Friday 7/22, We were supposed to all go on an easy hike but when we woke up it was raining and had been for most of the night. So the girls decided to go into Leavenworth and from there I made plans with B for when he was coming over etc. First we went to the shop with Kassie’s boots and looked around there, then we ate at the café again and I got a piece of Peanut Snickers Pie, it was good, but not as good as Kassie’s strawberry crepe. That was delicious. I should have gotten one too, but they were twice as expensive as what I got, so I had a couple of bites of Kassie’s and that satisfied me. After that we just walked around a little then ended up at Starbucks to see if we could get internet access there to check the status of the house cause it was being auctioned that day, so we finally got access through Starbucks for signing up for a free day pass, then I bought the new Coldplay cd for Dad cause he keeps talking about them. We didn’t find out anything about the house, but did notice a cute guy with terrible shoes on and he looked like he was right up Kassie’s alley. Finally we left and got gas, and that boy was at the gas station too and he was lookin at us, but nothing happened…Aubs and I wanted to follow him but Kassie had no interest, so then we went to the health food store and some guys were checking us out in the lot but didn’t make a move, but that’s ok cause they we’re probably 19 or something, then we went back. I don’t remember what we did when we got back but I’m pretty sure we just hung out and the weather finally was clearing up so we probably spent time outside either under the mister or down by the river. Eventually Aubs, Kim and I were on the tramp talking about all sorts of grown up things and while we were in the middle of our conversation B rolled up so I did introductions and then before long dinner was ready, pork roast this time. After dinner we celebrated my birthday with an angel food cake and presents from Auntie Heidi, Uncle Brad and Hailey (candles and soap), Rose (little cute box with jewels and frog plus $$), and Mom and Dad ($$). It was a nice birthday celebration. Then we went out to the tramp and they were all doing tricks and flips and B was trying to keep up with them and the funniest move was the donkey kick. We were also trying to get the neighbor boys’ attention so finally Kassie, Kim and Aubs went over to invite them over for the fireworks show. It started to get dark so we broke out the fireworks that Uncle Dick bought and started doing sparklers and little Ross came over and he’s kind of cute, but apparently a Christian so that won’t do for Aubrie, but he was nice anyway. So I broke the ice with him and we were chatting then it was time to go down to the river and light off the big ones. So we go down and start to light them off and they’re HUGE and soooo fucking loud…at one of them, Hailey was like “Oh shit!” it was so funny. After we lit quite a few of them off most of us took off and left all of the stuff down there so Dad and Ross came up carrying it and we started hearing people yelling so we stashed the evidence in the garage and just as all of us kids were coming out, someone on the road yelled, “Knock it off” so we all just hung around the fire and started talking. The neighbors showed up earlier that day and were now having a screaming match next door…interesting. Along with the other neighbor shouting at us. THEN, we got out the marshmallows and fixins and made smores and little Ross stuck around for that and said that the guy yelling wasn’t his dad and to not worry about it. Then Aubs and Kim were like, “we’re going on the tramp if anyone wants to come” so no one did, then a minute later Ross was like “I’ll go out there” and we all raised our eyebrows to each other over that one. Morey went to go pick up Chloe and said that one of the neighbors said they couldn’t hear a thing, but that he also saw a patrol car coming down the road and driving slowly so someone must’ve called the cops over the whole thing. The rest of us finally went up to bed and started playing mad libs and the three tramp kids came in but Ross had to go so then Aubrie spilled everything about him and what they talked about and we all had a good time discussing that. Good day.

Thursday 7/21, All of the girls were going to go into Leavenworth and the boys (all two of them) were going to go golfing. So Mom, Heidi and Rose went in Heidi’s car and I drove the rest of us girls, but we took off first and had to go the long way cause of construction on the Chumstick. We parked by the pool and started to walk to Starbucks and we all made our phone calls and while we were doing that the Moms drove by and all of us were on our phones, funny sight. We decided to get lunch first and the Moms had an idea of where they wanted to cause they had had coffee there the previous summer. I called Kassie as we were walking over to it and then we were standing outside the little shop that’s right next to the café and Aubrie is like “Aren’t those the boots Kassie has?” while I’m talking to her and they are, two pairs of them! So I tell Kassie, and then I tell her how much they are and she gets pissed cause she paid more than that for hers. We sat down and ate lunch, I had a really delicious turkey breast panini, I was very impressed. After lunch we went and looked in the shop next door some more and they had all kinds of cute things but then us kids split off and went to the other store and Hailey bought a bracelet. After that we went up to the bookstore but didn’t buy anything, then I needed to mail some stuff so we went back to my car, turned on the AC and drove to the post office. After that we just decided to go back cause it was so hot and we were all kind of tired. Construction on Chumstick wasn’t bad at all and when we got back no one was there and we watched Mean Girls then got our suits on and hung out. Then Dad and Uncle Brad got back and we all went down and played in the river and walked across to the middle. I hung out with UB for a little bit then walked back across and got Hailey then I went and hung out with Dad and the girls cause they had found a really soft sandy spot under the rapids. Then it started to get chilly so we all went in. For dinner we had prime rib and it was delicious, just as we were done eating at like 9:45 Kassie rolled up and she ate some of the food cause she was starving. I forgot to mention that Dad tipped his chair over just like Morey did last year, but managed not to spill his dinner, but as he was getting up hit his head on the awning. We were all laughing hysterically…poor Dad. After dinner we lit the fire, but some of us stayed inside and Rose was trying to look up Kassie’s skirt and wanted to see her boobs…um, yeah. Think we all just went to bed after that.

