Super Bowl in Seattle

Winter was starting to feel like it was never going to end and I kept getting bombarded with emails from the airline companies. I started shopping for airline tickets to warmer areas of the country. Then I came across tickets to Seattle. I checked them out and found a deal that we just couldn't resist. Roundtrip tickets for $59!! What? The kids and I hopped on a plane to visit our family in Seattle. That night before we didn't even know if our flight would even go. We made it to the airport bright and early though at 5:30am. It was like a ghost town, probably people switched flights because of the massive storm that came through. It was early, so we needed to get coffee and donuts while we waited for our flight. Our flight was actually relatively on time considering all of the de-iceing that needed to be done before we could take off. My children hadn't been on an airplane for so long that they couldn't even remember flying. My older children were just little babies and my little kids probably weren't even born the last time our entire family was on a plane. We left the big, cold storm in Colorado for the a wet and cloudy Seattle. That didn't stop our cousins from driving over the  mountains to come and see us, and it didn't stop the kids from playing basketball outside.

Uncle Dustin turned 34, so we pulled out all of our cameras and had a party

complete with an ice cream cake!

Basketball skills were improved quite a bit while we were in Seattle. Even with the crummy weather it didn't stop the boys from going out and throwing the ball around.

We even had time to go to Lola's gymnastics meet, 

and Kai's basketball tournament. Good times!

Super Bowl Sunday came quickly and I couldn't believe I was watching the Super Bowl in Seattle rather than in Colorado with my Bronco buddies. At least my lovely Seahawks friend knew who to root for. These lovely ladies and I have been friends since high school. Now we're all grown up with kids of our own, so where else should we meet up than at a park? ;) Even with the cold weather it didn't stop that kids from running and playing tag. It was just enough exercise before game time. We had a small little gathering with family to watch the Broncos victory of the Panthers.

Go Broncos!!

We returned to Denver just in time to miss the Broncos parade downtown, but don't worry my Lutheran Stud made it to the parade while we celebrated at the airport enjoying all the added blue and orange and Broncos jerseys all over. Departure boards even celebrated with extra exclamation points to Omaha!!!

Our Time in Seattle Comes to an End

It didn't rain in Seattle the entire time we were there. In fact, the sun even came out for awhile, and when it did we took full advantage of it.

There's a business park where I grew up playing many soccer and softball games. The streets are lined with beautiful trees, especially during the fall. We could not have come at a more beautiful time of year. Can you predict what is about is about to happen?

How does that not make you smile when you see leaves flying in the air?

I think we did get a couple good family shots though.

My Lutheran Stud works his magic to make everyone laugh. It usually works too.

You can't see him, but my Lutheran Stud is working his magic again.

Our last night in Seattle was spent at my brother and sister-in-law's house.

They have a pool table in their living room. Rebecca's trying to figure out the ins and outs of this game, and if my Lutheran Stud is any good.

It turns out that neither my Lutheran Stud nor my brother are any good at pool when they are playing against my cousin. It's a good thing there wasn't any money on the table. ;)

We even managed to get a group shot of everyone. We had some pretty good times in Seattle. Maybe we'll even return for another visit someday. :)

A Sea of Purple

People who haven't known my Lutheran Stud or me forever often ask where we met. We both attended the University of Washington (UW) for our undergrad degrees. He was actually the resident advisor (RA) for the floor above the one in which I lived. We went to many football games during our time at UW. Since leaving Washington we haven't been back during football season, so when we were in Seattle just a month ago and saw that our alma mater had a home game we made it a goal to make it to the game.

My in-laws drove over the mountains, but not through the woods, to attend the game with us. Construction is currently going on at the old Husky Stadium, so the Huskies played all of their home games at Century Link Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks. Century Link field is pretty new to us since it was built after we left Seattle. We had never been to this field before, so it was a welcomed expericence. There was a sea of purple in the stands. It was pretty awesome!

I can't say the same for the game, though. We were hopeful for a win, but that didn't happen. The stadium was filled during the game, but as the minutes on the clocked chipped away, in the 4th quarter, the stands began to empty quickly. USC came out with the win, but we had a great time at the game anyway.

When looking at the Huskies' schedule we were excited to find out that they were coming to Colorado. You know what that means. To make things even better, or unfortunate if you're a Colorado fan, the Buffs have had a dismal season. This meant that we were able to find tickets for dirt cheap. Score!

