2013 New Years

2013 New Year's Shot


Wow! I just saw that nothing has been posted since end of June. Sorry y'all, life happened and that's all I care to share. Instead of recapping 2012 I want to note future events we are excited about.
1) January 7th Mary starts quarter 2 of Italian lessons.
2) March Ryan will have his first Vintage Motorcycle race- granted his bike is ready.
3) For Mary's 30th Ryan and Mary are making a pilgrimage to Italy!!!!
4) Ryan and Mary will go to a vintage motorcycle race together. Mary won't compete except for the Poker race where she hopes to be riding her newly acquired 1968 Honda M90 "Dirt Bag".

Love y'all!

the Browns

Outting After Gay Pride Parade

 I really have no idea what Ryan is looking at. :)

 Espresso shots for the classy people!

Gay Pride Parade

We finally made it to the Gay Pride Parade- so fun! I think Dykes on Bikes was my favorite. Those bitches were pretty awesome. This parade had a lot of great things about it! First it showed a lot of support from the community, which was really nice to see. A common theme was bubbles, unicorns, rainbows and hula hoops- now I am in the know. I saw quite a few penis's, one uncircumsized. I saw the furries. I also saw a giant dick being chased around by a nurse trying to circumsize it.

Out With Friends

Saturday evening was fun! We met up with our friends for drinks at the Shelter in Ballard, my new favorite place.

 Ryan and Angela trying to flip Gang Signs.

 

Snoqualmie Falls

Took us 4+ years but we finally made it to Snoqualmie Falls. Pretty majestic.

Sasquatch - Day 1

 Pit stop in Cle Elum for burgers and blizzards!

 Ryan and Angela enjoying their smoking pipes before heading out.

 Ahhh, this lipgloss, saw that one a lot throughout the 4 days.

 Glam photo of myself on the bus over to the show.

 This is the main stage with a stunner of a view in the background.

 The 3 of us catching Santigold.

Here we are at the Banana Shack, or the Rave Tent as I call it. It was actually super awesome!

Sasquatch Trip 2012

Sasquatch 2012 - Day 1
Sasquatch 2012 - Day 2
Sasquatch 2012- Day 3
Sasquatch 2012- Day 4
Sasquatch 2012- Day 5

Above are the videos we took while at Sasquatch. What an amazing experience! All types of people, music, just wow!
We took off Friday about 12:30 after picking up my girlfriend Angela. It was predictable Memorial Weekend traffic, so slow. When we arrived near our exit we could see across the valley the extremely long line of vehicles trying to get to Sasquatch. Our stomachs immediately felt sick as we thought of the long wait ahead of us. We decided however to stick it out instead of trying to find our way another way. Lack of Internet on iPhone also helped to make this decision for us. We came upon a chance of good luck and were diverted another direction. Luckily we were at the front of this detour which just so happened to take us right by our campsite. What would have taken an hour plus only took 20. Score!
We immediately set up camp and then headed to the first night. Unfortunately we missed Of Monsters and Men but were able to make the end of Santigold. Angela introduced us to some awesome music as well.We headed over to the rave tent for Beats Antique. They had a belly dancer who kept taking off a mask that looked eerily like her face.
The next day we were able to connect with Angela's friends who camped next to us. Such a great group of people! We are now face book friends with Kelsey, who somehow earned the nickname of Burrito for the weekend. The crew headed out about noon for the show but as we didn't have anything we wanted to see till 2 we decided to hang out for a while. We bbq'd and took a nap- essential for the festival experience. We soon found our way to the Wildhorse campground shuttle. We started out with Electric Guest and then caught up with the group for the Civil Wars - which totally blew our minds!!! We also caught Metric, the Shins, St. Vincent and Jack White. Let me just take a moment to tell you how amazing St. Vincent was. This girl was so Rock and Roll! That is the best way to describe the experience. The light show paired with heavy guitar and feminine voice was phenomenal. The very last song she performed just so happened to be while she was crowd surfing. Everyone went nuts as they delicately tossed her to and fro amongst the hands.
Day 3 we all chilled around the campsite. There was no shade whatsoever at our site and I can only sunbathe for so long till even I start to melt. We found a nice little shady Glenn and hung out there till it was time to go. We packed up snacks and empty water bottles to fill up later and headed to the show. We caught the War on Drugs, The Head and the Heart, Beirut and Bon Iver. Ryan was so excited to go see Deer Tick, funny thing though he was watching the wrong band. Luckily via text we were able to steer him to the right show. Also, Kelsey was able to score us free tickets to watch the Head and the Heart acoustically. What a great Seattle band who I think will make it big.
Monday all but us packed up and took off. We made sure to eat a big meal and nap under the truck so that we had plenty of energy for the long day ahead of us. Monday's play list was Grouplove, Fun., the Joy Formidable, Feist, John Reilly and Friends (yes, the John C Reilly), Silver Sun Pickups, Tenacious D, and Beck. Tenacious D seriously rocked my world! They were the whole show. I was worried that Jack Black wouldn't be like what I expected from shows but he completely was. He was so funny I thought I was going to lose it. At one point on stage they had Sasquatch, a giant phoenix in the shape of a dick and an alien running around while Jack shot a Nerf gun at him.
On top of all this music was people covered in body paint, Indian head dresses, many costumes including Pikachu, the Fraggles and Scooby Doo. I definitely was not prepared for the experience I encountered.

