Daddysaurus was bestowed a rare free day off today and decided to whisk he and I to Vantuckey/PDX for a long overdue visit to Grammy Sam.  Hope Gonzales, friend of Mommy’s and manager at the Mercer Island drive-thru Starbucks, was going crazy on maternity leave while waiting the arrival of her first child and with sublime timing, scored yours truly a traveling art project kit that packs up nicely in its own luggage-like wheelie back.  The art project-a-thon with Grammy Sam is ON!!

For the first time in my life there were no cats or dogs pounding Korean Rocket Rojo (or Blanco for that matter) on the 3-ish hour trip down to the ‘Tuckey.  It was sunny and the roads were clear… Smoove sailin’ as they say on the mean streets of Des Moines.  Alas, there was a fair amount of radar-equipped fuzz in Fife and Dupont… Leadfoot Beelman narrowly averted a hefty fine on a couple of occasions.

Grammy Sam was in fine form and was able to carry on with composure in spite of the 100 degree inland heat that plagued the area.  TGFAC… Thank Gawd for Air Conditioning is where I’ll start and most certainly where I’d like it to end.  Grammy Sam wasn’t so much into participating in having a tit-for-tat art-a-thon with me, but she kept a keen eye on each and every stroke of my glitter pens.  I truly think she was in awe of my stencil skills and overall artistic prowess.  She should be… I’m fierce, yo.

4:30pm rolled around before we knew it and it was time to lay rubber to the road.  Bye for now… See you next time.  Long drive home.  Zzzzz.  TGFAC!

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Yesterday the fam and I headed up north to Vancouver, BC in order to meet up with Shannon Mead née Murray, her new son Luke, Shannon’s brother Marc, mother Susan, Marc’s daughter Maddie, 7 week old son Cash and wife Jen.

We arrived in Vancouver on Sunday evening after a leisurely drive up Chuckanut Drive. Our hotel was the lovely Hotel Le Soleil on Hornby. After getting settled in the room, we headed out and had a great time having bevvies and 3 rounds of oysters while seated at the oyster bar at Joe Fortes. Always a crowd pleaser.

Afterwards we headed back to the room to get a pizza from Nat’s, watch movies and enjoy some mojito’s made with genuine Habana Club Anejo rum all the way from Cuba. We had a junior suite so Mommy and Daddy had the main room while I was on the pullout in the living room. Daddy joined me later as he was booted by Mommy due to excessive snoring. Dudn’t bother me any, and you’re good in my book if you can take my non-stop barrage of kicking and churning.

Monday morning we had a relaxing morning around the hotel gnoshing on Starbucks breakfast sandwiches and watching the Canadian equivalent of Sprout TV. Not once did I see a show that I am used to viewing at home. Alas, all good things come to an end and it was time to saddle up and meet the Murray/Mead contingent at their accommodations, the Sheraton at Wall Centre.

Mommy and Daddy were thrilled to death to see Shannon and Luke. Meeting up with Shannon’s mom, Marc, Jen, Maddie and new baby Cash… THE BONUS. Cash is sooo small, Luke is soooo cute and Maddie is soooo much fun.

After some time mitigating the chaos of four children and no fewer than 4 adults six feet tall or taller packed into a ridiculously tiny cozy room, we headed downstairs to the hotel’s posh-ish Indigo restaurant for a lovely lunch. Mommy and Daddy paired off at a separate table with Shannon and Luke while I was left to raise the roof with Maddie under the patient and watchful eyes of Susan Murry, Jen, Marc and the unforgiving eye of little baby Cash.

An afternoon coffee session at one of the two Starbucks at Thurlow and Robson, a warm goodbye to Shannon and Luke and the Beelman 3 were on our way down south sans haste. I didn’t even make it through Surrey before I was out cold.

Daddy and Mommy got off at exit 230 and guess what they found. A taco truck!! And just in time for dinner. After a few tacos they proceeded to cruise around Skagit valley in an effort to find some tulips for Daddy to photograph. Sadly there were none yet, but they found field after field of beautiful daffodils. La Conner is quite the cute town and I can’t wait to visit in a couple of weeks when the tulips finally take off.

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Today the skies opened and we were blessed with beautifully clear mountain vistas. Nana made a kick-ass breakfast before we headed into town for a little sledding. Everybody got in on the action and fun times were had by all.

As our time on the hill was winding down, lunchtime thoughts and tummy grumbles were taking hold. Mommy and Daddy thought it best to get this exhausted little girl back to our digs at the Lake Jolanda Lodge so that perhaps I could get a day sleep squeezed in before the evening’s festivities. Papa Jack volunteered to head back with us, but not before we took a detour into the Munchen Haus. It is a Bavarian grill and beer garden that definitely piqued our attention with the fabulous smell of grilled brats wafting through the air. Yee-um! The Munchen Haus is an awesome place for people watching too.

Things really cranked up back at the cabin when the adults donned costumes for the murder mystery game that Mommy brought. The premise of the game is that Barry Underwood, third generation Underwood winemaker at Underwood Wine Estates in Napa and man in charge, was murdered during an annual wine festival. All five people that were near him at the time of his death, have all returned on the 5th year anniversary of his death to attend the wine festival. Local law enforcement has never put the case to rest and has put all on notice that he’ll have some questions for them.