Their season has been so bad that the student section was incredibly sparse. We were told that usually it is packed, but this year, not so much.

My Lutheran Stud did his research when he purchased our tickets. Obviously we wanted to cheer for our team from the visitors side. 

The game started out slower than we had expected, but then we scored and I could breath again.

Oh look! We're going to score again.

And again.

Colorado University's mascot is a buffalo. Can you tell? Before the game, and before the beginning of the second half these men run Ralphie around the field while trying to keep their cowboy hats from falling off their heads and trying to hold on to Ralphie at the same time. I'm sure Ralphie could take them all down if he wanted.

Well, things were looking pretty good for our Huskies. There was no way the Buffs could catch us now.

My Lutheran Stud was pretty excited as the game was coming to an end, as were the other Husky fans. We couldn't sit down over all the excitement.

The game came to an end with our team winning by a large margin.

The players came over to the visitors section and as the band played our school's fight song we all sang! That game totally made up for the game we attended in Seattle. Good times for sure.

We were famished after the game so we headed over to The Sink for pizza. Apparently many others had the same idea. We met some pretty interesting people, including one young man who has already taken advantage of the recently passed Amendment 64. He was pretty happy, although we were too. The pizza was fabulous. If you're ever in town you must visit The Sink!

Wine

Grapes are a beautiful sight to behold, growing on a vine, and wine is a wonderful beverage that comes from these beautiful grapes. Though I don't drink too often, I do like to enjoy a little wine now and then. The process for making wine is also quite intriguing to me. 

It all began here, at the Fredericksburg Winery tasting room. We, Lutheran ladies, were excited to try out and learn about Texas wine.

There was a quite a selection for us to choose from, but then we met the "wine Nazi" and didn't make it through many of these lovely looking wines. You can read more about our "wine Nazi" here on Heather's blog.

After making our way out of the Fredericksburg winery we came upon the lovely Messina Hof Winery just outside of town.

Things were looking up already.

Our sommelier was fabulous and the atmosphere was perfect for our little wine tasting adventure.

While we were in Washington, my Lutheran Stud and I escaped to "visit my little brother at work." The Chateau Ste. Michelle is quite well known in Washington, and perhaps, even around our country. If you've not heard of the Chateau Ste. Michelle you may know of other wine estates within this same company. There are so many and they aren't all in Washington. Check out Stimson Lane and I'll bet you'll know a name or two.The Riesling, made here, is one of my all time favorite wines. We currently have a large quantity of this Riesling which is also pretty wonderful, so you should come over for dinner.

When you arrive at the Chateau Ste. Michelle the view is just breathtaking. You follow a long winding road up to the actual chateau.

The Chateau isn't too shabby either. It's hard to believe that winemaking is going on here isn't it?

Wine really is being made here, however, the grapes aren't actually grown on the grounds. Most of the grapes are grown in Eastern Washington. Then they are trucked over the mountains, in the same type of trucks that carry milk. So, if you see a milk truck driving down the road it might just be grape juice and not wine!

Our tour guide explained all of the different types of grapes that are used to make wine. I had no idea there were so many.

The Chateau has produced many award-winning wines. 

We had to have a taste of some of their wines since we were there, right?

There was plenty of wine for purchase too.

There's my brother! See? We really went to see him at work. He snuck away in between meetings to give us a quick tour of the grounds. We wanted to see his office, but apparently no one is allowed in "dungeon" without security clearance and we were told that security would not clear us. His boss isn't even cleared by security. Hmmm. . .

A few peacocks live on the grounds. They aren't too afraid of people. I know this because I tried to scare this peacock into spreading his feathers, but it didn't work.

During the summer, the Chateau hosts concerts. It's pretty cool. You just hang out on the lawn and enjoy the music and drink wine if you wish. There's a wide range of performers from the Beach Boys to James Taylor to Sarah McLachlan.

Also on the grounds is a Manor House. It's been made a historical landmark and word on the street is that it is haunted.

My brother headed back to work and we walked around a little longer. I went around to get a few shots of cool areas and my Lutheran Stud headed back to the car. Look what I found in a tree as I was walking back to the car.

The trees in Washington are just unbelievably huge! I love them. If you're in the Seattle area a visit to this winery is a must. What are you waiting for? Hop to it.