Group Game Night

Who: Lothbrights, Hoyts, Burleighs and Becky

What: good food, good friends and good board game fun!

When: Last Saturday night

Where: The Lothbrights home in West Seattle

Why: just for fun (see What)

Jen and Tez hosted a great evening!  We ate a wonderful dinner of BBQ'd pork, corn-on-the-cob and fruit salad.  Dinner was followed by a game of Risk.  If you've never played Risk before you should.  It is a little confusing at first but once you get the hang of it you can battle your way around the world, increasing your number of armies and the territories you control. 

As we set up, Cortez plots his path total world domination.

Ryan sets up the ultimate army in the South Pacific.

black=Ryan&Mike :: yellow=Kate :: green=Becky

red=Cortez :: blue=Jen :: pink=me

Eventually those little red blocks started to take over more and more of the board.  Had we continued to play, it is almost certain that Cortez would have picked us of one by one.  However, it was getting late and the old fogies among us needed to go to bed.  I had a lot of fun but I don't think I'm ruthless global dominating type.  :o)  

Oh I almost forgot . . . for dessert Ryan and I made a blackberry crisp from my mom's recipe.  I said I would post it so here goes.

Mom's Crisp

fill the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with fruit.

you can use apples, blackberries, cherries, peaches 

or whatever is on hand and sounds good!

in a separate bowl mix the following ingredients together with a fork 

1 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1 c. sugar

3/4 t. salt

1 egg (unbeaten)

mix until crumbly

sprinkle flour mixture over the fruit

sprinkle on cinnamon (if desired)

pour 1/4 c. of vegetable oil over the fruit

bake for 30-40 minutes @ 350 degrees

until golden brown and bubbly

Thanks everyone we had a great time!  I can't wait until the next GGN.

HUG O' WAR

hug o' war

by shel silverstein

i will not play at tug o' war

i'd rather play at hug o' war,

where everyone hugs

instead of tugs,

where everyone giggles

and rolls on the rug,

where everyone kisses,

and everyone grins,

and everyone cuddles,

and everyone wins.

I don't think these two have read this poem.  :o)

February Fun! Part #2

Our second little vacation was to Bend, OR with our friends Jack and Anastasia.  

We spent four days enjoying the sun and snow.  

We drove down on a beautiful Thursday morning. 

On Friday we decided to hit the trail and we spent the day snow shoeing up Tumalo Mountain.

After a long day of snowshoeing Anastasia cooked up a really delicious tortellini soup!

On Friday Jack, Ryan and I hit the slopes while Anastasia had a relaxing day at the condo.

We came back to the condo to another delicious dinner by our favorite chef!

J&A - Thank you so much for the good food and good fun!

Check out our photo album for more pictures!

February Fun!

February was a great month for Ryan and I.

Two little vacations brought us some much needed rest and relaxation.
For our first vacation we hoped on a plane, flew to Palm Springs, and we met up with Ryan's mom and Dennis. We left a cold and rainy Seattle and arrived in a very sunny Palm Springs. The sun was a very welcome site for Ryan,

but a little less welcome for me and my pale skin. While in Palm Springs we golfed, hiked, shopped and ate very well!

We hiked up Tahquitz Canyon. It was a beautiful hike on a warm sunny day. The American Southwest is unlike anything we see in the Pacific Northwest. The desert and rock formations are amazing and it is very interesting to think about the people that used to live in this area.

After our hike in the canyon, and a delicous lunch at a local fish market, we took a ride up the Palm Springs Aerial Tram. On this amazing feat of engineering you climb two and a half miles, in the World's Largest Rotating Tramcar, to the pristine wilderness of Mount San Jacinto State Park. It is a beautiful place where you can hike, camp, crosscountry ski and snowshoe. I was prepared for hiking but I was not prepared for the amount of snow at the top of the mountain.
Who goes to Palm Springs and thinks snow!?!? Dispite the fact that I could not feel my toes we hiked through the snow and to the top of a huge rock to get a view of the valley.

Our last big adventure while we were in Palm Springs was a tour through Joshua Tree National Park. This park is the most amazing colision of climates. It is a very unique place where the high desert meets the low desert and creates a fascinating collection of plants, animals and geological features. Here is just a glimpse of the park.

A big huge THANK YOU to Nancy and Dennis for hosting us in Palm Springs!

Oh, and check out our photo album for more pictures.