Seattle Sounders Game, Firefighter Night and Meeting Drew Carey

I got up around 10 knowing that I had to do a few things before Ben rolled in to head on up to Seattle for the game.  He wanted to leave at noon so I ate some food and then helped mom do a few things. I got ready to go and he finally got here almost at 1.  We made sure we had everything and we headed north.  It was raining up until we got to Seattle.  There was no rain...yet.

He took an exit I wasn't familiar with and when we stopped at the intersection, there was a lot with tiny shed like buildings scattered behind a fence line called Nickleville.  It made me thankful I don't have to or choose to live like this.  It was sad.

We got closer to the stadium and ended up driving past where we got on the train back during the Seahawk parade two years ago.  Then we drove past the coffee house where we spent the day waiting for the parade.  He tried looking for a parking spot and ended up parking in this small parking garage where they drive your cars into the hydraulic lift so you can park a car underneath it to save space.  I've never seen a parking garage like this before.  Ben wasn't too sure about it but we did it anyway.  We didn't realize it took us this long to get to Seattle and find a parking spot.  We kinda wanted to eat food and then join the rally and march at 3.  We only had time for the rally and march.

We walked to Occidental Park and there was a huge crowd!  I forgot it was the last game of the regular season.  As we walked closer to the tent, where there was a band and a microphone set up, we heard Drew Carey getting the crowd all pumped up.  We heard the tail end of it and I wandered closer to the tent hoping that we would get to see him.  Sure enough, when he exited the tent he stood behind as fans flocked to him asking him for photos and autographs.  I asked Ben, do you wanna go meet Drew Carey?  He said sure, and that it would be pretty cool.  We waited in line and several people and kids cut in line and delayed our turn.  I kinda got irritated.  It was finally our turn and he was awesome.  We shook his hand, introduced ourselves and he was happy to take a pic with us.  Some other brief conversation and then he told us to enjoy the game!  How cool was that?  He was very approachable and supported his fans who in turn supports his team.  It was just a really awesome moment.  For a brief second I remembered sitting in front of the TV watching The Drew Carey Show and Who's Line is it Anyway? and I finally got to meet him in person!  Video of Drew Carey.

We stood around waiting for the march to Century Link while Ben fiddled with the GoPro.  They started chanting and we were on our way.  It was fun chanting the songs and watching everyone get really into it.  Ben said in years past they had green and blue smoke flares which they didn't this time.  We made it to the field and everyone dissipated.  Ben wanted to go get food and drinks before we went inside.  Like I said earlier, we got to Seattle too late and didn't have enough time to prefunk.  Every place we went inside had a 20 minute or more wait because of game day.  I told him I didn't want to be late again and I was willing to eat food inside the stadium knowing that it would be more expensive.

We entered through the north end gate and Ben found a game to play.  You get two tries to kick the ball into a goal with five  holes.  You didn't win anything if you scored a goal.  It was just for fun.  I grabbed a program and we then made our way up the cement switch back all the way to the third level, where our firefighter night scarves were.  We also ended up eating food up there as well.  I had Ivar's and Ben had a pulled pork sandwich and a side of chips with a beer.  We ate the food in less than 10 minutes because Ben wanted to go down to the ECS section to see if they were really enforcing the wrist bands.  They were.

We continued to section 109 and sat with Lance because he offered his friend Shannon's spot to both of us.  We squeezed three of us into two spots.  The game began with a national anthem guitar solo, followed by breast cancer awareness and survivors.

We played Salt Lake City and we dominated the first half.  We scored 2 goals in less than 20 minutes, both by Dempsey.  It was nuts!  The stadium was packed and everyone cheered.  It rained most of the game and I got wet and cold.  Luckily we all survived with the body heat from being so smunched together.  We scored one more goal followed by a goal by Real Salt Lake.  We dropped them 3-1 which clinched us a spot in the playoffs.  The first game is Wednesday with the LA Galaxy.

We took a picture with the ECS at the south side of the stadium and then tried to go into the sports store but too many people and the parking garage was only open an hour after the game ended.  We basically had a half hour left to walk to the car.  When we got there I was happy to take off my wet jacket and get warm.  Ben went the long way to the freeway.  We got stuck in traffic off of First.  Then the traffic was stupid on I-5 because it was raining.  I swear people's brains shut off when it rains.  We got into Yelm about 8:30 and wanted some ice cream.  We stopped at Safeway and picked up some stuff and headed back to my house to hang out and talk about my birthday weekend.

