Ramsdell Family Blog

We have had a very busy week. Last weekend we celebrate George's 45th Birthday (can you believe that). We got him a new BBQ, which Grandpa used tonight to make us yummy steaks! Geo rge loves Dr. Pepper so the kids picked this out for him. On Thursday we went to Orca's Island for a day trip (1 hr car drive-then 1 hr on the ferry each way). From the Island you can see some amazing views of the San Juan Islands and Canada. I was so excited for my parents to see it-only to be met by some fog that blocked some of the view. It was kind of neat watching the fog roll in. Then we headed for our 1 mile hike to the beach- we decided to eat our picnic lunch on the way there. Grandpa was a good sport and carried the igloo cooler the whole way. On our hike we saw crabs and starfish. We managed to leave the trip with only 1 bump on the head (Jake), 1 cooler dump itself out with our lunch in it, 1 slip and fall with a bruised ego. Beach Combing Usually you can see the other islands from here...

On Wednesday we had a great day in downtown Seattle. First, we headed out on a Harbor Cruise of Seattle(Dad's pick). It was really fun and educational-plus we got to see some great views of Seattle with different views than the ferries give you. Next, we were ready for lunch so we walked up lots of stairs to Pike's Place Market to eat greek food that was very yummy. George met up with us to find the gum wall next to Pike's(some how I never knew about it until recently). So we all got to experience thousands of pieces of gum stuck to walls in an alley way. The kids were so excited about it and said it was the best part of their day. Jenna excited to put her gum on the wall Our Gum is the green ones in the middle. Jake and Jenna said they couldn't wait to go back to the gum wall. So if you come to visit we will take you there! Then we strolled through Pike's Place looking at all the great stuff they sell. Eating some more-this time Russian Piroshky's, tempura ...

Zumba Image & Zumba Graphics One of my new favorite things to do is going to Zumba (if you have never been you should try a class). Zumba is a latin infused dance class. It makes exercising a lot more fun. Since my mom has been here visiting I have taken her with me 3 times to Zumba-she likes it too and is going to be looking into classes in TX-to take Hunter and Kelly too. I would post pictures of us zumbaing but that would be quite scary. One thing I have really learned from it is that I am really uncoordinated and then seeing my mom do it I realized why I am so uncoordinated-but that's OK in Zumba nobody cares!! What happens in Zumba stays in Zumba.

Seattle Underground Tour Old bath tub Today we went underground in Seattle. We got to see where Seattle was before it burnt down in 1887. They then rebuilt Seattle above sea level. It was an interesting adventure with a small Seattle history lesson. Jake really liked the history about the crapper (toilet). The Crapper Also this week-my mom and dad have been helping me to refinish our kitchen table. Jake and Grandpa worked on pulling the weeds on our slope. I gotta get all their help that I can while they are here. Jake and Grandpa working so hard Grandpa has a new friend-Lily

We started this July out with a trip to Penticton, Canada. This is where George is doing his Ironman in August. So, we took a trip there so he could ride the bike course and run part of the marathon. We lucked out and had some great weather. The kids played at the lake and I layed in the sun (which we have not really seen since last September). One of the best parts was getting some shaved ice-very hard to find here in Snohomish. Fire works with Grandpa My Mom and Dad arrived at our house while we were in Canada-so we were all excited to see them when we got home. We celebrated July 4th on the 5th by lighting off fire works in the backyard. Yesterday went to the Ballard locks-it's a boat elevator to get the boats from the Puget Sound to Lake Washington. Pretty neat to watch the boats raise and lower in the water. They also have salmon ladders there-so we watched the salmon climb the ladders. Jenna identified the salmon for us, since she learned all about them this year in school. ...