The Birthday Dinner

We finally got to celebrate Jared's birthday with a proper birthday dinner.  We had hoped to go last weekend, but he unexpectedly had to work and he worked long enough that it ran right into our dinner reservation.  No worries though, Kristina re-scheduled it for tonight!

We enjoyed The Hunt Club in Seattle.  It is part of the Sorrento Hotel and has been around since 1909 -- it is not often that you find a place that has been around for more than 100 years.  It is located in the First Hill area of Seattle and it was quite cozy.  The decor was that early 1900's steak house -- lots of exposed brick, ornate carvings on the wood, dark wood, etc...  It was a real treat and we had an excellent meal.  If anyone is ever in the area, we highly recommend it.

Happy Birthday to Jared!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Funny picture below...when it snowed the prior weekend, Indy went out in the yard and snow and made what looked like a heart to us.  It seemed like a good picture to put on the blog.  Neither of us are entirely sure how she did this so randomly, but regardless...

Happy Valentine's Day!

We opted for a meal at home.  It was a pretty hectic week with Kristina travelling to Portland on Wednesday (for work), so a quiet evening home was just what everyone needed.

The plan for the evening was steaks -- rib-eye steaks with a black olive vinaigrette on them.  This may sound weird, but it is GREAT!  In addition to the steaks, Kristina made creamed spinach and for dessert she made chocolate lava cakes with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  TALK ABOUT DECADENT.  Dessert was out of this world -- Jared isn't even quite sure how she got all of that accomplished in less than an hour.

Snow -- February 2014

Well, the meteorologists were predicting it, but we weren't sure if we believed it, but sure enough, we got our first snow of 2014.  It was snowing Saturday night when we were going to bed, and this is what it looked like on Sunday morning.

We measured about 2.5" in our backyard, but it varied all over the Puget Sound.  Some people barely had an inch while others had closer to 3".  We got out around noon.  It had stopped snowing and was actually pretty pleasant outside.  The LONG driveway needed to be shoveled, so Jared did it this time.  Kristina did it when it snowed in December.  :)  

And illustrated, Indy LOVES the snow.  She immediately bolted outside and started running around like a crazy dog -- and her energy level even increased (like we needed that).  That being said, we don't think she would have ever survived living in Phoenix.  She loves the snow and the cooler weather.

After the driveway was cleared, we went for our daily walk -- and guess who submersed herself completely in Bear Creek -- yup!  Jared and Kristina both shivered in agony while Indy had an "ahhhhh" look on her face.  Neither us can believe that she did that.  That is one crazy Washington Dog!

Happy Birthday Jared!

Happy Birthday Jared!  Woohoo!  How does it feel to be 29?  :)  Not a whole lot of celebrating going on today since it is a Thursday.  Kristina offered to take the day off, but Jared declined.  He is super busy at work right now and the weather hasn't been much to brag about, so we are going to think about taking a day off when the weather is better.  Hopefully sometime in March!

Kristina has dinner plans for Jared on Saturday evening.  Keep your eye out for a later post.  Tonight, he wanted fries, so we headed to our favorite french fry place and indulged!

Happy Birthday Jared!

January Rain

We're not quite sure where January escaped to so quickly.  For us, it seemed like a mere blink of the eye and the month was gone.  However, we mostly had our heads down and we were (are) working like maniacs.  Jared's latest game is full steam ahead and Kristina has picked up some additional responsibilities at work as well.  So other than getting it done each and every day, we haven't had much extra time.  In addition the weather has been a little weird for "winter" in western Washington.

We only received 4.78" of rain for the month of January.  According to Weather.com, that is pretty close to our normal, but we both don't ever it being as dry as it has been in the Puget Sound.  Instead of continually drizzling all winter long, it seems to have developed a pattern where it rains for a week and then it is dry for a week or two and then it rains again.  I guess we'll see what happens, but it isn't looking too good for summer.  There isn't even much snow in the mountains.  So ski season hasn't really "started" either.  Lots of folks are just waiting to hit the slopes and the snow has only been minimal.

In reality there isn't much either one of us can do about it, it is just interesting to note and see what happens. We only have one more thing to say for now...

GO HAWKS!