Next Adventure:  Halloween Pic at work with Annykay

Spooners Farm and Pumpkin Carving Game Night

We stayed up too late the night before but I really needed a shower before I went to bed.  I knew the next day would be busy.  Getting up, eating food, making cupcakes, helping Trish with her flood lights, getting pumpkins, Ben needing to go to the store for Halloween props for next weekend and finally getting over to Grandma's house to get my costume and heading over to our game night at Celeste's.  Sounds like a lot?  It was.  Plus the in and outs of everyday issues and traffic.

When I got up I knew I had to get some food in me and start making the cupcakes.  We had chili and corn bread the night before so all of the bowls and measuring cups were dirty.  I washed all the dishes and loaded them in the dishwasher for Trish.   I had some Apple Jacks (it's been a long time since I've had these) and gathered all of the things I would need to make these cupcakes.

Downstairs, Ben was trying to figure out the ticket situation for tomorrow's Sounders game.  He wanted to sit with the ECS (the group of crazy soccer fans who sit on the south end zone and chant, wave flags and dance) instead of our tickets up in the nose bleed section.  It was firefighter's night and we got tickets and scarves for about $25.  He found an ECS member who was selling the tickets.  He had to set up a Paypal account, which he wasn't too fond of doing, but that was the only way to pay for the tickets. He received the confirmation that money was taken out of his account but he hadn't received the email for the tickets...even the next day.  He got irritated and messaged the lady.  She thought we were trying to eff with her even though we were the ones who were getting screwed.  She apparently had no idea why the tickets weren't being sent to him.  Eventually, Ben gave up because of this woman's stupidity.  We contacted Michael and told him we couldn't get the extra tickets.

He finally got dressed and ate some food.  Meanwhile, I was making the cupcakes and waiting for them to bake.  Trish got him to go outside and help her install the new flood lights.  I finally found the Coug game on TV...and they started turning the lights off to find out which ones belonged to the outdoor lights.  All of the lights and the TV went off in the living room and I let out an EEEEEEE!  Trish and Ben laughed their heads off downstairs.  I finished my cupcakes and got them frosted and put away for transport.  I then went downstairs to help them install the lights.

We got all the lights installed and all of our stuff packed up.  Now we had to wait for Amy to get ready.  We all planned on going down to Orting to get pumpkins.  We each had to take separate vehicles because we were all going home differently after the farm.  We all settled on Spooners and made our way down the hill on the back side of Bonney Lake.  The traffic was awful at the intersection.  I think I waited at the light four times before I got to cross the highway and find a parking spot at the farm.  And Ben went to another pumpkin farm and we couldn't seem to figure out where he was when we were trying to give him directions.  Everyone got frustrated and Ben finally got to where we all were.  We grabbed the wheel barrow and wandered to find which pumpkin we wanted to bring home.  All of them were enormous!  Every pumpkin suffered from steroids!

We all guessed how much our pumpkins weighed all together.  I said 120 lbs and when we got the final weigh in I was a pound off.  I couldn't believe I was that close!  I paid for half and Trish paid for half.  We took them to the cars and we all headed in different directions.  Trish and Amy went home, I headed to grandma's house as fast as I could and Ben had to got to some Halloween stores and would meet me at Celeste's house when he was done.

I got to grandma's house, grabbed my Halloween bin and filled up my tire since the indicator kept telling me one was low.  I went home really quickly for the cupcake tree and to use the restroom.  I hoped I remembered everything as I drove towards the lake.  I took the cupcakes in first and then my costume and the rest of it.  I set up the cupcakes and then changed into my costume.  Ben arrived shortly after and changed into his costume.  We snacked until the main course was finished.  Kathy made a pumpkin stew, Lindsay and Justin made meatballs, Lance made deviled eggs, there was a dip and chips, apples and caramel and the cupcakes I made.  Everything was tasty.  We ate and then carved pumpkins and then played a game.

We left just after midnight.  I told Ben goodnight and we left.  I got home, unloaded everything from the car, got ready for bed and he texted me that he got home safe and sound.  It was a busy day but we all had fun.

