Outdoor Movie Night

A couple weeks ago we went down to Redmond to the Movies @ Marymoor. Every summer on Wednesday nights they show movies on a blow up big screen at the park for $5. It certainly didn't look like the above (wouldn't that be a sweet set up in the backyard though?) but it was too dark by the time I thought about taking any pictures. We caught the last movie of the summer and lucked out because they happened to be showing one of both Zach and my favorite movies of all time - The Princess Bride. If you haven't seen it, shame on you. It's a classic (from the 80s) and is a chick-flick-comedy/satire-action movie all wrapped into one. Trust me. Watch it. My favorite scene is the sword fight.

We didn't bring any food, hoping that we'd get food there. Turns out they had one food truck (with delicious organic burgers), kettle corn, and a candy truck. Not much selection. If we go next summer, we are definitely bringing our own food and drinks! I ended up standing in line for 45 minutes (and half hour into the movie) waiting for those delicious burgers while Zach held our spot on the lawn (we brought blankets, but you could bring lawn chairs too!). Not ideal, but it worked out. At least I had already seen the movie. 

We tried bringing the pups, but Buster has been having trouble lately around other dogs. He barks quite ferociously. Probably because he is in the back yard all day (guilty mama right here...)? And Brody just follows suit. So, we left them in the car and they took a nice nap.

Best part of the night - Inigo Montoya: "I want my father back, you son of a bitch!" And the crowd goes wild... Awesome. 

Have you ever been to an outdoor movie? I hear the one at Redhook is pretty good too. I just love the experience and would definitely do it again!

Photo found here.

Renton River Days

Happy August! I can't believe we are already this far into summer! It seems like just yesterday we had our first few sun breaks right after the 4th of July...

Saturday we stopped by Renton River Days, which is basically Renton's annual fair without the rides. And it's just down the street from us in downtown Renton! I had heard about the event before, but found out about it this year while on my way home last week - I saw a mini circus set up outside at the Renton Community Center. Turns out it was the Wenatchee Youth Circus performing all weekend!

Zach and I love being tourists in our own city (Exhibit A) so we made our way downtown to take it all in. On the walk to Liberty Park, we were surprised by how peaceful and calm it was to walk along the Cedar River. So pretty!

There were tons of booths with local vendors. My favorite was the booth with the real life angry birds game (although I can't remember who was actually running this booth - a bank maybe?).

I loved these wooden salt + pepper shakers.

I liked the maps in the background of these paintings of local landmarks.

These lanterns would be fun for the backyard.

This structure was made out of a ton of pots and pans and metal. They had drum sticks for the kids to pound away and make some sweet music (you can see the little girl taking some in the bottom left of the picture). 

Of course, we had to stop by and grab some grub. We figured we'd be safe by picking the longest line, so we stuck it out for the gyros (Does anyone else have trouble pronouncing that word? Just me?). They weren't bad, but I've had better. In true fair fashion, we ended the day with an elephant ear. It was that or the deep fried Twinkies, but Zach had to go with the old standby.

We had a great time, but I would say the River Days are definitely geared more towards kids. While they didn't have any rides, they had a ton of kid stuff - rock climbing wall, bouncy house, and fire trucks galore. They even had the fire hose going for the kids to run through. So if you have kids, Renton River Days is perfect!

What fun summer events does you have in your hometown?

Also - can we just talk about the time delay for the Olympics? I am trying to stay off facebook (and other social media) to avoid hearing results, but forgot last night and found out the women's gymnastics results before I watched. Booo! I know it's tough with the live versions happening 9 hours ahead, but I still want there to be some suspense! U-S-A! U-S-A!

The Great Wheel

We took advantage of the sun on Saturday after Zach's shift at the hospital (and so it begins...) and went downtown to hang out. Our first mission was food. I'd never been to Ivar's down on the pier, so I suggested we go there. It was so busy! And it was so weird the way you order and pay there. Everyone stands in line, you give them your order (your fried order only!) then you step back and wait. Then they call out your fried order and you go up and tell them you want a drink, etc. and pay. It's just really weird and hectic when it's so busy because everyone is confused, then you have to get back in line and everyone huddles towards the counter in fear that their order won't be called. Weird, Ivar's. Just weird. Anyways, we both got fish and chips and they were pretty tasty. 

