A Weekend Full of Fun

So last month. . . I know it is old. . . My sister and her husband came to visit us for the weekend and we had a blast.  We went out to dinner to Friday's and John introduced me to the huge . . .and Delicious. . . Jack Daniel's Burger.  It was so good!  I loved it!  Brooks got some yummy mac 'n cheese with some grilled chicken which was really good too.  David thought he would be brave and try something out of his usual.  He got some special burger that was being promoted. . . when our food came he discovered that there was a layer of something chunky and yellowish orange on his burger that looked funny.  He licked it and was disgusted and he looked like he just smelled a poopy diaper or something. . . I wish I had a picture of the face he made because it was the perfect disgusted face!  He scraped this layer of stuff off his burger and put it on a napkin in the middle of our table.  We all tried it and didn't think it was nearly as bad as David did, but couldn't tell what it was either.  It was cheesy, with a twang of something in it and it had the texture of cottage cheese.  It was interesting. . . and it threw David off enough that he is now convinced that trying new things is not worth the risk and he will stick to his burgers with only lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and ketchup. . .  and maybe some bacon if he's in the mood!

We went to the zoo the next day while David was at work.  It was a clear sunny day but it was a little chilly in the shade. . . Not bad for January weather though!    We had fun looking at all the animals and as we were going through, some of the fences seemed a little shorter than what would be needed to keep those animals in.  The tiger's fence and the wolves' were the questionable ones. . . but we only live a couple of miles away and I haven't seen any animals cruising around so I guess they are fine.  I love this picture of the bear. . . I mostly like the paw with all the toes showing.  

This video of the polar bear is pretty goofy.  The bear was just walking in circle around the pillars and as he would come around the corner he would turn around and start backing up.  I don't know if you can tell very well, but as he backs up, he is swaying his head like he's bobbing/dancing to some music.  You can hear Brooks' laugh in the background.  That bear was pretty entertaining!

I love how tigers look with their stripes, but the tiger was just sleeping and we didn't get to see him very well.  I like the stripes on Zebras too and I like how thestripes go all the way up on their mane too.  I think I liked zebra's partly because I learned about them in my animal alphabet book when I was little and I think they are the only animal that I can think of to this day that starts with a 'z'.  I stillremember being completely confused at the fact that zebra started with a 'z' and that xylophone started with an 'x'. . . they sounded the same to me so what difference should it make!?

After the zoo we went to P.F. Chang's and loved it and then browsed around for a while until David was off work.  We were smothered by a tie salesman at Men's Warehouse that was trying way too hard to get his commissions check boosted a little.  John fell in love with some Puma's and felt guilty for not wanting to settle for the cheap brand shoes. . . he was like a little boy trying to convince Brooks how much they meant to him and how he didn't want to get them but that he really did need them.  He ended up getting them and I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to wear them to bed every night because he was so proud of them.  

That night we all went out to eat with my cousin Dustin and his girlfriend at Macaroni Grill. . .oohhh that place was good too!  We loved the food and thanks to my sister-in-law, Elizabeth, we were able to use our gift card we got for Christmas!   We were goofy and having good times while we were there and we were all soooo full!  

As we were coming home, we realized that the power was out around my block.  It was so windy!  That was kind of scary because I noticed because the stop lights for the intersection were out.  I hope everyone didn't just assume they had a green light!  We got home and pulled out all the candles we had and luckily Brooks had some matches!  We played Balderdash and were getting pretty creative.  We came up with some interesting explanations about who people were, what certain acronyms stood for, what random movies were about, crazy laws around the world, and definitions to weird words. . . and I ended up pulling ahead of John and winning!  

We went to bed but left one light switch flipped on so we could tell if the power came back on.  Just as we were getting to sleep the light turned on and I think it scared Brooks and John a little!  It was good that it came on so all the stuff in the fridge and freezer didn't go bad, and so we could save the leftovers in the fridge too . . . we really didn't want to lose those!

On Sunday we took a day trip out to Tillamook.  It was nice to see Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob!  We ate lunch with them and then went out to Rockaway beach.  We couldn't believe it, but it was so nice out there!  We had clear skies and absolutely no wind!  We really couldn't ever remember any time during all of the summers that we spent on that beach where the weather was ever that nice!  It was awesome!  The water was probably still numbingly cold, but we didn't swim.  Brooks and John wanted to try out some of the kites that they got from their wedding, but there wasn't enough wind.  John said it would have been fine if he could run 15 miles an hour and keep the kite up.  Maybe next time!

We just built a sand castle instead.  Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob approved!  It was pretty neat!  You can tell how deep our moat is since we are standing in it. . . Brooks even put an alligator in there to protect the castle, but John killed it.  John said this was a secret. . . but he made an underground railroad. . . I bet he was thinking along the lines of it being Martin Luther King day and Harriet Tubman and her history leading the black people out of slavery. . . very thoughtful John!

David enjoyed the sun as he laid out on a blanket and read a nice book on the beach. . . Financial Accounting!  He said it was a good book but I don't know who would really consider that a beach read.  That is my nerdy little husband alright!

He got up to take a picture with me. . . Man I can't believe how beautiful it was that day!  This picture makes our majestic castle look more like a pansy of a mountain. . . sheesh!

We went to Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob's place and had some yummy Tillamook Ice Cream!  We also got to play the Farming Game with Grandpa Bob!  It is such a classic memory to always play that game with him. . . and I think that he always won when I was little so I was ready to show him up this time.  We taught John and David how to play and Grandma Honey kept our water glasses full for us!  When the time was up we all got one more turn to try and get some more money to win.  It was all really close until John had his last roll!  He nailed his harvest on his fruit that he had and it wasn't even worth counting up anything we had.  I'd say it was just beginners luck, but then again. . . I also say whatever works is fine by me!

Right before we left the raccoons came to visit!  I always love to watch them eat the dog food that we put out on the porch for them.  They just grab the little pieces with their hands and scrunch up their noses as they chew on them.  They are so cute. . . but I know they can be vicious!  I am just glad that they keep coming back every night!  

We played some games that night and all wanted to win!  We had fun and enjoyed the weekend with them!  I think they might come again and see a Blazers game with us.  Thanks for the visit and fun weekend Brooks and John!