Egg toss with Dad and I .... it takes SKILL.

John on our back deck ... we are BBQing and getting Kodi used to his new surroundings.

Bri golfing on Father's Day, I believe that look on his face is one of amazement at my golfing skills which are quite amazing, in what way I don't feel like sharing, but yes amazing.

Dad golfing ..... I beat him ... really .....

Dad on Father's Day golfing in Quincy, WA.

My cute husband ...... from our vacation in Santa Monica ......

Yes, this is Kodi who is staying with us for a bit while Bri's on a business trip .... he looks tame right?

We have new carpet! We have new carpet! I never thought the day would come but finally it has been installed. It's so soft and snuggly that I want to hang out downstairs. The old carpet was gray and multi-color berber from goodness-knows when. We are beyond excited.

We brought Kodi home last Saturday to stay and he's been a riot. We love him. He lays down in the middle of our walkways ... I think to make sure that he knows if we come or go anywhere so he can tag along. He's not allowed downstairs and has been a very good dog and has not gone down even once even though we leave the door open. Once we put a couch and TV down there he is allowed but for now no puppies on the new carpet.

That's all for tonight. I am going to try to write daily like Loretta and so it might be boring sometimes.

The first photo is a mystery and I don't know how to delete it so just move on to the Easter photos below :) A great time was had by all.

I am waiting for a frozen pizza to bake. I know that it has artificial preservatives and lots of other bad stuff but honestly, I am making progress in my fitness and nutrition and once in a while I just need something bad for dinner. At least I'm not having chips and dip for dinner which happened a few weeks ago. When John's not home for dinner I am left to my own devices. Not because he cooks but because I'm too embarrassed to eat like that in front of him, at least for my actual dinner. I'm only human.

Anyhow, we spent Easter at Aunt Dori and Uncle Fred's house. It was really fun. The smoked turkey was wonderful and someone even made hot mustard (not sure who gets credit for that but it wasn't me). John and I had dinner at BoJack's with Dad and Terri and that was really fun. We also got to sit in the sun with Dad on Saturday afternoon/evening and catch up, I love that they're back in the NW!

I would post pictures but the camera is in John's backpack and he's not home yet tonight! Dang it. Maybe tomorrow.

Today I went to a luncheon for Wellspring which is a charity in Seattle that helps homeless families with their needs, including finding stable housing so the kids can get into school and have 3 meals a day. It was sad and inspiring all at the same time. Over 1000 people attended (it was in the ballroom at the Sheraton downtown) and they usually raise around $500K from this event each year. A client of mine sponsored a table and he invited me to attend. They are especially focused on helping families with children who are not getting the nutrition they need or any type of stability at all, which is critical to forming their little brains and personalities. Disruption is bad and many of the people in this situation are several generations into bad environments and unhealthy lifestyles. It made me think about how blessed I am and most everyone I know is, we are so lucky to have roofs over our heads and a big, loving family that is a HUGE safety net and wonderful, loving parents. I am thankful. So count your blessings and find somewhere to volunteer where the young kids can still be helped! I am going to volunteer my time.

On a much lighter note, the Royal Wedding is this week and I am going to get up at 1 or 2 a.m. and watch it live. I am not alone. Many people are doing this. Let me know if you are going to so we can text during the highlights!!!! John will definitely not get up to participate in this shenanigan with me :) It's history in the making, the next King and Queen of England are gettin' hitched!

OK - the buzzer is saying the pizza is ready and I am starving!!!!!!!! Photos later this week!

The plants in the ground before the rock was added.

Digging out grass ..... lot of work.

Trying to keep Kodi in the backseat of the car.

Hello all. We spent last weekend in Boise visiting my brother and attending the Rockies which is the advertising awards for Idaho. The winners go on to the Pacific Northwest advertising awards and those winners go to nationals. John's agency won a lot of stuff. Kodi was very well-behaved and a snuggle-bug. He is the best dog in America. Bri and John and I hit the Macy's sale and came away with some really good stuff, mostly on pretty good sales. I love a great sale at Macy's. We tried to visit John's parents but didn't communicate well and missed them at their house. Next time. One highlight of the weekend was having a few beers on a patio in the sunshine on Saturday. It was the first time this year I've sat in the sun - very nice. With SPF 30 on of course. If any of you are not wearing sunscreen or going to tanning beds - knock it off. It just takes slathering on some SPF 30. For you ladies my dermatologist recommends Cereva which you get at a drugstore and it's way less expensive than designer stuff - I love it. Then use a retinal prescription cream at night for anti-aging. That's for the over 30 crowd. I didn't take any photos unfortunately but let me see if I have some old ones that I can share just for fun .....

Hello! No photos today - but here's the scoop from the Drake household:

1) John got a new SUV. It's a Jeep Liberty, it's black and I love it. I wish I drove it to work! It's really fun to have in the family.

2) Our new couch arrived and we love it. We'll never again be couch-less, it's too painful. It's caramel colored and comfy and the right size for our Seattle-historical-home-sized living room.

3) I made Aunt Dori's meatloaf and it was delicious last night!

4) I made Terri's corn dip recipe (spicy) on Saturday and it was fantastic! Highly recommend - email me if you want it.

5) Our new down comforter arrived today. Our last one was soooooo old I won't even type the # of years but we were due. Thank you Macy's half-off plus another 20% sale! YES!

6) Oscars are around the corner and are a big event at our house. We will watch the red carpet.

7) I've returned to my running and am suffering through re-entry. Good thing my brother gave me a cool running jacket for Christmas as well as a running watch last year that tracks my time and mileage.

8) I like Nike commercials. They are cool. That's not really news but there was just a Nike commercial on TV.

9) I am embarrassed to say that on Monday's I sneak the channel on The Bachelor and watch the ridiculousness unfold. I'm not proud but this is the truth. The embarrassing truth.

10) I will try to post a photo starting tomorrow.