oculus

I got to experience virtual reality today! So while it MIGHT look like I'm in a plain, boring conference room, I'm actually at a villa in Italy.

Mostly, though, it just made me feel sick. Also, they weren't serving wine at the villa, so I think I'll stick to the real places from now on.

raw power

Last Sunday, KEXP,  our local, independent radio station, held a concert at Pike Place Market to raise money for their new studio home and for the market expansion project. The concert featured four iconic Seattle musicians, Mike McCready (Pearl Jam, Mad Season), Duff McKagan (Guns n' Roses, Velvet Revolver), Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees, Tuatara) and Mark Arm (Mudhoney). The band played songs by Iggy Pop and the Stooges and played underneath the famous Pike Place Market sign,which has never been done before! We managed to score some killer seats in one of the offices overlooking the clock and felt so fortunate to get to experience such a cool event.

 Duff McKagan!

Anders and Barrett Martin

Such a fun night!

neighbors

My bestie, Kristina, just moved in next door, which means we now have connecting yards, which means her daily view is now this...

It's a good thing she is a dog person!

comet falls

Anders and I hiked to Comet Falls a few weeks ago. It's a fairly moderate hike (only four miles round trip), but we heard you can go an extra mile to a little park beyond the waterfall. It's supposed to be amazing, but we were strapped for time and didn't make it that far. Next time! (FYI...no dogs allowed in the national park, so no Maggie this trip!)

mudbug

One of the fish guys (not sure WHO yet) decided it would be hilarious to hide a live crayfish in Anders' lunch sack. The only problem with this is that I was the one packing his lunch last night! I screamed so loudly our neighbor heard me...

In the end the joke was on them, though. Cause he was delicious!

big bottom festival

I'm behind on posting photos! Here are some of my favorite shots from our time at the Big Bottom Festival a few weekends ago down at our property. The weekend included, but was not limited to, yoga, cooling off in the river, a talent show, a full moon, a killer bloody Mary bar, two bands, a fairy garden and a huge raffle (I donated this quilt). All in all a great weekend!

You can see the entire picture album here.

The camp stage

Sitting in the tree throne

Our camp complete with solar lights

 A fairy in the fairy garden

Story time with the kiddos

Rockin' it at the talent show

 Hot days means cooling off in the river

 All dresses made by Cosmic Garden Designs

 Perfectly timed bloody Mary bar complete with bacon syrup!

 At the beach

No party is complete without a bowl of life

ape caves

If you are brave, unafraid of the dark, dig climbing over boulders and scaling walls, I highly recommend checking out the Ape Caves down by Mt. St. Helens. And if you're a total wimp like me, I still recommend it, because heck! I made it through. It's not for the faint of heart, though. Bring lots of light and sturdy shoes for this short (1.5 miles) but difficult hike. You walk almost the entire trail in complete darkness and you have to climb over multiple sections where the ceiling has caved in. No worries, though, the rest of the ceiling looked pretty sturdy :)