Daddy was Otto Von Schnapps, a wine merchant from Germany. Nana was Marilyn Merlot, a local pageant queen that left and became a Hollywood starlet. Jeff was Ralph Rottengrape, the new top man and cousin of the murdered former head of the Underwood Wine Estates. Jessica was Hedy Shablee, wine making competitor of the murdered Barry Underwood whose winery is perpetually foiled by bad luck. Bonnie was Tiny Bubbles, the former fiance to Barry Underwood that now goes with Ralph Rottengrape. Mickey was Bonny Ladd, a novel writing Scottsman that got mixed up in this just by being in Napa to attend the festival. And Papa was Papa Vito, the man that brought the first vine over from the Old Country to get Underwood Wine Estates going.

There were a lot of twists and turns throughout the evening as the players were prompted to ask specific questions throughout the rounds while referring to their character-specific pamphlets. All of the game play transpired around a fabulous meal of a soy and port glazed beef tenderloin with mushroom compote and toasted hazelnut infused mashed sweet potatoes that Mommy whipped up.

At around 10pm Nana, Daddy and the Anderson clan headed outside to do some sparklers and then the adults did a wacky series of group portraits just before the new year.

The whole trip was so much fun and was great to celebrate the new year with great friends and wonderful family. Happy 2008!!

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It was an early start as we saddled up our horse and headed to Nana and Papa’s for a little pre-staging before heading to the Issaquah Meadows Starbucks to meet up with our travel companions: Mickey Kosko, Bonnie Kosko, Jeff Anderson, Jessica Anderson, Brenna Anderson and A.J. Anderson.

Everybody had their beverage of choice (I even had steamed soy with peppermint), some nibbles, and a go at the facilities before splitting off into separate cars… Daddy and Brenna went with Bonnie and Mickey, I was with Mommy in Papa and Nana’s car, and A.J. was in her mom and dad’s car.

In spite of being in separate cars, we remained in close contact via two-way radios. The car I was in went by the handle of Vixen. Daddy, Brenna and the Kosko’s went by Cupid. The Anderson-mobile was transmitting and receiving as Prancer. The two-way’s were critical for orchestrating lane changes, synchronizing bathroom stops, and pointing out landmarks like Cle Elem’s quaint Chew & Butts.

Once in the town of Leavenworth, our first stop was Gustav’s Onion Dome and Restaurant. Beers and soft drinks were quickly dispensed shortly before an onslaught of fried items and burgers galore. Our waitress was fabu and we were in and out lickety split. Daddy thought he was funny and even initiated a minor snowball fight outside.

Our next stop and final destination for the day was our cabin just west of town at the Lake Jolanda Lodge. Are digs are a pretty huge house with 3 little bedrooms, one master bedroom, a loft with two queens and it’s own bathroom, a family room attached to the dining area and kitchen, a formal living room, washer, dryer, common bathroom and a hot tub on the deck. Not too shabby!

A.J. and I dressed up and decorated our room while Brenna worked on an activity project. The adults passed the time away with games and rampant imbibification. Mickey sneaked off to a solo trip to the hot tub before Daddy later had a go with a cigar before being joined by Jessica, Mommy and eventually Jeff. At one point Jeff even hopped out to go make a snow angel – Maniac!

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Mommy and Daddy took some time off work at the end of this week for us to head down to Vancouver, WA, or Vantuckey as some refer to it as, for a long overdue visit with Grammy Sam.

It was fun hanging out at her retirement center and being the focus of attention with both the staff and all the other residents. Besides seeing Grammy Sam, the other highlight of the trip was our Townhouse Suite at the Hotel Vintage Plaza on Broadway in Portland. It was two stories, featured a full depth Japanese soaking tub with jets and I had my own room!

Townhouse Suites
These two-story, 800-square-foot suites are like no other in Portland. Your guest room is located upstairs and the living and entertaining area is located below. Most feature a Japanese soaking tub and all nine of these suites offer the amenities you expect of a four diamond hotel.

Another bennie with our hotel besides being attached to the superb Pazzo Ristorante, was that Nordstrom was only two blocks away for some perfectly timed tax-free Christmas shopping. Daddy is convinced that Mommy is going to be very happy with his acquisitions.

Truth be told, I was feeling a bit cooped up after a long drive from Seattle, a whole afternoon in a retirement center and an evening in a hotel, so on Saturday after lunch at Whole Foods in the uber-hip Pearl District, Mommy and Daddy located Couch Park in Northwest Portland’s Alphabet District for me to burn off some steam. Daddy and I found a derelict soccer ball while Mommy was sourcing some Starbucks that he and I had a ton of fun with. I’m placing bets that a soccer ball will arrive from Santa next week, but we’ll see.

After another nice visit with Grammy Sam, we wrapped up our time in Vancouver with some dinner at a nearby Mongolian grill and gift exchange with cousins Mike and Anna. They got me a SUPER AWESOME Barbie cash register and a posh Barbie accessory kit containing: mirror, ear rings, brush, comb, lipstick and more. Thanks guys!

