Snoqualmie & Seattle

Wow! Time has really gotten away from me this Summer so now I'm playing catch up. Last March, Joe and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a weekend away in Seattle. We stopped first in Snoqualmie to see the falls and then went on to Seattle. It was a quick trip, but we had a blast! Here are some pics:

Snoqualmie Falls

The Petrified Log at The Train Museum in Snoqualmie

 Joe versus the train!

Snoqualmie Falls was my favorite parts of the trip. The flowers were all in bloom and it had a great small town feel to it. However, we still hurried on to Seattle. There's only so much you can do in a small town.

 Our first night in Seattle we ate at Crab Pot - Joe was very excited for so much Sea Food!

Most Memorable Moment: After dinner we were waiting at the crosswalk when a disheveled looking man crossed into oncoming traffic. He didn't even flinch as car after car almost hit him - he just kept walking towards us staring straight at Joe. When he got across he kept mumbling to Joe about his "perfect body." Then he stumbled off. He was clearly on something and we couldn't help but laugh about his "perfect body."

 Naturally, we stopped by the Space Needle for a great view of the town.

 Next morning we took a trip to the Ballard Locks. I believe this was Joe's favorite part of the trip.

Hardly any fish in the fish ladder...

 The Bay

After the Locks we browsed around Pike Place. There were gorgeous flowers and delicious desserts everywhere, but I was hoping to see more giant fish for sale. Guess it's not very practical. I love this picture of Joe with the golden pigs.

We stopped at Pike Place Chowder for lunch before we left town. Best clam chowder and sour dough I've ever had! The wait was definitely worth it. No wonder they've won so many awards!

At some point along the way we got lost and just drove around town. There was lots of cool street art and sculptures everywhere!

 To finish up our trip we stopped at the beautiful Seattle Temple before road-tripping it back home.

Washington Holds Some of the Best Parks in America

MANITO PARK (Spokane):
*Duncan Garden
*Gaiser Conservatory and Green House
*Perennial Garden
*Rose Hill - more than 100 species of roses and one of the few dahlia test gardens in America
*Japanese Garden - koi pond, imported Japanese trees, etc
*Lilac Garden

The Japanese Garden at Manito Park

COMSTOCK PARK (Spokane):
*Aquatic Center
*Softball/Baseball Fields
*Tennis Courts
*Basketball
*Horseshoes
*Picnic Tables
*Playground Equipment

DISCOVERY PLAYGROUND (Spokane):
*Splash Pad
*Fossil Maze
*Fossil Find
*Double Slide
*Musical Elements

We had a blast at Discovery Park last May. We only wish our baby boy would be old enough to play around here before we move in the distant future. Why can't all towns have such great parks?

 19 Weeks pregnant here and not much to show for it.

Imagine Dragons Sets Records

Marco Callister, grandmother of rock star Daniel Reynolds

Imagine Dragons:
*American Music Award for Favorite Artist - Alternative Rock (2013)
*Premios 40 Principales Award for Best International Rock Band (2013)
*Echo Award nominee for Best International Rock/Alternative Group (2014)
*Billboard magazine "Top Rock Act of 2013"

*Billboard magazine "Breakthrough Band of 2013"

*Las Vegas Weekly "Best Local Indie Band 2010"
*Most Shazammed Rock Act of 2013

Night Visions debut album by Imagine Dragons:

*#1 Billboard Alternative Album

*#1 Billboard Rock Album
*#2 Billboard 200

*2x Platinum (sales in excess of 2 million albums in the United States)
*Juno Award nominee for International Album of the Year (2014)

*Most streamed album of 2013 on Spotify (U.S.)

*Top 10 album on the Billboard 200 in 2012, 2013, 2014

"Radioactive" single by Imagine Dragons:

*#1 Billboard Alternative Song

*#1 Billboard Rock Song
*#1 Billboard Rock Airplay

*#1 Swedish Song
*#3 Billboard Hot 100

*7x Platinum (sales in excess of 7 million singles in the United States)

*"Biggest Rock Hit of the Year" - Rolling Stone Magazine
*"Biggest Rock Hit of the Summer" - Billboard Magazine
*Billboard magazine "Top Rock Song of 2013"
*Billboard magazine "Top Alternative Song of 2013"
*Grammy Award nominee for Record of the Year
*Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance

*Teen Choice Award - Choice Rock Song

*All-time record for longest ascension to the Billboard Hot 100 Top 5 (42 weeks)

*All-time record for longest reign atop the Billboard Rock Songs (23 weeks)

*All-time record for longest reign atop the Billboard Rock Airplay (24 weeks)
*All-time record for longest running single on the Billboard Hot 100 (87 weeks)
*All-time record for digital sales by a rock song (6 million+)
*Most streamed song of 2013 on Spotify (U.S.)

"It's Time" single by Imagine Dragons:

*#15 Billboard Hot 100

*3x Platinum (sales in excess of 3 million singles in the United States)

*Longest run in the Billboard Alternative Songs Top 10 for 2012 (32 weeks)

"Demons" single by Imagine Dragons:
*#1 Billboard Pop Song

*#6 Billboard Hot 100

*3x Platinum (sales in excess of 3 million singles in the United States)
*iHeartRadio Music Award for Alt Rock Song of the Year (2014)

"On Top of the World" single by Imagine Dragons:
*1x Platinum (sales in excess of 1 million singles in the United States)

Killing Lincoln

See my review of Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard here.

Date #8: Gonzaga Art Museum

The best art at the Gonzaga Art Museum was definitely the blown glass and the original Rembrandt's. Joe's favorite was The Triumph of Mordecai. After having the BYU Art Museum at my disposal, I was disappointed by the small size and selection of this museum. It was only two rooms - and not even big rooms! If you live near BYU take advantage of their art museum! Not all universities have such great taste and access to definitive collections.

Date #7: Slumber Party!

For our first date of March we pulled out the couch bed, stocked up on junk food and movies, and had a great time filling out trivia books about each other. The plan was to have a movie marathon and stay up all night. We made it to about 3 or 4 am so I think we did pretty well! This is one of the most fun dates we have done in awhile. It felt great to get out of the usual routine, laugh and be silly while we splurged on movies, treats, and less sleep. We watched Bend it Like Beckham, Life of Pi, Ghost Dad, and The Sound of Music. 

Joe dominated at the trivia - how embarrassing. 

Date #6: I Love to See the Temple

For this date the plan was to go do a session at the temple and then get some Thai food. The Thai food was the real treat for Joe - he hardly gets any of it with me in the house. Unfortunately for him my tender first trimester stomach was repulsed by the idea and so Joe, being the wonderful husband he is, settled for Dairy Queen. What a sweetheart!