Wednesday 7/20, I got up around 7:45 and headed over to Kassie’s, got ready over there and then the three of us girls rolled up to Everett to pick up Rose. We stopped at the Safeway for breakfast and I asked the girls to guess which door the bakery was by and Aubrie was right so I said that she was more ghetto cause she guessed correctly and Safeway is kind of ghetto and since she knows her way around one, she won the most ghetto-ness title. We picked up some stuff, ate it in the car and then drove over to Rose’s. Loaded up all of her stuff including the peach cobbler which Aubrie proceeded to spill the juices all over her lap and all over the towel cause it was supposed to lay flat. So we made it over to Plain in record time, I think it was just under 2 hours, but that was also from Everett, so who knows if we really made any time. Morey was there and Dad was busy working, Mom had gone into town and didn’t come back for 2.5 hours so I tried to entertain Rose and we talked about how weird Tom and Katie are and how you can’t see any of the clothes that are advertised in “W” cause of the “arty” photography. Morey started talking about Bangladesh and how Mark is going there for the Peace Corps and all of this other stuff so I just walked away and went upstairs and by the time I came back down he had left. Finally Mom got there so I went to hang out with Aubrie and Kim and helped them find some rope to tie the intertubes together so they could hang out in the river without effort. After that we spent time setting up the trampoline and put on Dolour to try to lure out the neighbor boys, you know, with Shane’s sweet voice, but it didn’t work. So we tried the Killers, but that didn’t work either. Finally we went inside and did some stuff and then eventually Aunt Heidi and Hailey showed up in Heidi’s new Mercedes and then Uncle Brad showed up a little while later with erect nipples to which Hailey and I joked that he gets really excited when he gets the trailer right up close to the deck, as well as other nipple jokes that I won’t go into here. We finally had dinner: chicken and rice pilaf and other assorted sides, most importantly Auntie Heidi’s delicious sesame salad. Then we had Rose’s cobbler for dessert. I can’t remember what else we did that night, but I’m pretty sure we just hung out around the fire and talked and maybe tried to spy on the neighbors, oh that’s what it was, Aubrie was trying to look at them with the binoculars but one of them looked over and saw her, so Kim was like “Look at that chipmunk Aubrie!” to cover Aubrie’s ass, but I’m doubting it worked. All the girls slept up in the loft that night.

Tuesday 7/19, Was a pain in the ass cause I had to get my tire checked out. I went by to see when Costco opened but it wasn’t until later so I got to work and told Peggy and Jim of my troubles and Jim said he would help me out with Costco if I needed to. So I made a bunch of calls and no one had my tires and everyone said they would have to order them, except for Discount, they said that they had one tire, but if I came in they could put a loaner on and order my tires so that I could get back over the mountains the next day. So after work (I left at 4:30) I went straight there and the guy said that I need to replace all four of them and that they didn’t have a loaner that would fit my car so I would have to buy all 4 of another tire, so I did that, but Dad got real snippy and wanted me to demand all of these things, but finally we settled and I was waiting for them to put them on my car and at one point I glanced up and they guy who was helping me and another guy were looking at me and whispering, I think it’s cause Dad was being such a hard ass. When I got off the phone with him the guy said “Let me guess, you’re an only child” I was like, ummm…nope. So anyway, I got out of there and went to pick up my new glasses cause I had received a call while in N. Dakota that they were done…did that then went home and packed. Headed over to B’s to spend the night and made arrangements with the girls to pick them up in the morning by 8:00 or something. So B and I went for a long walk and I told him about my trip and we talked about various other things while walking the streets, and he asked me if I wanted to go into the Erotic Bakery, but I didn’t want to so we kept walking. Went to bed kind of early cause he had to get up early the next morning.

More travelin

Monday 7/18, That morning I woke up and my neck hurt sooooooooo bad, it was terrible, I couldn’t move it at all without being in awful pain. Watched Excess Baggage with Aubrie and we just hung out in the motorhome for the day. Kim missed her plane so her parents were going to put her on one the next day and Kassie would take them around, but we still had to stop in Spokane to drop Alishia off, so we did that and then headed to the property. By the time we got there it was like 6:00 and Kassie and I were wanting to get a move on but Dad had to get the motorhome situated, so he did that then we packed up my car and took off. Though 2 miles down the road we heard a weird noise so Kassie stopped the car (I couldn’t drive cause of my neck) and the noise stopped then she was like “do you have a flat tire?” and sure as shit I did. So we, very gingerly, drove back to the property and told Dad who I knew would give it to me about tire pressure, did just that. My tire had a hole in it so it wasn’t just a matter of pumping it up, so he put some of that clog stuff in it and filled it up and that took an hour cause he wanted to find where the hole was by putting water on it but it took forever and then my neck really started to hurt again from the standing around but looking toward the ground. So finally we got on our way and got over the mountains, then checked the tire pressure, it was good so we kept going. Got to Mom’s and just dropped them off then I went to my house where B met me and had cut his hair, not my fav, but it will grow back. Stayed in my room for the rest of the night, since it was already like 8:30/9:00.