From there we were on a mission to The Great Wheel! I was so excited (as I mentioned here)! I was prepared to wait in line for hours, but the whole process (from getting into line to getting off the wheel) only took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Not as bad as I thought. One way to save time (we realized after it was too late) is to buy the tickets online before you get there (tickets are $13/adult). That way you can skip the ticket line and head straight to the wheel line. Since it was such a beautiful day it wasn't so bad standing around in line though. 

We figured a few things out while we were standing in line (we're like that). There are 42 gondolas (we may have counted) including one VIP gondola (it's the black one and it has leather seats and a glass bottom!). Six people can fit into each gondola so if you are with a smaller party, be prepared to share. We were in a gondola with three other lovely ladies and chose to face towards the city.

The ride was surprisingly smooth and very sturdy. Very little swinging at all and there was even A/C! The last time I was on a Ferris Wheel was at California Adventure and it was so scary! The gondola rocked and there was nothing to hold on to so I thought I was going to fly right out! The Seattle Great Wheel was nothing like that (in case you are afraid of heights). Super smooth and while it is high, the views are worth it. We were constantly twisting and turning to see everything around us. 

Oh, and you go around five times - once to load, three full times, once to unload. Overall, it's about a 15-20 minute ride. 

After the Great Wheel, we hit up the Seattle Antiques Market (under the viaduct) and then went up to Pike's Place (we like being tourists in our own town:). I love Pike's Place Market. Just walking around, seeing all the different people and art and flowers and fish. Especially on a nice day, it will never grow old for me. :)

We picked up some delicious raspberries (and later made some delicious raspberry cobbler!) and the mister even bought his lady some sweet peas for the road (they smell so good). The peonies were also out in full bloom and were gorgeous!

On our way through Westlake Center, I noticed the trees in the courtyard had their trunks painted bright blue. Crazy, huh?

The whole day was awesome and perfect and everything that I love about being in Seattle. Such a great city. We love you, Seattle!

Fort Flagler Camping

Hello! How was your weekend? Ours we pretty good... we went camping! Zach's parents have a pretty sweet camper (with pop out) with a queen bed, kitchenette, bathroom, dining table (that folds down in to where we slept) and a full couch and two chairs for lounging. It's big and nice and warm and dry. It was supposed to be rainy all weekend but it turned out to be partly sunny! A little windy at times, but still dry, which was great. 

We were camping up at Fort Flagler, which was a really nice camp ground on the peninsula up North by Port Townsend. We roasted mallows, walked the puppies on the beach, played lots of cards. It was a pretty relaxing weekend! Here's some more of our weekend in instagrams (follow @mykane!)...

What did you guys do this weekend?

Twin Falls Hike

A month or so ago we went on a little hiking adventure since the sun was (finally) shining! We originally planned to go to Snoqualmie Falls, but discovered the hiking trails are closed until 2013! Boo. A coworker told me about Twin Falls and we decided to check it out instead. And we are glad we did!

The trail head is about a 30 minute drive Northeast of our place in Renton, so not too far. We had to pay $10 to use the trail (or, you can pay around $30 for a yearly pass - which we will probably be doing next time!), but I'd say it was worth it. It's not a hard hike, but was just right for me (me, being out of shape). The trial was a little uneven in places... literally within five minutes on the trail, I rolled my ankle on a tree root. But I walked it off and persevered! 

The trail runs along the river and then goes up and back down and then up again until you reach the Twin Falls. It was a pretty hike with all the tall green trees. It's a big change from our desert hiking days in Arizona!

There's a cool bridge that stretches across the falls giving you a great view. Perfect for some impromptu family photos (yeah, we are that dorky with our matching vests. :). Once we got to the bridge, we turned around to head back. It was a fun hike and we will definitely be going back!