Kristen in Town!

Last weekend, we greatly enjoyed having Kristen around. She motivated us to take some pictures of our home and where we work, so all of you in Michigan and beyond can have a better idea of our daily life. She seemed to indicate that everyone thought we have no furniture. You can see from our pictures that our home has indeed become more home-like in the last year or so (though not entirely clean).

Kristen arrived after our workday on Friday. Kayle and I both went to pick her up from the airport. At home, we spent the evening playing some of the new rules for Settlers that came with the "Traders and Barbarians" version we got for Christmas. On Saturday, we decided to use a coupon for an authentic Greek and Italian place in Bothell. Though farther than we have ever gone by bicycle, we decided to bike on the trail to enjoy what turned out to be a warm, sunny day. The trail was paved most of the way though we hit some spots north of the University of Washington campus where the path was under construction or gravel or dirt. We also had an adventure trying to find the place, since we had never been there before and needed to find some new trails. We took the tandem bike and Kayle's bike, and Kristen and Kayle alternated between the two. Finally, after about an hour and 12 miles of pedalling, we made it to Tona's restaurant...only to find it closed. We arrived at about 11:45 and they were scheduled to open at noon. Around 12:20, the owner showed up saying that traffic was all backed up. She was wonderful and cooked all the food herself. The restaurant is a family business and she is the primary chef. We shared warm pita bread with the only hummus I have ever considered delicious. Kayle had a flaky calzone. Kristen enjoyed some sort of chicken/teriyaki salad, and I had the Greek sampler platter. We are very glad we waited "just a little longer" and resisted the urge to cross the street to McDonald's. The way home was less eventful, but we were all definitely sore. We walked our bikes up the entire last hill to our condo and then promptly took a two-hour nap. In the evening, we lounged around and watched "Ever After" (one of my favorite movies and one that Kristen had never seen).

On Sunday, Kayle and Kristen dropped me off at church to teach Sunday school and proceeded to Snoqualmie Falls, about an hour away. They hiked about 1 mile down to the base of the falls before coming back for the 11:15 church service. We went home for about an hour before going to Jeff and Paula's for a Super Bowl party. There, we ate chips and salsa, veggies, and chili while cheering on the Colts/Saints. Jeff and Paula traditionally have everyone try to guess the winning team, spread, and final score to win a DVD as a prize. Almost everyone bet on the Colts to win, so I had the winning guess with the Saints up by 10. I was a little torn cheering for Reggie Bush's team after his role in the crushing defeat of Notre Dame vs. USC several years ago. However, our family has a long history of cheering for the "underdogs" or whichever team everyone else/Aaron doesn't pick.

On Monday, Kayle went to work as usual, but I took a day off to take Kristen into Seattle. We visited both of my schools and then went down to Tukwila to Seattle Chocolates. About two weeks ago, I bought a coupon for chocolate and a romantic short films DVD (selected as the best short films of hundreds of film festivals). Since we have busy weekends both before and after Valentines' Day, Kayle and I wanted to spend the holiday at home. Of course, the 1 lb of chocolate that came with the coupon just wasn't enough! They had a deal running where you could fill a bag with the slightly defective truffles for $7.50. So, we filled 1 bag with another 2-3 lbs of espresso, dark chocolate, raspberry, blackberry, and toffee truffles. Good deal money-wise but perhaps not health-wise. Afterwards, we drove back to Overlake Transit Center (near Kayle's work) to take a bus into Seattle. We walked around Pike's Place Market, bought some fresh produce at a stand, and hiked about 2 miles to Seattle Center and back. At Seattle Center, we saw the space needle, enjoyed a musical fountain, and shared an Orange Julius and coffee. All in all, I think Kristen got a good feel for Seattle life. Of course, the all-day conversation was a highlight as well. At night, we picked up Kayle from work and made a homemade rosemary chicken and bacon pizza for dinner.

On Tuesday morning, we said our goodbyes. Kristen had a few hours home alone to pack while Kayle and I were at work. In the middle of the day, Kayle took her to the airport for her plane to LA and, eventually, Australia. Meanwhile, after work, Kayle and I went to CG with a pineapple and some clementines. I recently started with a new student on Tuesdays until 6, so it will be quite a rush to make it to CG by 6:30. I think our menu contributions will be more pathetic for a while. Wednesday was a smaller group than normal too (only 4 couples), since 3 or 4 other famililes are all sick. We enjoyed the smaller group discussion and prayer time especially when we were interrupted at one point with a very loud and cheerful celebration over a lost tooth.

Yesterday was youth group after work. Two girls did a great job leading the discussion. I'm also excited about a brief service project this weekend. Hope Unlimited (where Cody went in Brazil) sent a letter asking people to make valentines for the girls in their orphanage. I called the office and got the names of all 81 girls they house. On Saturday, we're going to have a 2-hour valentine-making party to make as many as we can. My youth group girls are very artistic, so I hope they have fun with it!

Well, that's all for this week. We're planning to babysit for Grace tonight and then have a relatively quiet Valentines' Day weekend. I have off on Monday for President's Day too. We miss you and love you!

Angie and Kayle