Sunday 7/17, So we woke up morning and instead of finishing off the reunion weekend with Church and breakfast, we packed up all the wet shit (with the help of Clint and Derek) and headed out on our way, with Uncle Dick’s fireworks mind you. It was a long long day filled with many episodes of the OC, but around lunch time we stopped in Medora and met up with Clint and Jodi. Lunch was all right but Kassie threw a temper tantrum and left to go who knows where, so the rest of us finished up and Dad went to go dump the holding tank while the three of us girls (Mom, Aubs, me) went to go look at the shops. We did that and I bought a postcard for Auntie Lauryn and then waited on the side of the road for Dad. So we board on and Dad is mad cause the holding tank is clogged from all of us using too much toilet paper apparently…so from then on we had to “double flush” to get more water into the tank to loosen it up. Sorry Dad. That’s a nasty job and I wouldn’t want to do it. So then Kassie comes huffing down the street and gets mad at Dad cause she thought he left so then they’re fighting for the rest of the day but then took a walk that night and worked it out. So after we got on the road from Medora we watched the OC all the way through and I think we finished it that day, but I’m not entirely sure, I do know that all of us were crying by the end of it especially Kassie, she was so mad. We finally got to Bozeman or something to stop for the night and Mom and Dad got a hotel room and us girls just sat in the motorhome and talked and laughed forever, and FINALLY Lish was being normal and participating so that was fun.

Fam Reunion (Haukedahl that is)

Saturday 7/16, Woke up too late to go to the big breakfast so we ate there and got ready, Mom braided my hair, and then Dad came back to pick us up. Lish was staying cause she was sick, but the rest of us piled into the Saturn and away we went. Got there and everyone was still eating and Ilene was like, “you better eat a pancake, or else” so Aubs and I shared one. We looked at all kinds of pictures and stuff at the front of the room of Grandma and the rest of the family. It was really neat to see all of it. We all got name tags and signed up and then we boarded a bus, well not everyone, just the people who paid to go on the tour, so all the white trash people in the fam stayed behind…well not literally, but it’s too much to write on here so there. We all got in and started down the long straight North Dakotan roads until we ended up at Uncle Kristen Traagstad’s old house. We had to walk up to it in these knee high wild flowers and stuff, but because there’s been so much rain there lately it was green and nice, not straw-y and harsh. The house was leaning and was all torn up inside from not being lived in for so long, but it was really cool to see and so beautiful. Lots of pictures, then off to the next destination…um…the gravesite of Uncle Krist I think, walked around there for a while and then off to Grandma Kari’s homestead. There was an old barn or storage shed still standing, but empty, and the house had been demo-d but the foundation was still there and there was all kinds of old appliances in there and other junk just lying in it like a grave. Then I stepped on a board with a whole bunch of nails and one tore the skin a little on my foot but didn’t go in, but my shoe was stuck and I couldn’t get it off, then everyone (ok, not everyone but Clint and Larry) were concerned and like “Let me see, you might need a tetanus shot” but I didn’t. Then we left and went back to the clubhouse for lunch where we had sandwiches and other stuff, but most important were the leftover rice crispy (krispy?) treats. More photos and stuff then we all gathered for the scavenger hunt around Wild Rose. My team included: Jorge (who has an incestuous relationship with his cousin Elessa or something, and who I think was jealous that I was on a team with her lover), Margie (John’s wife I think, the only other person besides Grandma who is still alive), Aubrie, Uncle Larry, Rosemary, and Nicole (lives in CO, has been doing Jazzercise for 10 years, husband is a chef but I don’t remember which sibling she belongs to). The scavenger hunt was fun and Kassie and I ran to get the first clue and she was like, “I’ll stop running if you’ll stop” so we did and just laughed cause it was sooo hot out and we were exhausted. Then our team took off toward the cemetery with Margie on the golf cart and Aubrie who hitched a ride on the back. Then it was to Elmer’s house then in town and on the tennis court and the school and church and eventually we were done and headed back but we came in 2nd cause Kassie and Dad’s team won cause Kassie ran the ENTIRE time. Her face was purple when we got back, no joke, it was crazy. So we cooled off and hung out and Kassie, Aubs and I went back to the motorhome to change and by the time we got back everyone was playing golf and hanging out in the back. I met some other people like Tracy (a guy), Jimmy, some others I’m forgetting but it was nice just to talk and listen to other people, then Kassie fell asleep on my lap. Dinner got underway and I offered to be gopher which meant I run the food inside after it is done on the grill, but Jimmy knocked a steak onto the front of my new white tank top when someone tried to take a picture of me, but then he picked it up off of the ground and ate it (later he said it had been delicious) and from then on Aubrie called me Skids, as in Skidmark, cause that’s what it looked like right down the front of my new favorite shirt. I got most of it out in the bathroom but it still didn’t come all the way out. Ate dinner and it was good, then we had cake that Nicole had made and transported all the way from CO and then the slide show that Jimmy had put together was started. Uncles Jerome, Larry and Ron were all hot, that’s right, they were HOT! Dad was sooo cute when he was little. After that we headed back to do fireworks but it was raining and lightning-ing in the distance so we bagged it and headed on into the tent to watch the OC and go to bed. We didn’t even get 10 min into it before the storm picked up outside and knocked part of the tent over, then it really started to blow and I had to hold the tent up before it all came crashing down, it was so loud and rain was blowing into the tent from God knows where and the thunder around us was so loud, Kassie had Aubrie and Casey under the covers, at one point it was blowing so hard that I couldn’t even hold it up by myself and just at that moment Dad came to the door of the tent and was like “GET OUT, GET IN THE MOTORHOME!” so we all freaked and just ran, not grabbing anything. Dad got my OC box set but that was it. Kassie’s power cord was still out there, plus her boots, Aubrie’s one shoe that I had put my water glass in, Kassie’s purse with all of her stuff, and all of the sleeping bags and pillows. Let’s just say that the next morning there was quite a mess to attend to. Clint said that Kassie’s boots had 6 inches of water in them and everything was drenched. Then one of the dogs peed on the mattress and we all laughed while Dad got pissed and tried to kick the dog. We all ended up that night just crashing all cuddled up together with make-shift beds since there were 5 of us with 1.5 beds. We were all shook up, let me tell you.

Friday 7/15, Dad called my phone in the morning to get everyone up cause we needed to head out so I took a shower and got everyone up, except Lish who had left in the middle of the night to the motorhome so Aubs and I took our stuff to the motorhome then went to get breakfast and sat with Larry and Rosemary. After that we all headed out with Casey and Dylan in tow. We watched the OC until we stopped for lunch. Mom, Kassie, Aubs, Casey and I went to the store first to get some things for Kassie and other stuff and Aubs and I ran around laughing, pointing and naming, and ringing the bell for cheese, so then we went to KFC for lunch for the rest and Kassie was protesting but didn’t have a sign. Then we saw Clint and Jodi, but pretty soon Mom told us to get inside cause the workers were weirding her out and said they were calling the police. Dick and Roxy came and we told them about it cause Mom heard them say “call the cops” so she thought there was some disgruntle customer in the drive through, but later at the motorhome when everyone came back to eat, Roxy said that after we left she heard them saying that earlier that morning that location had been targeted and vandalized or something and thought when Kassie was protesting and that it had been us and we had come back. So Kassie made a salad and I a sandwich for lunch and everyone ate in the motorhome and had a good time then got back on the road. We finally got to Wildrose and drove through in the motorhome and the streets were empty, ran into Clint and Jodi and went back to Karen and Dennis’ house where Derek and Staci were with Jerome and Ilene as well. Pulled up and started saying hello to everyone. Talked with family and did introductions, took pictures by the horses and talked with Dennis about what it means to break in a horse, the next one to get it was going to be Butter. Finally ate some dinner though I wasn’t really hungry, but it was good with down home cooking, went and sat outside with Aubs at a picnic table then on a little buggy seat that bounced up and down, Casey didn’t want to eat all of her burger but Jodi was going to make her so I took a big bite. Dessert was the best, different kinds of rice crispy treats and some other amalgam of goodies with m&ms peanut butter, some sort of crust and chocolate, mmmm, it was all so good. Played with little cousin Aidan who is very smart and was digging in the ice tub with a spoon. Helped Dad set up the tent and Dennis brought us out ice cream and a large hammer, though later he brought a smaller one for Dad to use. Played a game of Boggle in the tent with Mom and I got the word “tofu” oh yeah, the only one too. Sat around the fire for a while and someone set up the volley ball net so there was a game of that going on too. Finally it got late so everyone went to bed, Alishia was starting to be pouty and whiney and when we went out to the tent she threw a fit and went inside to sleep in there. Kassie and I got our own beds (it’s good that Lish left cause she took the biggest mattress) and I slept really well.

Playing catch up

Thursday 7/14, On the flight I probably got an hour or hour and a half of sleep but the flight was only a total of 3 hours so I’m surprised I got that much. So we land and go to baggage claim and Mom spots us right away and we go sit down by our carousel and I spot 2 rockers and am semi-interested in their existence, but then after they got their bags and instruments I see them walk over to another carousel and I decide to get a snack at Starbucks and have to walk by them and realize they’re standing with Art Alexekis from Everclear. So I get my snack and head back to tell the girls and we all gawk then go upstairs to meet Dad and they totally are checking out Mom; depressing. Then Dad calls and says he’s downstairs so we go back down, load up and head out. We got lost at some point but saw a lot of beautiful houses, got directions, stopped at a gas station (Lish and I peed) and then to Uncle Dick’s. Uncle Larry was there to greet us and I went inside for a while and chatted with everyone and ate breakfast with Dad, Roxy, Larry, Mom and Aubs, had a cream filled donut even though I ate a big muffin at the airport, it was from Toby’s, yum! Then I went out to the motorhome and fell asleep with Kassie and woke up not much later and got ready. Found Aubs and we ran around and took a picture and she tried to hoist me onto the motorhome but I couldn’t stop laughing. Oh, did I mention it’s hotter than hell there? And humid too, like 118%. Beau shows up and we hang with him for a while cause all the adults went into town so we hung inside cause it had nice AC. Finally they came back and we all headed out to see Grandma and since I had used up all my film Dad took it to Target to get developed for me and Aubs brought the lyrics for the goat song and when we all got there we sang it and Grandma's roommate sang along too, it was fun. Grandma was out of it for a while but Kassie and I held her hands for a long time and talked to her and she started talking. She kept asking who Larry was and said Rosemary was pretty, said that all of us had beautiful hair and asked us what color our eyes are. Dad went and got my film so I showed everyone the pics. We reminisced about Grandma and the farm and her cookies and she said she wished she had made something for us to eat but we told her it was ok, and Dad took lots of pictures and Grandma had her frown-smile, so overall we had a nice visit and I’m glad we got to see her again and talk with her even if she doesn’t remember who we are. We left there and went to Dairy Queen and Rosemary bought treats, I ordered a small Oreo Blizzard but the ice cream was piled so high out of the cup, it was practically a large. Then Uncle Larry tried to lose us being an unusually crazy driver and everyone yelled at him mostly Rosemary and we got gas then Dad, Aubs, Kassie and I went to the all natural store in Litchfield and I bought chapstick and they had all of these great free samples of shampoos and EmergenC and when they ring you up you pick a piece of paper out of the basket and that’s how much you get off of your purchase, I got 5% and Kassie got 10%. We went back to Uncle Dick’s and loaded up and took off and dumped the holding tank and Uncle Larry opened the gate for us and then got on our way to Fargo and started the OC and got Kassie hooked. We got to Fargo for the night and Dad got us a hotel room and we ran into Clint, Jodi, Casey and Dylan and we all walked to dinner and I had a Mediterranean chicken sandwich that was good and we left to go back to the motorhome to finish our episode with Casey and got her hooked too. Finished it just in time as Mom and Dad were getting back and headed up to our room then I went back down to the lobby and called Court and we chatted for a while then Lish sent me out to the mortorhome for meds but I couldn’t get in so I found the vending machine for her and we went back up and all of us talked for a long time before going to bed. Long day.

