enjoying the time together at Macleods.

Silliness.  A whole lot of laughter & silliness!  Love these girls!

Michelle left the next day.  :( I think we packed quite a bit into a long weekend.  It was a blast having her here, and I can't wait to see her again.  (okay, in all fairness.... I did just see her a few weeks ago for a quick lunch while she was in town, visiting family)

Phew, that was longer than I thought it'd be!  hopefully I'll get to more recapping this weekend... Though, with the forecasted sunny skies and my brother wanting to take advantage of the summer, I'll likely be spending time on the lake, in his boat.  We shall see, perhaps I'll squeeze in another blog post somewhere in between.  :)