Next Adventure: Seattle Sounders Game, Firefighter Night and Meeting Drew Carey

Maris Farms Haunted Woods/Corn Maze

I've never been to Maris Farms but I've heard about it often from an assortment of people.  Ben talked about it when I first met him.  He even worked there while he lived in Bonney Lake.  He said he was a part of the clown posse that scared people.  I was curious to see what this haunted woods/corn maze was all about.

On Saturday I got up around 10 and mom and dad decided to fix the fridge.  It has been leaking for more than a few months and it was just time to figure it out I guess.  We took all of the food out, cleaned it and dad took the panels and screws out to see what exactly was going on.  Turns out the drain hole in the freezer was clogged and then the defrosted water would leak through the refrigerator and make puddles on the kitchen floor.  It is fixed now.  I waited for Ben to arrive.  We didn't leave until about 2.  We listened to the Coug game on the radio.  We beat Oregon State during our homecoming.  On the way to Walt and Wendy's house, we stopped by Party City to see if they had a straight jacket.  We got the last one for the win!

We got to Walt and Wendy's house and they had a slew of neighborhood kids helping put the framework up against the house near the entrance.  Inside, Wendy and Rosa were making enchiladas for everyone helping out.  There were at least six casserole dishes filled with food.  The boys were outside building the wall frames and we went out to the front and put up the fences around the small grave yard.  By the time we were done the enchiladas were done cooking.  I helped Wendy and Rosa set the table with the plate, plastic forks, napkins and the fruit and veggies.

Everyone came in and devoured the food.  It was delicious.  We chatted for a good hour our so and some of the kids had to go home while the rest of us got some of the walls up and zip-tied.  We got all we could done since the rain started coming down heavier.  We all relaxed on the couch, talked about various things and drank some hot chocolate.

We headed over to Ben's mom's to visit and to wind down for the evening.  We watched the Duck and Husky game and got to meet Brad's son, Christian.  He was very quiet and shy and spent most of the time staring into his phone.  The Huskies lost as we were watching a few episodes of Star Trek.  We had ice cream sandwiches and then decided it was time for bed.

The next day we slept in way to late and ended up not going over to Walt and Wendy's.  It was raining and we haven't watched a game with Trish and Amy since last season when we opened with the Packers.  Ben and I played Rummy while we watched the Seahawks blow another 4th quarter lead.  Ugh!  I hope our coaching staff figures it out soon.  It's painful to watch.

Afterwards we decided to meet Walt, Wendy, Chris and Rosa at Maris Farms.  If we would have known the pumpkin picking stopped at 6 p.m. we would have went earlier.  Lame.  We bought our tickets and then hung out in the car until I had an idea of grabbing a cache or two while we waited for 7 to roll around.

White on White (GC2GJGG) was a park and grab.  We looked for the only white thing in the area and Ben found it right away.  It was getting dark as we made the find.  We took it back over to the car and signed it because we brought a pen that didn't work.  He went and put it back while I sat in the car.  We decided to go get another one but we found out it was along a trail next to a canal.  We thought we should save this one for when it's not raining or dark out.

We drove back and they pulled in as soon as we did.  We walked towards the gate and met them right away.  We looked at the "electric" chair while some skeletons played their guitars to Queen.

I used the bathroom and was startled by a giant scary clown on stilts.  I had no idea he was hiding behind the structure.  We got into line as soon as we could because it grew every second that passed.  While we waited in line, Ben mentioned the GoPro, saying he left it in the car.  Why did you leave it in the car?  He went and grabbed it as fast as he could...and the line started moving.  I didn't get very good reception in this area but I tried to text him to hurry.

He got there before we made it into the barn.  There, a short woman with old lady make-up talked to us for a while.  The line moved steadily.  We gave the guy our tickets and made our way through the haunted woods/corn maze.

They did a really good job.  I've never been through a haunted woods or corn maze before.  Lots of noises, actors dressed scary, screaming, an old bus, glow in the dark paint, clowns, blood, chain saws and my favorite, a vortex room.  It made you actually feel like you were swirling around upside down the entire time.  Wendy stepped wrong and twisted her ankle a little bit so we had to slow down on part of the trail.  We got to the end and sat down for a bit and chatted.  It was a fun group outing.

Ben and I drove back to my house and dropped me off.  We both needed to get ready for work the next day.  It was the third haunted house/woods/corn maze since I've met Ben.  We seem to try new places every October.  I wonder where we will go next year?

Next Adventure: Spooners Farm and Pumpkin Carving Game Night