Wednesday 7/13, I left work at 12:00 and went home and B was there and I made us some lunch. I had my leftovers and he had these chimichangas or whatever and then I packed the rest of my stuff and we took off for Leavenworth. Stopped in Monroe for B to get gas and saw a bad ass biker dude with a Jesus jacket on and riding a crotch rocket, thought he was like 60. Got to the property and showed B around and unloaded my car of Dad’s tools. Went down to the river and I saw a snake, then headed out but stopped by Morey’s (not there) and left except I forgot my sunglasses so we had to go back, then we were on our way. Stopped at 59er Diner for blackberry milkshake that we shared and headed straight home to his house via Everett. Got there and Sky and Chrystol had baked Macaroni, so B and I went upstairs for a while then out to the hammock and laid in it for a while then dinner was ready so we went in and Chrystol made me a little bowl and I ate it then I called Kassie and she told me I could come over so at 8:30 or 9:00 B took me over but I didn’t think she was there but found out that her car was just in the shop. So we hung out for a while and I laid down in her room while she got ready and I think we finally left her house around 11:15 for Moms. We got there quickly and took off for the airport. I thought Mom was drunk but Kassie just thinks that Mom thinks she’s hilarious. Got through everything fine and to our gate with a little stop at a magazine store.

Tuesday 7/12, B came over to my house and we went to the eyeglasses place on 8th and picked out some glasses. We saw Susan on the way there and we chatted while stopped at the red light. After we ordered my glasses I think we went to the little teriyaki place by Quiznos but it wasn’t very good and after that over to Nordstrom so I could get my eye shadow. Then we went home.

Monday 7/11, Ok sike, Kay-See and I hung out on Monday and this is what happened: I was going to drive to Erin’s to return the steamer she let me borrow and meet Kay-See for dinner. Instead, we decided to meet in Bellevue and K would just return the steamer for me, which is a good thing cause I guess after we hung up they closed the freeway in Kirkland or something. So we met at PF Changs but I got there before she did so I put our name down, got a vibrator and sat out on the fireplace. I saw this hot guy go by with shaggy hair and followed him with my eyes all the way up the stairs. Then K got there and we just sat and talked for a while, then my mystery man came back down the stairs in some form of workout wear and Kay-See was like, “I saw that guy and thought of you” and I was like, Oh my word, I just saw him and thought he was hot! But she didn’t like his shaggy hair, but that’s a trademark look that I go for, so then he drops his wallet or whatever and bends over to pick it up and I’m like, oh yeah! So then we get seated and order and there are a couple of cute waiters, one short one for Kay-See, and a shaggy one for me. Dinner was good then we went back up to my car cause I had a surprise for Kay-See: Bobby T video. OH YEAH! Then I dropped her at her car, but as I was driving out she called me and reminded me about the steamer so we met at Wendy’s and as soon as she got out of her car she realized that her keys were in the ignition and her door was locked. So we sat in my car and she called her parents and we just chatted then they got there and we left. That’s all I remember from that night. Maybe B came over and spent the night and I packed. Don’t remember.

Sunday 7/10, I forgot to mention that on Sunday, B and I (before seeing the open houses) went to Kassie’s eyeglasses place and tried on like every pair of glasses in the joint, but only one pair kind of looked good on me and they were $255, yeah, no. After that we went to the open houses.

Holy shit

It's been so long I don't even remember what I did in the last two weeks, it's been more than that I think. Shit. Ok, here goes, but I really don't remember a lot of stuff. Ok, so I left off on Thur after dancing, but Christ if I can remember what I did that Friday or weekend...now I really wish I could remember.

Sunday 7/10, B and I went and looked at some open houses, one really cute spacious condo on Eastlake with private entry 2 bed/2 bath, view, underground parking, I really liked it. Then we went to another open house that I've been in love with for a long time, $4.3 million, so we saw that and it was amazing...5 stories, kept going and going, had an entire floor for the master suite, as soon as I saw the closet I squealed and jumped up and down...B just laughed. The agent was very nice considering it was more than obvious we were not there to seriously look. After that B and I drove around and looked at houses and went to some park with nasty water, and talked about our life plan and how to buy a house like that one. We went to eat at this one place but it was closed so we went to Pagliacci and got a good slice and then to Tower for my Q. Went back to B's and watched Harry Potter #3 and watched old videos on the camcorder. He couldn't even watch them he thought they were so bad. I found the Mexico, my Thom, and room videos. After that I went home.

Saturday 7/9, So I got up and called Jess on my way up but she was going to be a little while so I took my time and stopped at the store up in Stanwood to buy some flowers for Jess' mom as a thank you. I got there and hung out with Day and Jack and just chatted until Jess got there in her Dad's sassy new red Mercedes (covertible). We hung out and then took a ride to go get her Mom cigs so we talked for a while, got lost, and then headed back cause Megan was there. We hung out there and I had brought my video camera and Mexico tape, so after lunch (went to Country Burger and I ate a lot of Jess' ice cream and she got a picture on her camera that I need to get, Day bought lunch) we watched the video and it was terrible. Yikes. Anyway, then it was time for Jess to go to her cousin's wedding so I followed her to her Dad's house, which is waaaay north, and she showed me where they're living now and I talked to her Dad while she got ready. Eventually we were off and that was the last I saw of her after we got to the freeway (by auntie Evie's dream house, and where we stopped to eat before Peter and Michelle's wedding). I went home and don't remember what I did for the rest of the night, but I'm pretty sure I went to B's and we probably did something.

Friday 7/8, I think that I took it easy on Friday night and watched a movie or something and prepped to go to Jess' mom's in the morn.

Thursday 7/7, I got ready after work to go dancing, went over to B's house and Chrystol had made dinner and insisted that I eat an ear of corn, so I did. I'm convinced now that Jason doesn't like me...he wouldn't even look at me the entire time we were having dinner, even when I would talk he wouldn't even look at me. So weird...maybe I'll ask B about it, but I mean really, what did I do to warrant that? Maybe B bitches about me to him and he doesn't know how to react or something. Who knows...I do know that Chrystol and Sky like me cause they laugh at my jokes and talk to me and look at me, so that's good. I ate a piece of cheesecake after dinner and then they all left to go to the store and B and I talked about vacationing and I wanted to show him this place in Arizona but the net wasn't working so instead we laid around and talked about alcohol for a long time but then it was time to go. Met Susan in the garage and we nixed going to Tower so we just sat in her car until 10:30 then went in and my bf let us in without showing our ids. We went to the bathroom and a trannie said that we looked cute or something. Then we went upstairs for a while and watched all of the regulars then went down to get a drink and Mickey came on so we went to dance. There was this one really freaky girl dancing all weird and all over the place and this group of guys who just kept staring at us so we moved and eventually they left. Some guy asked if I wanted to dance and I was like "no thanks" waving my hand, then he tried to ask Susan and I told him that she wasn't interested either. Kyle finally got there but then his bf was there so he didn't pay attention to us. Tall and Skinny was there but I liked his friend, he was a real sassy dancer. It was after midnight and a bad song came on so I asked Susan if she would walk me to my car so we left and my bf was disappointed but I couldn't talk to him cause all these guys came up to get in and he had to check their ids. After I dropped Susan off I got on I-5 ok, but then getting to 90 was a pain in my ass and I had to take this bs detour but finally got home and Pat was still up with the tv blaring...fuck I can't wait until he moves out. UGGGG.

Wednesday 7/6, B came over and I made some Chinese Mandarin chicken stuff and rice that wasn't terribly good...the rice was fine, the chicken...um, not so much. Oh well, now I know not to get it again. We watched Being Julia and thought that that was ok then we just kind of went to bed. Nothing very interesting.

4th Celebrations

Tuesday 7/5, Woke up at 8:30 and left by 9:15 but Day wanted to feed me breakfast even though I was still full from the night before, Jess got me my movie covers, and then I took off, made it home kind of quickly and got ready for work and headed out. Got to the post office by 10:30 and worked for the rest of the day. Went shopping after work and talked to Kristel on the phone for a while, and then just laid around and started watching the last 6 episodes of Sex and the City. Made dinner, though B said he would come over, he didn’t and I watched all episodes before going to bed.

Monday 7/4, I got up kind of early on Monday even though I stayed up kind of late and got ready and headed out the door to Jessica’s Mom’s house. I was early so I thought I would stop at Mom’s on the way and say hi. So I went there and hung out for an hour or so and we talked about B and the garbage man that’s a jerk then I left. I flew up to Lake Goodwin in about an hour…I was shocked, I didn’t even get through my whole Bravery cd…crazy, I’ve never made it up there that quickly…due to no traffic and high rates of travel. I met Jess and Bora at the convenience store for them to get gas and some idiot was taking up two pumps just to fill up a stupid little plastic container. We went back to Day’s house and just hung out, said hi to Jack who Day is dating again, unloaded Jess’ car and started eating almost immediately. Then Day sent us to Boom City for fireworks and gave us $300 plus her credit card, so we took some back way that her Dad had suggested but ended up taking a long time, but we finally got there and hit our first stand, blew through $100, then headed back to the car and Bora was like “Good, let’s get out of here, this is depressing” but we were like, oh no we don’t, we still have $200 left. So we hit another one, got some good deals, then the third one where this lady was practically giving us all of this stuff, 2 for 1 deals, free stuff, it was great, so we loaded the car and went back via a faster way. More people had showed up by the time we got back and we all got changed into our suits and went and laid out in the sun. Bora totally oiled himself up for some serious tanning, while all of us munched on food and helped set things out. This parade of boats came by the front of Day’s dock and Jess was like “Let’s go get that flag on my Mom’s porch and get on the jet ski and join in!” At some point Jess and I got on the jet ski and cruised around, but not in the parade, and that was really fun and we totally got drenched at one point and just laughed and laughed, then we went and laid out some more and Billy came over and Jess and I were joking that Billy was going to challenge Bora to a “jet-ski-off” but Bora wouldn’t care cause he has a better tan. Billy came over and was like “Who is this dark, tan, oiled up European?” which made us laugh for the rest of the night, and eventually he left to go do his tricks. Finally we ate dinner but we were all so full from before that no one really ate that much and Day got mad no one was eating her ribs or chicken so I went and had a piece. I got burned on my right thigh and ass, but not too bad and then we went to go get Bora some more film cause Jess used like 3 pictures on the boat parade. We had to go to a place closer to the freeway and then I got service so I called B and we both said I love you at the same time even though we never say it on the phone, it was so cute. Then I called Peggy and she said that I could come in late the next day so that I wouldn’t have to drive back, yay! Got back had some dessert, sat inside with Jed for a while and read my magazine, then it was getting dark enough for fireworks. The neighbors on either side had really good ones and must have spent thousands on them cause they were so good, and the ones across the lake were really good too. We were joking that Billy was trying to hit our dock with his fireworks, some of his were really tiny and we were like “Sorry Billy, that one sucked” and then we laughed about Billy getting on his jet ski and putting fireworks on the back and doing tricks that way to show off for Jessica and make Bora look bad. Finally they were done and everyone left and we went to bed, I crashed right away.

