Hike With Alice

Friday morning, I met up with Alice to go hiking. We had a quick lunch before heading out to what was once my favorite hike--to Del Cerro Park.

I knew that Palos Verdes had some fire damage, but I didn't know the exact location. Well, apparently it was where we were hiking!

This picture, right here, says it all:
Alice looks at the view on one of our breaks. It sure was hot out there!

Beach vs. Strand Running

Today I tried running along the water at the beach instead of on the Strand. I came up with a list of pros and cons. :)

Pros of Beach Running:

• Hearing the waves crash loudly
• Having a better view of the ships passing by
• Watching the cute little birds braving the surf and then scurrying away from the waves when it comes in with their fast little legs
• It's better on my shins and feet

Cons of Beach Running:

• Less people watching available
• The run isn't as smooth on the sand
• I can't take in the views of the houses along the Strand from so far away
• Sand in my shoes
• Having to run by the seagull brigade....thankfully they didn't drop a bomb on me!

Saturday Night Live

I woke up Saturday morning for my last half day with family. We had a nice morning and ended with lunch, which included the Lefse we had purchased at Sluy's bakery. It was yummy.


It was time for me to give hugs and kisses and it was tearful, especially Rebecca. But I will be back!


My flight was on time and I was resigned to just read the book I brought, even though I wasn't all that into it. Instead, after a few minutes I started a very fun conversation with the guy sitting next to me. We talked about everything it seemed. He was originally from a city near where I live but now he lives in Palm Springs with his wife. It was a nice way to pass the time on a flight. I love meeting new people!


Apparently, our conversation caught the attention of a man and he tried to pick me up as everyone walked to baggage claim. He was pretty persistent, even when I fibbed and said I had a boyfriend. He insisted that I put his number in my phone. Unbelievable! ;-)


Angie picked me up and dropped me off so that I could unpack and get ready for dancing! A group of us met at the Lighthouse on Pier Ave in Hermosa Beach. Angie had convinced a few people to dress in '80s garb. Eric took the cake in his 1983 UCLA jogging suit. The wig and the 'stache where awesome!

Shelley and I ended up going outside to get some air and when we got back everyone had decided to go home. So Shelley and I went to the bar to get hard drinks--like gingerale and water, no ice. While we were there a guy named Chris started picking up on Shelley. My role was wingman...Chris had a cousin. The band came up and played their 3rd set of fun 80's music. Both Shelley and I danced for a few songs with these guys and then left.

I had a fun conversation with the head bouncer while I was waiting for Shelley and Chris (number exchange). He thought I had an accent! I think he heard some of the Boston accent come out (sometimes I saying things that sound Bostonian). :-)

Shelley and I decided to have a slice at Piasano's, which is a short walk from Pier Ave. The pizza hit the spot!

Dinner with Kent and Lori

To cap off my trip, my brother Kent, and his wife, Lori, came over Erika and Brian's for dinner on Friday. My brother had fun playing with my nieces. It reminded me of when I was a kid and he used to let us girls hang on his arms and he'd call us "Nugadators".

We had a great time--it was a great ending to a nice trip!

Trip to Poulsbo

Thursday of my trip to Seattle, I went with Erika and her family to Poulsbo, Washington. Poulsbo is a Norwegian town south of Seattle.

Here are the kids posing next to a cute fountain:
We arrived at lunchtime, so we ended up walking through town and finding a pizza place because there were no Norwegian restaurants in the town, which baffled us. After lunch we walked down the main street and looked in several shops.

Here is the Nordic Coffee Shop--this must be an ancestor of mine--my grandmother was Norwegian.
The Nordic Maid was the main Norwegian gift shop. Here is a shirt we all got a kick out of:
We also got the scoop on what the big deal is about trolls in the Norwegian culture. My grandmother had two trolls sitting on her windowsill. I inherited them and recently found them. Trolls were a means for Norwegian parents to get their children to be good. If they weren't good, the trolls would get them!

We walked over to the water way, which had a nice little park laid out. The kids needed to run around a little bit.
Kaylen is so cute!

Here is Lauren posing with the Nordic statue:

One of our last stops was at Sluy's Bakery.

Sluy's sells traditional lefse, which is a flat bread made with potatoes and wheat. It looks similar to a tortilla, but has a nuttier flavor. Traditionally, you heat them up and slather them with butter and cinnamon & sugar, or you can use butter and brown sugar. Yum!

Of course, Sluy's sells other wonderful pastries, which took a lot of willpower on my part not to devour.

After Poulsbo, it was time for the ferry.

The Steip Family on their first ferry ride together:
Of course, Brian had to do the Titanic/Leo DiCaprio impression of "I'm the King of the World!"
Here is Sebastian's impression:
I love this next picture. Lauren took it and another one that was similar. But after the picture was taken, she said (very loudly, I might add) "But your hair is sticking straight up!" I couldn't help but laugh!
Awwww, the girls being lovey-dovey on Auntie Alexis's back:
I was so tired because I had insomnia the night before so I let the kids play on me:

Here's Rebecca playing Patty Cake on my cheeks:

Most of the pictures I have of the skyline were taken by my nieces (I am very impressed!):

Busy Mind

Well, it's 2:33am and I am still up. Thankfully I have been behind on my blogging so I decided to write out my adventures in Washington thus far. I will post them once I have my pictures downloaded, as it's more fun to read when there are pictures to see.

Anyway, do you ever have something on your mind that just won't get out of the way long enough for you to relax and fall asleep? Ambiguous situations cause this phenomena in me and it drives me up a wall. I begin to overanalyze everything (and generally speaking I get frustrated...not even praying helps) and then I find myself wide awake and writing on my blog. Sigh. I wish things were more clear, i.e. obvious!

Fun Pictures of Kaylen

Here are a few funny/cute pictures of Kaylen: