The Big City

So we decided to spend the last weekend of Spring Break at The Big City -- otherwise known as Seattle. Portland is the Slightly Smaller Big City. Anyway.

The fact that our friends Steve and Benita live there means that it's much easier (not to mention cheaper) to go stay at The Big City than if we were trying to find a hotel, etc. Leaving after Scott got done seeing patients on Friday meant that Friday night was pretty well shot, but Saturday we went to the Woodland Park Zoo. With about 5 million of our best friends. Seriously, we waited in line for about half an hour JUST TO BUY TICKETS. Apparently, it was the first sunny weekend day of spring for all the little Seattlites. Luckily, the zoo is a large enough property that we all spread out pretty decently once we were inside the gates and weren't too awfully crowded.

I don't believe in taking pictures of the animals at the zoo, because later one looks back and wonders why one did that (ask me how I know)! What you WISH you had taken pictures of is the people who went to the zoo with you! But I did have to take this one animal photo -- because he was just so danged cute, and I wasn't sure but what he might be made of plastic. I think it's a Chinese wax frog? I was too busy going, "Oh, look, isn't he cute??" to notice anything important about him:













And here, for your viewing pleasure, are some pictures of the afore-mentioned People I Went to the Zoo With! Yes, I know -- how they've grown (heavy sigh):












I have a couple more pictures, but Blogger does not want me to add them. One of them includes me; perhaps he is trying to save the larger public from any shock engendered but actually seeing what I look like! Of course, I know you all in normal life, basically, so I think the gesture is just too darn late.

I'll try to post the extra pictures in a later/second post. I hope your week is starting smoothly ...

love, kristin

Photographs, Actually!

Yes, it's true, I'm actually posting PICTURES! (Not that I ever found the dumb cable -- I invested in a card reader.) Here are some snaps from our recent annual end-of-summer trip to Yachats, Oregon. It's a favorite spot for our family -- my parents even have a watercolor painting of the town on their wall at home. From the top (I do NOT understand how to get the photos to line up properly with Blogspot): Emily proving she is still the same child, coast or not; Scott, my niece Melissa, and our assorted children (our 3, and Melissa & Mike's two -- and they will have either one or two coming soon from Ethiopia!--you might notice it was windy); My dad and his great-granddaughter, Madison (Dad is actually reading, not sleeping -- he wouldn't dream of nodding off!); Emily, Steven, Mara, Emma & Jacob (all the kids in the wind picture) on the sea lion sculpture at Sea Lion Caves (a large sea cave where sea lions take shelter during storms, and sun outdoors on the rocks); and my elder sister, Marsha with her granddaughter Madison (the sleeping baby from the above picture) and Mara (who is her niece -- got it?). I will now start posting all the jillion-and-one pictures I've been supposed to be posting all summer!

love, kristin