What a weekend!

Sunday 7/3, we got up and went to Trader Joe’s and got some lunch and cheesecake and came back and fixed it all up. B and I went to U Village to go to Barnes & Noble and looked around there for a while and then we went back to his house so he could go play pickle ball with his friends. I read upstairs for a long time, fell asleep, played on the computer, etc. He was going to go to my house to do laundry, but then said he was going to stay and go with Jason to the Boys and Girls Club, so he told me I could stay but I had stuff to do so I didn’t. Went home and did laundry myself and finalized plans to go to Jess’ house the next day. Went to bed kind of late.

Saturday 7/2, Woke up kind of early and headed out to Kassie’s and told B I would just call him later cause I had lots of plans. Got to Kassie’s and got ready there and took off to pick up Chels and then we headed off to her bridal shower in Bothell. That was fun and I won one of the games, ate lots of chocolate covered strawberries, and had some laughs while trying to do the ribbon bouquet. We were there until like 2:00 or something and then we left with the back of the car packed full of stuff, but her cousin told her she couldn’t use any of it, and I was like “fuck that shit, you’re making waffles!” so it was funny. Got to Kassie’s, then I drove home and Susan was going to come over to talk, so I took a shower and just got out when she got there, we talked for a long time then went to Target and ended up at Red Robin, and I ate too much but it was good anyway. Got back to my house and we talked some more but then she left and I called B and went over to his house and everyone left but we stayed and went for a walk and ended up at Gasworks and up at the top of a hill on a bench and just talked. Eventually went to bed, not too late cause I was tired from the day’s events.

Friday 7/1, I got off kind of early cause I had to drop some stuff at a client’s, but then headed into Seattle to Kassie’s for Chelsea’s surprise party. I got down there with little traffic but felt so gross that I wanted to shower so I did, then got ready. Chels’ parents got there and I helped Uncle Mike put up the décor but cut my finger and hand on the tape dispenser…there was sooo much food, and it was all very good, Kassie was running around trying to finalize things, Zack had baked a cake (which I found out later, was delicious!) and we started to get ready for Chels to get there cause Kassie made the call and she was pissed she had to come over to the house to pick Kassie up and help her with her cupcakes, but she was going to, and then she called her Mom and was like “Kassie’s late!” and apparently Zack was egging her on all the way over. She got there, we totally surprised her and it was hilarious. I had wrapped up some of my Costco Kashi Go Lean Crunch for her, and she loved that. Talked to her Grandma for a while who had had too much fruit. Watched a video by Garret from his Fruit Boots series which was absolutely hilarious, fantastic. I was irritated with B but more irritated with myself so I won’t go into it. I eventually fell asleep in Kassie’s room but then got up around 10:00 and talked to B and went over there. He was just sitting around reading magazines and I went to bed and he didn’t join me until after I fell asleep so I probably just should have stayed at Kassie’s but oh well, I read a little and then went to sleep.

