Friday, November 22nd
Ben and I wanted to celebrate Trish around her birthday. She does a lot, and we wanted to do something nice for her even if it was just a dinner out as a family. That is the only thing she would agree to. Ben and I both finished up work however, he got off work late trying to figure out his insurance stuff. I got my overnight bag packed up and finished icing the cake we promised Trish, we would make her.
I folded some laundry and did the dishes as I continued to wait for Ben to get home from work so we could go. He finally got home, he packed up his duffle and we loaded his car, since it was his turn to drive, with Thanksgiving stuff and our overnight bags and hit the road. We left around 6 and headed to I-5. We weren't sure how traffic was going to be in the rain. It wasn't that bad but there were some people making bad decisions.
We got to Bonney Lake a little over an hour and made our way to Mazatlán. Trish wanted Mexican food for her birthday dinner. Trish, Ed and Amy already had a table, and we walked over and joined them. Amy had already polished off an entire basket of chips to herself. We ordered drinks and food when our waiter came back.
I had a blended strawberry margarita and a chicken chimichanga.
We hung out, ate and chatted about the latest and greatest going on in our lives. I shared more about my DJA and the kinds of things I was learning and getting better at each week. Ben shared his work endeavors, Trish still was trying to adapt to retired life, Ed was doing Ed stuff and Amy was still comfortable with her routine but needed a change of pace. We paid for our food and decided to head back to the house afterwards. Ben and I had to go to Safeway for a few things first. We didn't have time earlier that week to pick up some Captain Morgan for her birthday gift.
We met them at the house and had a mini birthday party. She opened gifts and cards and had some of her cake we made her. She is a German chocolate and coconut pecan frosting. It is not my cup of tea, but it makes her happy.
We played a card game called Superheroes and a round of Ticket to Ride. Ben always focuses on getting the longest train every time we play.
Trish had a little bit too much rum and tea and ended up bringing out her old yearbooks. We looked at them for about an hour while she told us stories about her friends and former classmates. We all went to bed super late.
Saturday, November 23rd
The bed downstairs is uncomfortable, but we made it work. I got up around 9:30, got in a quick shower, got dressed and convinced Trish to go to Costco with me. I needed to get potatoes since Trish was going to host Thanksgiving this year for the family. We got into Ben's Edge and drove the short distance to Costco. It literally is like a five-minute drive from their house.
Costco is always packed no matter what time of the day it is. We found a parking spot and went inside. Trish said she hasn't been inside of a Costco in a while. We grabbed a huge sack of potatoes, got in line and headed back to the house. Ben and Amy were still in bed.
Trish and I started the pancakes, turkey bacon and scrambled eggs. I worked on the scrambled eggs with my spatula while Trish used her griddle to make gluten free and normal pancakes. Amy emerged from her bedroom. I went downstairs several times to attempt to get Ben out of bed. I told him he better come up soon or Amy would eat all the food. He grumbled and got out of bed and dressed. He went upstairs just as the food was being served.
Breakfast was delicious as always. We chatted about the random things that have been going on in our lives. I asked Trish and Amy what they were doing the rest of the weekend. They said they were going to chill and watch some football and maybe get a few chores done. We helped Trish clean off the table and Amy did the dishes.
We stayed for a little bit longer and hung out. When it was time to pack up everything, I went downstairs and changed out the bed linen and made sure we had all of our stuff. We brought it upstairs and shoved it into the Edge. We said our goodbyes and in less than a week we would be over again for Thanksgiving. I was actually excited when Trish offered to do Thanksgiving this year. We gave out hugs and were on the road by 2:30. I was meeting up with our neighbor Rhonda to go to a Cougar watch party at River's Edge in Tumwater.
Traffic wasn't that bad on the way home and we made pretty good time. I had about a half hour to change into some Cougar gear and meet Rhonda at her house across the street. She had her car running and she was still inside the house. I opened the passenger door and took a seat. I texted her that I was in the car waiting for her. She said she'd be right out in a jiffy.
She brought out with her two gifts and her purse. She got into the car and said that they were asking for gifts to donate at the watch party, and she had two with her. She said she had one for me as well. I thanked her for thinking of me. We drove into Tumwater talking about how we thought the season was going thus far.
We found a place to park and went inside. We donated the toys in the box and tried finding a table to sit at. There was one by the window occupied by a middle-aged guy. He seemed friendly enough. He invited us both over to sit with him. He introduced himself as Keith. He went on to tell us about himself. He is a WSU grad from the 1990's and that he is a part owner of the Top Rung Brewery in Lacey. We also found out that he shares mutual friends with Rhonda. He talked our ears off and was smitten with Rhonda.
This was our first year as the Pac-2 Conference, us and Oregon State, because the rest of the Pac-12 abandoned the conference due to greed and believing the grass is greener on the other side.
Just before halftime we ordered some food. I had a beer and one of their sandwiches. Keith offered to buy us our food, so we let him. We also took a group photo in front of the fireplace. There almost wasn't enough room for everyone but we got one.
The game was promising at the beginning. We both assumed this was an easy win because it should have been with the way we've been playing so far this season and our lineup of teams. I know, being an athlete, you can't assume you have any game because you can lose to the weakest team in your conference if you let your guard down. Our team did let its guard down and we lost in the 4th quarter 38-35 to New Mexico State. Ughh.
We thanked Keith for dinner and letting us sit with him and we left around 8. Once we got in Rhonda's car, she told me that he slipped her his number. She said she may or may not call text him, time will tell. We got back to her house, and I thanked her for driving us to Tumwater. I told her I had fun even though we lost. We said we will have to do it again soon. I agreed. I walked across the street and got comfortable at home.
Sunday, November 24th
The next morning, Ben and I got up, made some breakfast and got ready to go to the rental house in Rainier. We still had a ton of stuff to do, and I had no idea how long the roof and ceiling were going to take.
We spent most of the early afternoon finishing up the trench that stretched across the yard from the house to the shop. The previous renter decided to dig in the yard and severed the powerline. Then he didn't tell my Dad what he did. It was irritating that we had to do all of this extra work because the renter didn't want my Dad, who owned the property and the house, to come and fix things because he thought his privacy was more important.
Ben and I were able to finish the trench, place the wire and partially bury it before the rain started to come down. We made plans to come back over the next Saturday to start the wallpaper in the kitchen with Mom. On the way home, we stopped by Arco for some gas and the store to pick up stuff for mini pizzas and more cat food for Wade and Oliver.
We made dinner, did a load of laundry, watched football and got ready for the short work week.
Next Adventure: Thanksgiving Weekend
No comments:
Post a Comment