A big thank you to my wonderful husband for saying yes to the trip, to Angela for instigating it, and to my new friends Brittney and Kelsey for being awesome- sorry if your name is spelled wrong.

Pictures soon to follow.

The Day After

Yep, the boys were a hurting. Besty and I were awake at 6 AM. We decided to get up and head to Starbucks. Sat around for awhile enjoying the quiet of the city. Then we came back and sat in the back. I was wrapped up in a blanket enjoying the sun while she embroidered for her States quilt she is creating. Somehow the idea for donuts came up. We tried to stir the sleeping beauties, but they were having none of it. Actually, they were quite rude, especially Noah, can't imagine why. So we took the truck out, picked up Top Pot and came back and made a breakfast. We did our best to nurse our men back to health.
Let me just that today has not been a productive day for Mr. Brown.

Saturday Night

After our bike ride and picnic we headed back to the Arvans. We hung out in the backyard of their apartment complex with some of their neighbors. They had the firepit going, children and young adults playing soccer, and dogs galore. It definitely felt like summer. Eventually we got around to grilling up some burgers, and they were amazing! Besty and I passed out at 11ish while the boys didn't make it to bed till 2:43 AM! That's right I checked the clock. Check out the next post to see how that worked out for them.

Bicycle Ride

We met up with the Arvans Saturday afternoon for a nice ride and picnic. It was quite enjoyable. We rode over to Volunteer park and had some nummy sandy's and pasta salad. We also sneaked some white wine. Ryan had surprised me earlier in the week with "repaired" bikes. He got new tires for his and fixed the brakes on mine. I was skeptical but willing. I still have my face, so brakes fixed!!!

Tacos

I made these for cinco de mayo. Don't cook when you are drunk, dumped in way too much pepper.

Breakfast with Friends

We went with friends to the Swedish Cultural Center for Swedish pancakes. It was really good! They were sweet and nummy with Lingonberries, etc.

New Video

Ryan Catching Stuff in his Mouth

Here's what we did for Cinco de Mayo!

The Driveway

Ry is trying to get the garage set into motion. Phase 1 is fixing the driveway. We need a flat area to lay the concrete. So that means he has to tear up the old driveway, fix the drainage and lay a new driveway- I think. He rented a trailer to haul all the debris around in. He rented it from a nice guy who was a small business owner like Ryan. They even had a beer and chatted it up for awhile. Which is what makes the whole thing worst when Ryan broke the wheel off the Axel. He says it's not his fault, I'm inclined to believe him. At this exact moment he is building a trench. Above is the mini-excavator he rented, which he is in love with.

Dinner with Friends

 Ry and Kermie

 Rhubarb pie made by the wonderful Miss Marlene

Marlene and Aaron

Me, Aaron and Rhubarb :)

Urban Enoteca

Last night we went to Urban Enoteca in Sodo. It was pretty awesome. We almost missed the location and had to circle around-which we saw other cars doing the same thing so we knew we had to be close. We met up with our friends Jesse and Claire Sheppard. Claire is the one who had suggested the restaurant. Ryan's beer came in a mason jar- which I have now decided will be what we use for glasses!

 Our sampler cheese platter with apple butter and crositini

 Hangar Steak

 Blackbery cobbler with white chocolate ice cream

 Waterfall from the ceiling

 Risotto

My outfit

Friday Night

 Ryan and Andreas

 Peggy and Steve

Steve's tank



Had a nice evening at the Wang-Hung residence last night. Hot Pot, Kinect, dogs, and tank.