Thursday 6/30, Ok, then yesterday, was another exciting one. So after work I had to stop at the store to get supplies for the party and also to get cash for Neighbours, so I did that, then went home. I made some calls but no one was answering so I took a shower and talked to B who was making dinner for his roomies and said I could come over but I told him I was going to take my time cause I don’t want to sit in traffic and I wasn’t close to being ready to go anyway. Also talked to Jess and decided that we would meet up early and hang out before Neighbours. Also talked to Susan who wasn’t sure if she was going to go or not, but was going to take a nap and see how she felt cause she was feeling like shiiiit. So I left my house at 7:00 and they were still making dinner when I got there so I read my magazine and brought a new one to Chrystol and she was grateful and also brought an article to Jason about plants but he didn’t seem to care at all, leaving me with no conclusion but that he doesn’t really like me…which is too bad cause I like him. What can you do? Nothing, I presented my peace offering and he didn’t respond so I guess I’m not going to force it. Maybe he just misses his woman and is easily irritable. Who knows. Anyway, so they ate dinner and Chrystol and I talked about Sex and the City and had some laughs doing that, then B and I hung out in his room for a while with multiple interruptions but it all worked out. Then I was running late leaving, but got to Capitol Hill fairly easily. Jess and Bora were waiting outside the Egyptian for me, but since they changed the rules at the parking garage now you have to park all the way on the bottom and I felt like I was going to get raped, but I didn’t so that’s good. The three of us tried to find a place to get coffee but everywhere was closed so we decided to walk back to my car, put my stuff inside and go into the club, which Jess didn’t tell Bora was a gay club. Called Susan and told her about the new parking thing and then we went in. My bouncer bf didn’t even card me, yay! But did Jess and Bora, who forgot his passport and only brought his Swedish driver’s license, but that worked so we all got in with no problems. We went upstairs and just watched the crazy guy and his girlfriend dance like weirdos… “If you’re at a loss for dance moves, just take off your shoes and skip around the dance floor” it was funny. Then Bora went to go get drinks and came back and was like “Is the name of this place “Gay City”?” she was like, no it’s Neighbours. It was hilarious, so we watched people dance and then I told them I was going to go wait outside for Susan so I went out there and talked with my bouncer bf for like 10 minutes and he told me all about the Philippines then Susan came and called me a tramp or a slut or something, so we went in and Susan didn’t have to show her id either, he was like, “You’re not really going to get your id out are you?” she was like, no my money. Oooh snap! So we went upstairs and did introductions and hung up there for a while then went down and started dancing but Bora stayed up above and watched. There was sooo much action last night it was crazy. Bouncer told me I have to come on a Friday or Saturday cause it’s crazy and then stay late, I don’t think so, but we’ll let it be a conversation topic I suppose. This one guy was cute and kept making his way over toward us, he had kind of floppy hair and had a style a little like Beck I would say…or not, but he was cute and Susan and I kept our eye on him. Meanwhile we were all dancing and Sebastian showed up, and Jess and I were busting out some truly amazing dance moves and Susan was slapping my ass, it was funny. Went outside for fresh air at some point and talked to bouncer again then went in for a few more songs and Bora danced, yay, but we busted in on “Beck” dancing (or maybe it was lurking around) with Susan so we broke up that party, whoops, then they needed to go and as we were walking out I saw “Beck” sitting at the tables on the side up against the wall with the Asian trannie that was hitting on Bora earlier, and he was kissing her(?) neck and stuff, I was shocked and couldn’t wait to tell Susan but it had to wait until I got back. So they got some water and I walked them out and said goodbye and told bouncer I was staying for a little while longer. So then “Beck” is back over by Susan again so I horned in and started dancing and told her I had to tell her something but not right there, but she couldn’t wait so I told her and she was shocked. Then we were back into dancing and someone grabbed both our heads from up above, I figured it was going to be Kyle since he’s the only one who knows us well enough to do that kind of thing, but he wasn’t there cause he was sick, and we look up and it’s Craig! Crazy! So I go up and talk to him for a bit and he told me what time it was and when they were having some more shows and then Susan had something to tell me but couldn’t in front of Craig plus I was up too high to get close enough, so then I’m in mid-sentence and a song comes on and Craig’s like, “Sorry, I HAVE to dance to this song” and just leaves, so I’m like, okkkkkkkkkkkk, and think about what I’m going to do, but then I hear something faint and I look over and Craig is standing there and he’s like “Do you want to go dance?” !!!!! what?!?!?!! Ok, now I’m really sketched out, but I was like, no I need to go actually, but I followed him onto the dance floor and told Susan and she asked S if he would walk her to her car later and he said yes, oh and then Tall and Skinny was right behind me talking to Craig, so funny, so then we left and I said bye to my bouncer bf and he was like “One of these days you have to stay until close” so I told him maybe on the night before my birthday, we’ll see, I know Craig has a show that night, so I’ll have to work my calendar out. Ha. Ok, so we leave and I turn around and bouncer is still checking us out, ha! We were gossiping all the way down the alley. We get to my car and then I drive Susan back and we’re laughing about Craig “I said tall and skinny not tall and orange!” or tall and neurotic. God it was hilarious, so I drop her off, but look who comes walking out of the club at the same time, CRAIG, so Susan talks to him for a second and then I ask him if he needs a ride so he gets in and is going to move his car, down at Bauhaus like 8 blocks, so he’s like, “You guys were at the show right?” and I was like, well actually and told him our excuse but I don’t think I was very convincing…but I got him to Bauhaus and then we were both trying to figure out where I supposed to get on the freeway and did, so he gave me another hug (gave me one earlier when I was going to leave) and I drove home. Susan wrote me an email today that said that “Beck” made a move but has a super high voice, besides the fact that he’s a “trannie kisser” the name Susan gave him cause she couldn’t remember his real one. Also she said Craig was acting weird, maybe I scared him with my crazy eyes or maybe he was devastated that we didn’t stay for his show, who knows, all I know is that it was a crazy eventful night and I had soooo much fun! Yay!

Wednesday 6/29, Ok so much to write about in the last two days, so I’ll start at the beginning. On Wednesday Peggy let me leave like 12 minutes early so I got a head start on my trip to B’s house. I was going to his house so I could get ready and then we were going to go downtown together. So we both got ready and hit the road, we parked under the viaduct and took the elevators up. We were the first to arrive so we sat down at a table because our regular table wasn’t ready yet and everyone else was running late. B ordered us some orange-y drink and then Julien called but I couldn’t hear him so I told him I’d call him the next day, then Jess called and said that she was stuck in Northgate but that they’d be there as soon as they could, then Missy beeped in and said they were just getting off of the freeway and then they got there and we went and sat at the bar and had drinks, then got seated at our table and Jess said that they would be there in 5 minutes "max", but it was a little longer than that but her and Bora showed up and we did hugs and introductions and then just chatted and ate. I had some primavera pasta that was pretty good, but Missy’s lasagna was better so next time I’ll get that, B didn’t get a very big portion so as a result got a huge piece of tiramisu because the strawberry shortcake was gone. Jessica got a twin muscle in her soup and tried to pawn it off on Bora but B ate it instead. We had a really nice dinner and had plenty to talk about and laugh about. Our waitress kept saying “dawling” to everyone and told us she loved us cause we split the check up, it was funny. Then we all walked down toward where we parked cause the rest of the kids were going to go to a bar and hang out for a while, but B and I needed to get home so we left and then I left B’s after dropping him off and grabbing my stuff and got home around 10:30 or so.