Fun and Game

RINGING: Today, after dropping Annabelle off at drama camp, CJ and I were back to our new 'norm' of hiking the three miles or so around Green Lake. 

It was 90 plus this afternoon, so the trail wasn't very busy. And unlike last week, when we saw 38 dogs during a lap, this go-round we only saw 17. 

We managed to beat the heat, and CJ grabbed a few blackberries along the way.

This evening, when it was time to pick Annabelle up, CJ and Christian had their trunks on and enjoyed cooling off in the lake. Annabelle and a friend did, likewise. Splashing around in the water was FAR superior to sitting in rush hour traffic!

In the photo below, in the far, far distance, you can see CJ making his way down the high dive steps. For the first time, he bravely did the low and medium dive boards, but the big one was a bit more than he wanted to take on today. No big deal, especially since it's basically the first time he's been swimming this summer. I'll bet he'd go off it next visit. :)

WE'RE JAMMIN': This week is a big one for the Seattle music scene. Grunge gods Pearl Jam are playing two shows at Safeco Field, Wednesday and Friday this week. We're going to the Aug. 8 show. 

The buzz for these shows has been ENORMOUS. They are being staged as a huge fund raiser to help alleviate the "homeless" crisis.  I personally have so much I could say about that topic (it's really not just a homelessness issue, it's a mental health and drug addiction funding issue, for starters), but I'll skip that for now.

Anyway, CJ and I decided to drop by the 'merch' tent for the shows today, in the shadow of Safeco.

Um, BIG mistake. There was a half-block width serpentine line that waved back and forth six times outside of the actual merch tent, and then another four times inside.

CJ and I spent 45 minutes to get through two of the 10 layers of wait and tapped out. (Did I mention it was 90 plus, we were standing on asphalt with no shade and no water and no bathrooms?)

Um, yeah, I don't need any $40 t-shirt that badly.

GAMING: This weekend, we hit a handful of garage sales and picked up a number of new-to-us games. One is a card game called Guillotine. 

Just as an aside, this card game is from Wizards of the Coast, which has its headquarters not far from our house!

Anyway, this game is super fun. Easy to learn, engaging to play, attractive artwork, and I won tonight, which means it's an excellent game. ;)