First HOG Trip

Matt and I got home from our trip on a Monday evening and Tuesday evening, Matt headed out on his first HOG trip. It was only a day-long trip and the timing wasn't great, but the purpose of the trip was because Matt Newman, one of Matt's good friends from college, was in town for a few days. (Ironically, Matt's parents were good friend's of my parents when we all lived in Green Bay, back when Matt (Newman) and I were kiddos. Crazy small world!)

I asked Matt to make sure they took a few pics on their trip...and this is what I got. 

Erik Kuch shooting himself in the head--lovin' that they ate at a place called "Packers Country"

The guys planned on being back around dinner time on Wednesday evening, so we had everyone over to our house for a cookout. Erik, Matt and Matt were on the bike trip but Andy Lutz and his family also joined us for dinner. We had to get as much 'Newman' time in while they were in town (they live in Arkansas, which is much too far away). 

The token 'cram all the kids into one picture' picture---college was clearly a long time ago! And there is another Kuch baby coming this winter!

Sadie was most excited about getting to hold the newest addition to the crew....Joshua Calvin Lutz...he was only 2 weeks old in this picture!

I had to include several of these pictures....we attempted to get a picture of all the boys right before everyone left and boy was it hilarious! These boys were all having so much fun with each other but getting them to sit still enough for a picture just wasn't happening!

The guys had a great time on their trip and we had so much fun spending time together with friends. Of course, it's always too short and we can't wait to have Matt, Martha and Levi back again soon!

Seattle, Part II

Monday morning we woke up and checked out a sweet diner in a nearby neighborhood that our server from the night before had recommended. And boy was it amazing! Apparently it started out as a food cart on the street and it was so popular that they turned it into an actual restaurant (but they still have several food cart locations).

This picture is out of focus, but I couldn't help but post it. While we were sitting at breakfast, we saw this guy, straight out of the movie Prefontaine, running down the street. It was exactly what you would expect to see in the Pacific Northwest...long hair, sweat band over the hair, short shorts, red calf-length socks and tennis shoes. I think he may have even had glasses on! 

We walked through the Capitol Hill neighborhood a bit 

The guys enjoyed a walk through the showroom here...

This was a super cool clothing store we found, apparently based in the UK. But the entire store was furnished with sewing machine parts. And those are all Singer sewing machines in the store front...

(inside the store)

Matt and I flew out around 6pm that evening, so we spent our last few hours along the waterfront. 

Rob and Linds took great pictures and Matt was sick of our 'typical pose', so this was what we came up with!

We grabbed fish and chips at a Seattle mainstay before heading to the airport.

We had such an amazing time with Lindsay and Rob and can't wait to get back to the Pacific Northwest. But I do have to say that a large part of the reason we had so much fun was because we knew our kids were having a blast at home with my parents. 

The kids didn't ask when we were coming home even one time and my mom had to go back home a day before we arrived back in MN, so my Dad had the kids all to himself for 2 full days. We knew this before we left and I had asked if he felt comfortable with having the kids all by himself and his answer was, "Of course! We will have all kinds of fun." And they did...my kids are still talking about all the fun they had with Pops. This was what he posted on his Facebook page--what a blessing it was to Matt and I to read this, knowing that my Dad was having just as much fun with our kids as they were! 

Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for treasuring your time with our kids! When we got home late on Monday night, my Dad said, "It's never enough time to do all the things we wanted to. I wish you guys could have been gone just a few more days!" 

We had a GREAT trip but we were happy to be home and see our kiddos!

Seattle

After we checked in to our hotel and grabbed a bite at a local deli, we headed over to the infamous Pike's Market.

There was quite a large crowd gathered around the Pike's Place Fish Co. and most of us just wanted to see them tossing fish and yelling out orders. But since there weren't many people actually ordering anything, the guys working there started giving everyone a hard time, saying, "You actually have to order fish for us to throw them people!" We were there on a Sunday, so there were probably more tourists than usual, however, they did say that they pack the fish to be fresh for us to 48 hours (i.e, taking it on a plane or driving a long distance home). We still didn't order any but I would love to get some next time we go. And they finally did get a few orders, so I took some pictures of the guys tossing the fish.

(I didn't have the setting on my camera set appropriately, but you get the idea.)

There was a bit of calamity also.

The Fish Co. is just one small part of the entire market. There was lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers and, of course, fish! The original Starbucks was right here also and we did stop by to get a coffee, however, with it being Sunday, the line was out the door and winding down the road. And since the drink itself tastes the same no matter where you get it (for the most part), we opted to skip it. I should have, however, taken a picture!! But I guess the mental picture I have will have to suffice for now.

After touring the market, we went to the local watery hole to join a few Seattle Sounders fans before the game. (The Sounders are the MLS team and apparently their fans LOVE them some soccer! Rob played soccer growing up-as did I, although I am not the fan that Rob is-and he had looked into getting tickets to a game months before we went on our trip. Once he started to look in to their schedule, he saw that they would be playing the L.A. Galaxy while we were in Seattle. AND for those who don't know soccer, David Beckham plays for LA. When we started to look into buying tickets and saw how hard it was to get them, we quickly realized that this was obviously a highly sought after game and would be a fun experience for us all.)

To say this brewery was a mad-house would be a huge understatement. We got their about 2 hours before the game started and it was already packed with a wait of an hour and a half for 4 people!! Apparently Rob had found the place to be!

Rob chatting it up with a local fan

This was the view from the bar area....these huge 'garage-type' doors opened to the outside and the stadium was just to the right.

(In case you didn't pick up on it, the Sounders colors are lime green and royal blue)

Coincidentally, Rob and Matt both had t-shirts in those colors, so we fit right in!

It was packed!! I believe they said it was a sell-out, which is just over 60,000 people! I had no idea soccer was so huge in Seattle! And this year, Seattle and LA were battling each other for the top of the league, so the game had even more at stake.

(This is the stadium where the Seattle Seahawks Football team plays as well.)

A few close-up shots of David Beckham....I had asked Rob if, as a kid, he could have played any sport with any professional player, who it would have been. Since Rob also played cricket (and still does), I assumed it might be someone who plays cricket (which of course I would have never heard of). But it was actually David Beckham! And growing up in New Zealand, Rob thought he would never get to see Beckham play live. Even leading up to the game, we weren't sure he would play because it was during the Olympics. We were selfishly excited when we saw that he wasn't on England's Olympic soccer team, but since the Olympics were being held in London and he had been at so many of the events, we weren't sure he would be playing. But apparently he flew to the states the night before, so this truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

And although Rob was most excited to see David Beckham play, we were still rooting for the Sounders and they ended up winning! The final score was 4-0 and it was a great game to watch for our first MLS game.