Family Wedding Fun

I found my cousin Jody, the groom, waiting outside the church when we pulled up.  I should have taken a picture of his shoes.  They were awesome!

 A few of the kiddos, my second cousins, right before the wedding.  Don't they look mischievous?

 Waiting for the bride to make her entrance

 Apparently that dose of mischief runs in the family...  Great picture of these two, and I've gotten a lot of mileage out of that bow tie.

 Little girls love weddings.

 Beautiful bride, Carissa!!!

 Hey, if all the grownups are blocking your view, then you gotta do what you gotta do to find a perch!

Taking prayer time seriously.

Loved seeing this new generation of McCleese kids having fun together.  And the wedding was so sweet.  Very happy for Jody and Cari!

Exploring!

While we were in Washington last week the weather was perfect.  Great chance to be out and about exploring the city and even the mountains this trip!

This picture is rough, but I still love it because we had so much fun at this restaurant, The 5 Spot.  We met up with my cousin Shane and his fiance Miranda.  The restaurant is one of their local faves, in Queen Anne.  Their menu completely changes every couple of months.  Throughout the year they serve food from 5 different parts of the country, hence the 5 Spot.  August was Portland fare and it was yummy!

As we left Queen Anne to head down to the market we passed a park with a gorgeous view of the city.  Steve got a "Go Brownies!" from a random guy downtown since he was sporting his Cleveland T-shirt.

Necessity for walking along the waterfront on a chilly morning.

Picking up fresh flowers in the market.  $5 for a beautiful bouquet - woot woot!

Took a drive over the mountains to visit our good friend Tyler.  The view of Rainier along the way was spectacular.

Stopped at Tipsoo Lake to find the spot where Steve proposed almost exactly 7 years ago!

West Coast Family Fun

We closed out summer with a week visiting family in Washington State.  Steve's grandma was finishing up her trip to the northwest, so we got to spend a little time with her before she headed back to Arizona.

Of course Blake had lots of Grammy time...

...and Grampa time!

 

 Life is so much more fun when your cast is gone and you've got a new friend to play with.

But the boys weren't the only ones having fun!  Bev and I ventured into the world of cake pops.  These were our first attempts, and they are actually "oreo truffle" pops. 

A crazy delicious experiment.  We made a second batch covered in milk chocolate and sprinkled with sugar crystals.  I didn't snap any pictures of those since it was about midnight when we finished, and we were leaving the next day, but they were beautiful - and we came up with a way to dry them standing up.  Bev and I always find something to craft and make together.  One of my favorite parts of staying at their house, and she has so many ideas and supplies at our fingertips.  Fun!!!