Morning at the Zahnisers...

This is the funniest thing I have seen all week. I think this cartoonist has a hidden video camera in our house because this is what we go through every morning. Bear thinks his breakfast should be served promptly at 6am.

Make sure your sound is up.

Vacation Recap - Round 4

On Sunday, we met Christy (my sister) for lunch near her house in Seattle before the Mariners game. Here we are...



At the game...


We had great seats, check out the view...

Luckily Safeco Field has a retractable roof, because it was raining that day...

The Mariner Moose!!

Mom and I in our M's gear...

And to finish a great day, they won 8-4!!

Vacation Recap - Round 3

For me, no trip to Seattle is complete without a trip to the Market... better known as Pike Place Market. I always say, if you only have one day in Seattle, you must go there. Yes, it's touristy, I know, but I still love it and probably always will. There is no way I can go there and not be in a good mood - even when it is insanely crowded. We snuck out on Saturday at 7am and headed up for a short visit before the wedding later in the afternoon.

We started the morning the only way you can at Pike Place - with a stop into the Original Starbucks. Jim grabbed this candid shot as I was stepped out onto the sidewalk.

We were actually to the Market really early, by 8am, and things were just getting set up and it was almost completely empty... I'd never seen it like this. It was cool because you could almost feel it in the air that the energy was just about to burst. By 10am these walkways would be shoulder to shoulder with people.


The fresh flowers are one of my favorite things here. They are ridiculously cheap and totally awesome...

Here is the bunch we picked out for my mom...


There are lots of old handpainted signs like this throughout the Market which add to the ambiance.

This was the stand we had breakfast from - I chose a peach and Jim chose a pear. Ordinarilly I would never eat fruit without washing it, but here, you just go with it.

Here's Jim enjoying that breakfast - actually he looks mad - but he wasn't, I swear...

Miscellaneous Produce Shots...

Pike Place is home to the "guys that throw the fish" - Here's the corner of their booth. Dungeness crabs - my favorite!

While waiting for Jim's favorite toy store to open (http://www.greatwindup.com/) , we walked down to the park behind the Market. From there, you have a view of the Port of Seattle, with its giant cranes for lifting cargo off ships...

Before leaving, we headed back to Starbucks again (hey, it's Seattle) so Jim could get a Frappucino for the road. Outside, there was this fun band playing, called Slimpickins. They had an aluminum upright bass, resonator guitar, washboard, and fiddle.

Here's a short clip of them playing...

Then it was back to the car - Jim with Monster cookie and Frappucino in tow, for the drive back home.

What a terrific way to start a morning...

Vacation Recap - Round 2...

I am going to go out of order here, since there has been such demand (amongst the 3 of you that read this:) to see the wedding pictures. This was the wedding of my "cousin" Kelsey (our parents are cousins, not sure what that makes us.) Let me just say that it was an absolutely beautiful wedding and we had a wonderful time. The setting was idyllic, the venue extrodinary, and the bride and groom stunning. I took a lot of pictures, and believe it or not, this is just a small sampling. Enjoy...

Inside the tent before the ceremony
The new couple

The view (you can see Seattle far in the distance)

Coctail hour on the patio (the weather was perfect)

My favorite shot of us from the reception
Great shot of Mom & Dad
Dad, Charley and I. Charley is Kelsey's brother and was home from Iraq for just 10 days for the wedding.

Mom and me again
Reception time

Beautiful centerpieces with limes and starfruit
Delicious and beautiful cake
Chris & Kelsey's "Ultimate Candy Bar"

Following dinner were cigars and cordials on the patio with the Father of the Bride. Here's dad lighting up.

The custom cigar box

First DanceUncle Dick and I


Uncle Dick and Dad
Having fun

Vacation Recap - Round 1....

Well, we are back from vacation, albeit a little later than expected. We got delayed by a couple of hours in Atlanta and didn't make it home until around 10pm last night. I have so many pictures that I have decided to split them up and post a group each day this week. So, for today's round, here are some shots from Friday night when we took my parents to dinner at the Lobster Shop by the waterfront in Tacoma.