4th of July

So last year we went downtown for the 4th. This year, however, there was only one fireworks show down there, as opposed to three last year. We decided that it would be way too much of a headache to deal with the crowd this year, so we headed out of town for a weekend camping trip. Katie, Ken, Nate, Christen and I drove down to Millersylvania State Park, just south of Olympia.

Nate brought a sandwhich maker, which we decided would function better as a pie maker!

Breakfasts were by far the best meals we made. We may or may not have gone through 4 pounds of bacon.

Cheers! (don't worry, it's only coffee...or is it?)

Saturday we drove out to Ocean Shores on the coast and hung out at the beach for the afternoon.

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Cassie's Visit

This weekend, our friend Cassie came to visit from Minneapolis. We had a great time and were really happy she was able to make it out. She's here from Saturday evening until Tuesday morning (tomorrow). Unfortunately, the weather wasn't quite perfect and we didn't get any views of the mountains. However, the sun was out and it didn't rain, so I'd say it was a success. Saturday night we went to dinner at Arnie's, a restaurant on the Puget Sound where Katie used to work. It was a nice sunny evening and a perfect night for a meal on the patio.

On Sunday Katie, Ken, Nate, Cassie and I had blueberry pancakes at our house, then drove down to Lake Union (a lake just north of downtown Seattle) and rented some Kayaks. We were out on the lake for about 2 hours. It was pretty cloudy, but it was a perfect temperature and we got some great views of some houseboats (including the house from Sleepless In Seattle), seaplanes and some yachts.

After kayaking, we took a quick stop at Kerry Park, which is where THE view of Seattle can be seen.

We then headed for Pike Place Market, where we enjoyed the street market and got some food. Before we left we got some salmon and some other goodies and made our way back home. We grilled the salmon with all the fixins; grilling never gets old!

Today, Katie and Cassie went downtown again to do some shopping, and took a ferry out to Bainbridge Island. They had a great time and great weather, though again missed out on the mountains.

We all had a great time this weekend, and Cassie has now declared that this is an annual trip :)

Seven Months?!

Okay, so I've caught some grief from a few of you for not updating our blog in a while. Seven months is a long time, I'll give you that. So a long story short, Katie and I got married in January in Mexico as most of you reading probably know. Afterward we came back and I've been putting in some long hours at work, and in March Katie started her new career of Real Estate Appraisal. She has been taking classes and has been hired as an Appraiser Trainee, a position she will have to hold for two years before qualifying to take the exam for the Professional License. She is really enjoying it, and is glad to no longer be in the restaurant industry! In March we took a trip out to Big Sky for a weekend with Katie's family and got some skiing in; the weather was beautiful! In the beginning of May, Katie's parents came out to visit for a few days, and then we all went to Las Vegas for a few days of R&R in the sun. And just a couple weeks ago, Katie and I went out to Big Sky again to help her parents with some landscaping for their housing project. We planted 41 evergreen trees (4-8 ft trees) in two and a half days! Other than that, we've been having some fun around Seattle. A couple friends and I climbed Mt. Si the other weekend, we've grilled out a few times (the weather has been AWESOME this spring), we went to a Mariners-Twins game last weekend, and Katie and I also participated in a 5k run for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Sunday. Okay, well I think that about covers the last 7 months. Here are some pictures, enjoy!

Skiing in Big Sky

This was at a restaurant in Big Sky. Rylan got ahold of Grandpa's money!

On the way to Vegas from Seattle, a view of Rainier from above

In Vegas at the Bellagio Conservatory

Me and Jack in Big Sky, with some of the 41 trees in the background

This is a creek (currently a river) behind the houses in Big Sky

We had a grill-off to determine if there was a discernable taste difference when cooking with charcoal or propane. Verdict: No taste difference (verdict dependent upon chef's abilities)

Christen, Katie, Me, Nate and Ken enjoying some Mojito's on a warm Saturday afternoon

Downtown Seattle in the background of Safeco Field at the Mariners vs Twins game...unfortunately the Twins lost!

We were supposed to be in the cheap-seats, but an usher was nice to us so we got an upgrade! Joe Mauer at bat.

Katie and Christen at the game

Jocelyn Hope

Congratulations to my sister Renee and brother-in-law Calvin on their first child together, Jocelyn Hope, born November 10th! She's a healthy 7 lb 2 oz little girl, with a full head of hair!

The Proud Parents

Grandpa and Grandma Bergner with their new grandaughter

A tired Jocelyn and Calvin after a long day (and night)

Big sister

We hope everyone had a nice Halloween! Katie and I started the night hanging out at home giving out candy to the neighborhood kids. We didn't have too many come by though, so we have a lot of candy left over....darn. We finally got dressed up and headed downtown to a party about 9. Katie went as a snow bunny, and I went as a nerd.

One of the better costumes we saw through the night was Juno and Bleeker

More pictures...

Happy Halloween!!

Camping Trip

Katie and I decided that we really needed to get out camping before the weather got too bad. We had planned on going earlier, but it never worked out. So this last weekend (despite the ominous forcast) we packed up the car and set out on the road. Twenty-five minutes later, we arrived! :) Katie had to work on Sunday, so we just made it a one night trip, and thus chose a close camp ground.

Luckily the rain held off all night so we didn't have to set up in the rain. Our new tent is awesome...it only has two poles, so it takes just about a minute and a half to set it up! After we had everything set up, we started on dinner....and the drinks.

Our new Coleman Roadtrip Grill works perfect! It has interchangable surfaces, so we were able to use it to cook burgers, pan-fry potatoes and cook some blueberry pancakes the next morning!

Of course we brought the essentials, and spent the night sitting by the fire roasting some 'mallows. They were so good, we decided we needed to have some more the next day for lunch!

The Perfect Marshmallow

It ended up raining all night, but our tent kept us perfectly dry. It was a short trip, but fun. We'll see if the weather will allow us to go again this year, if not we'll definately get out in the spring!