29 and Feeling Fine!

Growing up, my parents always did an amazing job making me feel like my birthday was MY DAY. The whole day....from morning until evening...it's all about Andi. This ideology could have set me up for some major disappointment in the future, but my hope is that I have some groundedness and ability to flex, so as each birthday rolls around, I try my best to adapt to my surroundings and take it all in stride. This year was no different when I woke up to 29 and shouted: " Woohoo it's my birthday but I MUST remember to be flexible!!!" This isn't to say that anything too drastic happened...I am just a believer that if you set high expectations, you are bound to be disappointed. Please note that this theory does not apply to all avenues in life...usually just things like Birthdays, New Years Eve Parties, Halloween Parties, or the Perfect Date that you have been planning for months.

Since MY DAY fell on a Saturday, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to tour Seattle. Nick and I discussed our itinerary a few weeks prior to my birthday and booked the appropriate tickes: Hit up the Pacific Science Center (PSC)...take in an iMax movie...eat some delicious food, walk around the city...you know the usual. I invited my family to join in the festivities, because after all, they are some of my favorite people ever...AND Ami's birthday is 2 days following mine, so it would just be weird to not celebrate together.

Rather than type out the play by play...I like the idea of highlights for this day:
-It happened to be Educator's Day at the PSC meaning people in the Education field and their guests could get in for FREE! Thanks to Ami, we got to partake in that opportunity.

-After 3 weeks of great anticipation to watch AVATAR on iMax, we were taught a great lesson on making seamless plans: Don't. The iMax broke the day before and would not be showing our movie. Bummer! Just another reason to be flexible.

-I got my first hamburger experience at Dick's. Only don't ask for no mayo - they don't do special orders. Flexible, flexible, flexible!

-After giving mom and dad the tour of the Colonnade, dad is currently trying to set a date to meet up in Seattle and borrow one of our bikes with "shocks in the front and back" so he can play. What an adventurer!

-It was confirmed that without Nuvi (our handy car navigational system) there is no way we could get to Gas Works Park. Wow...Seattle can be so very confusing!

-The Madator is one of the BEST fusion Tex-Mex places around...yummmmm Verde Carnita Enchiladas and way too many chips! (You should go...locations in Ballard, Tacoma and Redmond)

-My parents and sister spoil me rotten! I scored some amazing Cake Stands (amongst other things)...perhaps one day I will post a blog with photos of them. They are gorgeous!


Matt teaching Delya a valuable lesson in being Camouflage:


Dad and I feeling rather small:


Sometimes the exhibits are just too exciting!!! I mean look at Nick...he is enthralled learning about Walking Sticks:

Dad and I spent a significant chunk of time in the Butterfly House. I think he enjoyed the sitting and I enjoyed the warmth...plus it was pretty cool when a butterfly landed on your shoulder, shin or shoe:

Valentines Day

Valentines Day in the Vann household is not blown out of proportion with heart shaped paraphernalia or chocolate boxes from the floor to ceiling. Instead, we tend to emphasize on the togetherness with perhaps a little extra attention to detail than any other regular day. This year was no different:
A lazy morning woke me up at 8:45am (record breaking for me) with clanking in the kitchen. I padded into the dining room to find my hubby prepping waffles and mixing cream in my coffee...what a guy! There were roses, candles, champagne and some schmoopy words written on heart shaped red construction paper cut out waiting for me as well. Cupid did not appear like last year, nor did my "Chef of Love" like the prior to that...but having Nick bust out the red apron and scamper around the kitchen as I watched him and read the newspaper out loud was just as good.
Since life has been on the busier side lately (summer wedding cake gigs = multitude of winter consultations and tastings at Starbucks/Woods/our house) we decided to use this special day for hitting nature a little harder than the quick 2 hour bike ride on Galbrieth. With rain jackets on and snacks in the back pack, we headed to Chuckanut Drive for one of our favorite local hikes: The Oyster Dome. A steep and rugged 3.5ish miles one way, with some rain, planted us at the "dome" as the skies were clearing up. It was chili, but easily overlooked when the beautiful Sound is staring you in the face (the sandwiches/carrot & hummus/chips helped too!). We spent a majority of our climb up discussing in depth AVATAR...the fabulous movie we finally got to see at the iMax in Langley the previous night (attempt #4 mind you - apparently that's not a movie you can just show up at the theater for...planning is involved) and watching Charlotte hike double the distance as she ran ahead then ran back to see why her pack was moving so very slow, just to turn around and run ahead again.
The hike down was euphoric...that may be a strong word to use when describing a descend that was so muddy and slick, it required 3 points of contact (two legs and and hand or two hands and a leg...or sometimes to hands and a butt), but really it is the best word to describe it. I have a thing for using my body as a tool to explore the earth that God gave us. What made it even better was having Nick and Charlotte there. We got to talk extensively about heavy topics and laugh at silly things with no distractions except for the occasional "feel this soft moss" or "look at the weird moving blue algae in puddles" observations mid-conversations. There were no phones ringing, no e-mail to check, no laundry to switch. It was the perfect way to celebrate togetherness with my Valentine. And, just as every marriage should have it's occasional moment or two, I feel in love that much more with Nick yesterday. He makes me laugh, he "gets" me, he is willing to get a little dirty when his wife requests a hike on the rainiest day of the week and he doesn't complain a bit when make him the deal: You wash that dirty dog...I will make dinner! Thanks babe...you're the BEST!