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This weekend Daddy and I braved the pouring rain and skittish I-5 driving to visit Grammy Sam at her home in Vancouver, WA. Daddy recently heard a new one for Vancouver: Vantuckey. Pretty much says it all.

Grammy Sam and I hadn’t seen each other for a while so it was pretty great to catch up. The Guinness Book will not be interested in our visit as it was nothing extraordinary, but it was a lot of fun just hanging at her place. We didn’t even bother to go our to eat for dinner or breakfast this morning. Until we meet again…

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So as you know if you’ve been checking in on me, we were in the Bay Area last weekend to attend a wedding and see Auntie Rosy. Daddy whipped together a little movie containing the bulk of the images he captured over the weekend. It’s 5.2MB and can be see by clicking here.
Quicktime plug-in is required.

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Yesterday the Beel 3 embarked on a trip to the Bay Area of San Francisco, CA and surrounding areas. We actually checked into the Larkspur Marriott as we will be attending a wedding reception at Fairfax’s Deer Park Villa. Heather Logan, the daughter of our dear friends Deb and Lance Logan, will be marrying Jim Leedy Saturday around 4PM. I’m uber excited because I’ll get to spend today in San Francisco with my Auntie Rosy! Click here to see photos from the trip.

Watching the Jets at Sea-Tac

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Saturday, 09/17
Travel day. We left Seattle en route to Lihue, Kauai via Honululu with our ultimate destination being the Regency condos at Poipu Kai Resort. It’s tough doing two flights as an on-the-go 1 year old. Posh digs in Poipu just about made up for it. Dinner at a forgettable burger joint nearby.

Sunday, 09/18
Woke up at 5:30AM. Daddy and I went for a walk/stroll in the dark of tropical sounds and smells. We revel in the sunrise from the beach walk at the Kauai Embassy. In the afternoon we all headed to Poipu Beach where I had my first saltwater and beach experiences. Fun!! Later that night we rendez-vous’d with Deb and Lance Logan at the Marriott Waiohai for dinner at it’s Kiawe Grill.

Monday, 09/19
Mom, Dad and I had lunch at the fabulous Puka Dog restaurant just down the road from our joint. Wowzers… Yum! After that we headed east for our road trip to Waimea Canyon. Unfortunately I got carsick on the windy road and wound up losing my Puka Dog, among other once tasty tidbits. It was worth it at the top though… Gorgeous! At night Daddy and Mommy prepared dinner - grilled Opah with white rice.

Tuesday, 09/20
The day started off with Daddy joining Lance and Papa Jack for a round of golf at the Wailua Municipal Golf Course. I hear the course was tough and that a lot of sweating was done in the hot Hawaiian sun. Mom, Deb, Grandma Cynthia and I went to Old Koloa town for some shopping. Later in the evening Mommy and Daddy went to a luau at Smith’s Tropical Paradise at the mouth of the Wailua River. Here they are jacked up on all-you-can-drink Mai Tai’s…

 Wednesday, 09/20
Our intent was to go to Lydgate State Park to take advantage of the tide-break protected swimming lagoon. Once there though, we discovered the whole beach was closed due to rough water and high bacteria counts as a result of two hurricanes far off shore. So instead we headed north past Hanalei to where the road ends at the remote Na Pali coast. We saw some incredibly beautiful views of mountain and sea during this drive. The ahi tacos from Tropical Taco in Hanalei made the trip great too.

Here is my taco buddy

 Later that evening the grown ups had poolside drinks at the Kaua’i Marriott along Kalapaki Bay. Sheesh - How opulent can one place be?!

Then the eveing was capped off with a wonderful dinner at the locals-only Barbecue Inn. The place is divey and full of both native and Chinese-Hawaiians. The food was astonishingly good.

Thursday, 09/21
This morning Daddy and Mommy headed into Lihue where they met up with pilot Byron Edington for their helicopter trip with Air Kauai. At just under 20lbs., I was well under the 100lb. weight minimum and was truly dismayed that couldn’t join them. I hear that this was one of the most exhilarating things they’ve ever done. Except for dining out at Roy’s in the Poipu Shopping Village. They got me the cutest babysitter of all time… A grandmother named Nancy that “filled the pit”.

Friday, 09/22
Today hung out at the Marriott’s Waiohai all day and soaked up the rays at their wonderful pool. For dinner we grilled some more Opah and made teriyaki chicken with a Caeser salad. We were all lamenting that our trip was soon over.

Saturday, 09/23
Flew home. Got in late. Got a Digiorno to take the edge off. My own bed. Home.

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Along with our entire PEPs group, we were invited to the Lake Chelan home of fellow PEPs peeps Lynn, Mak and Marques Abulhosn. Wow, what a good time! The weather was great, their home was amazing, swimming in the pool with Daddy was awesome, and hanging with my friends was excellent. Will it be an annual event? Hopefully!

Check out just a few pics in my Lake Chelan Gallery.

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