h-a-double l-o-double u-double e-n...

...spells Halloween. Thanks to Mrs. Bard, my elementary school music teacher, for teaching me that song in 1st grade. Anyway.. anyone who has spent a Halloween with us should know that we love group costumes and this year was no different.



Thanks to Tracey and Leah for their fun parties this weekend, and check back for some Halloween day pictures later in the week!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Sunday night our property managers threw a pumpkin carving party and contest in the courtyard of our building. We were eager to show off our knife skills and creativity. We picked up our pumpkins at the local farmer's market for a steal of 5 pounds for $1. Unfortunately the competition snuck up on us before we could find a pick-your-own patch.

Here are Jess and Brian working on their pumpkins.



A shot of Keith and Laura carving their pumpkin heads.



The final products...

Laura & Keith's "Fisher Price Little Laura and Keith"


Jess's unofficially named Spider and Web


Brian's Johnny McCool pumpkin


Some of the other competition


Hanging out enjoying homemade cookies and some refreshments before the judging commenced.



The results are in and...

3rd Place... with a prize of a fancy pumpkin soap and a gift certificate to Bliss Soaps goes to... Laura & Keith!

2nd Place... with a prize of a gift certificate to Anthony's (supposedly one of Seattle's best restaurants) goes to Jess!

A high five for effort goes to Brian!

Not bad considering the 12 total pumpkins entered, NJ represent!

The Great Pumpkin..

..Beer Festival took place at the Elysian Brewery this Saturday. If Linus and Charlie Brown were 21 they would have been there enjoying the thirteen different pumpkin beers (plus 1 butternut squash beer) alongside us.



At least half of the beers were made at the Elysian specifically for the occasion. Some of the other breweries included Glacier Brewhouse from Anchorage, AK, Elliott Bay Brewing from Seattle, Snoqualmie Falls Brewing from Washington, and Dogfish Head. Beers were served individually or as a sampler.







The Great Pumpkin itself arose not over the pumpkin patch, but over the many beer enthusiasts. The brewmasters used their "Night Owl" original pumpkin beer recipe and brewed the beer inside the pumpkin seen below. Given the brewing conditions it was not the most carbonated of beers, but it did have an incredibly distinct pumpkin flavor.



One of the Yummiest Beers:



Most Unique Beer:

"It's all happening at the zoo.."

The Woodland Park Zoo that is. We have to start our blog by thanking the fabulous Jess, Jess, & Michele (and their significant others) for their awesome engagement present: Seattle City Passes! These passes get us admission to the zoo, aquarium, museums, and a ferry ride!


This past Saturday we drove over to the zoo on a bee-u-tiful day. That's right, bee-u-tiful. For all of you who think that it is always raining here and that we have no fall.. take a look at this:


The first attraction we visited was the jaguar. We heard him (her?) before we actually saw him and instantly knew that this jaguar was a distant cousin of Cheshire. The racket that he was making trying to cough up a hairball was audible from 25 yards away and immediately made us think of Cheshire only a few nights earlier. Cheshire has taken to eating the carpet off her new scratching post and shockingly had her first hairball... gross! Anyway, the jaguar was working on coughing up this hairball for a good ten minutes.


As we worked our way through the many regionally-named exhibits we got to see a plethora of animals. We were fortunate enough to come upon the gorillas at feeding time. We were happy to see our own distant cousins munching away on a feast of fruits and veggies. It's funny how the gorilla mothers are never pestering the gorilla sons about getting enough protein.


This guy looked like he was either pondering the possibility of escape or mourning the loss of the almighty New York Metropolitans (this revelation came only from Keith, Laura just didn't see it).


We also got to see a Grizzly Bear catch live fish and splash around in all his glory.


Disclaimer: Sometimes Laura & Keith have mixed feelings about zoos. It can often be depressing seeing animals in such tight quarters. On the other hand, the conservation effort on the part of zoos and the educational opportunities they provide are both extremely beneficial. We did not let these mixed feelings interfere with the enjoyment of our day.

Where have we been?

Well now that we are both working full time it has proven to be slightly more difficult to keep up with the blog. We no longer have full days free to fill without spending too much money. However, now that we have adjusted back to the "working" routine, we promise to be more devoted to updating the blog.

What do you get...

...when you cross a monster truck with an Oregon-based brewery? A Giant Keg on Wheels!


Yes, it actually was a mobile keg.


Keith & Laura enjoyed the fresh-hopped IPA. The brewers actually went into the Cascades with a pick-up truck, cut a lot of fresh hops off the vine, and had them in the vats in just a few hours.


Everyone also sipped on an Organic Ale.


There is definitely not a lack of great micro-brews in Seattle! Stay tuned for some news on a homemade brew from Keith, as he picked up his supplies this past weekend.

Local Galleries.

Last night we went downtown to check out the First Thursday open galleries. We met some friends at 619 western ave., by pioneer square, which is a big old building that offers six floors of gallery spaces.




Today, Brian, Jess and Laura checked out the Frye Art Museum and among other exhibits saw Patricia Piccinini's "Hug."

Volunteer Park

Taking advantage of one of our last unemployed, completely free days Brian, Jess, and Laura took a walk to Volunteer Park to check out Conservatory/Greenhouse.




The park, which is a ten? block walk from our apartment, is a little more than 48 acres. Along with the Conservatory it is also home to the Seattle Asian Art Museum, a water tower that offers lots of views, picnic areas, etc. etc.

The Cascadians get covered.

Last night, October 3rd (!!!), the Cascadian mountain range (from Oregon to the Canadian border) had its' first snowfall of the season! Take a look at a picture from a web cam:


We are happy to know that it's a quick drive to reach snow.. but that it doesn't typically get that cold or snowy in the city!