Exciting Guests at Work Today

Yesterday, a mysterious email went out to my office saying "tomorrow is Seahawks Tuesday to celebrate our team's great defense..." We were encouraged to wear Hawks gear. Little did we know that some players would be in the office! Just a little bit ago, I got the opportunity to meet Richard Sherman and Bobby Wagner, two members of the Seahawks' Legion of Boom.

Both guys were incredible gracious and kind to all of us. They patiently posed for photos and even made get-well videos for Eric's dad to boost him up after his back surgery. (How kind was that???)

Such a fun thing to happen today!!!

Richard Sherman (#25) and me

Bobby Wagner (#54) and me

Go Hawks!!

Seahawks Training Camp: Go Hawks!

At the end of last month, Eric and I met my brother (Troy) and his family met up in Renton to watch the one of the open-to-the-public Seahawks training camps.

It was a GORGEOUS day ... nary a cloud in the sky. We all agreed that we we were grateful that the grassy hill the crowd sat on faced west; otherwise, we would have been blinded by the sun for two hours and burned to a crisp, even with the sunblock we'd slathered on ourselves!

Before we even got to the seating area, we wandered through the vendor area. We were surrounded by food carts and Seahawks gear galore. I did pick up a white jersey as an early b-day present (yippee!!!!!), so will be quite the fashion maven when football season starts up. One of the tables set up had a guy from the Seahawks office (marketing, perhaps) who was giving out posters to people as they passed by. I noticed that he, as a team employee, had a Super Bowl ring. COOL! I asked him if I could see it so I could snap a picture, thinking he'd hold up his hand to me. Instead, he took off the ring and handed it to me. Whoa!! I was stunned to say the least. He did look a bit nervous when I handed it to Troy so he could try it on, to which I said, "Don't worry. He's my brother. We can't run fast. Plus, we're Catholic and aren't allowed to steal." That seemed to ease his mind, but he still wasn't taking his eye off of that ring (not that we blamed him)! After Troy tried it on, so did Eric. So much fun and something I never expected to do. (Side note: That ring was HUGE!!!!)

Because the Seahawks played on the half of the field that was further away from the crowd, we didn't really see a whole lot in terms of football. We saw the players run drills and plays, but were so far away that the details were lost on us. It was fun to play a sort of "I Spy" game with each other as we sat there. "I see Russell Wilson!!" and "There's Richard Sherman!" were common choruses for us.

At one point, a Seahawks employee offered Troy two VIP wristbands so Kat could go to the area set aside for people with mobility issues. We decided to go together and see if they'd let both of us in with her. No one batted an eye, which was nice. As we watched the practice for a bit, I noticed the Seagals were walking by and I asked if I could take Kat's picture with them. They happily agreed (thanks, Seagals)! Kat LOVED the sparkly pompoms ... I think I know what she might get for her birthday! :)

Ironically, the real excitement from the day had nothing to do with football. Because it was right before Seafair, we were treated to a display by the Marines and Blue Angels. The Blue Angels flew overhead numerous times... even buzzing the crowd during one flyby. The Marines brought in some helicopters to show the crowd (and Seahawks personnel) how they do water insertions. We also got a neat brief education on the various types of helicopters used by the Marines. The last helicopter pass included the airborne Marines holding up a 12th Man flag in the helicopter's open side door. Very fun!!!

By the time practice and the air show wrapped up, we were all incredibly hot (it was over 80 degrees) and ready for some cool AC in our cars. A very fun day together with our extended family and favorite pro football team!

GO HAWKS!

Yes, I did make my hat! :)
(And people liked it ... so THERE, Troy!)

Eric and Ian taking in the practice

Blue Angels

Richard Sherman

Kam Chancellor

Robert Turbin

The crowd

Kat, Troy, and the Seagals
(Notice Kat eyeing the pompoms!)

Ian having a fun day

Marine water insertion

At the VMAC

Kat and me having fun

Go, go, Russell Wilson!

VIP, baby!

Troy sporting a Super Bowl Ring

Eric's Super Bowl bling

The biggest ring I've even worn!

Seahawks Celebration Parade

In case you've been hanging out under a rock, you may have missed the fact that the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII!!! Needless to say, we Seattlites (and many beyond our city limits) are pretty darned excited about this fact.

On Wednesday, the city held a victory parade for the team and it was one heck of a celebration! An estimated 750,000 people attended the festivities ... and the city's population basically doubled for the day. People came from far and wide to attend the parade; I heard of one many from Los Angeles who flew up the morning of the parade and was going to fly back to L.A. that night because he could only get 1 day off from work. Now that is dedicated!! To be honest, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to go to the parade, but my office is across the street from the north end of the stadium, so how could I not go???

I headed out into the mayhem to get some crowd shots a few hours before the parade began, and then happily returned to my office to warm up and get some work done. A few hours later, some of my co-workers and I staked out a fantastic spot on top of the parking garage near of office. I recommended the spot knowing it was a great vantage point from other days I was up there to take random sunrise and cityscape photos. It was perfect. We could see all of the activities, but not get crushed in the crowds.

It was perfect, but COLD!!! When I say it was freezing, I'm not kidding. The temperature hovered in the upper 20s to just about 31 degrees. After standing on a parking garage for the better part of 2 1/2 hours, I couldn't control my shaking, not to mention my fingtertips and toes were completely numb. (I shook so hard for so long that my neck and back muscles were sore the next day!)

All of that aside, it was so much fun to see the sea of fans; our area really came together to share its excitement. It took 38 years for the team to win the Super Bowl and every one of us was brimming with the excitement that went along with it.

Getting home that night, was a bit of an eye opener, though. I went down to the bus tunnel (like usual) and was met with a MUCH larger crowd that I'm used to. My first hint that my commute wasn't going to be "normal" was the line for the south bound train that ran the length of the bus tunnel, up the stairs from the bus tunnel, and then past my office building's main doors. The northbound entrance wasn't that backed up (fortunately) but it was still packed. As I waited for my bus (which was about 10 minutes late), I spoke with a man who told me that he and his wife waited at the Pioneer Square station (just 1 stop north) for an hour and a half waiting for a us. They eventually gave up and came to the International District station in hopes that would improve their chances on getting on a bus. I was lucky and got on the first 41 bus that arrived. There were so many people trying to get on buses that police officers were stationed at the front door of each bus to keep people from crushing each other. Fortunately, people weren't aggressive and acted intelligently. It was a slow commute through the bus tunnel, but I eventually made it home! (Some people eventually gave up and got hotel rooms, I later heard on the radio. Yikes!)

A few highlights/moments to remember:

• The moment of loudness at 12:12
• Seeing the 12th Man Boeing plane
• Seeing Russell Wilson
• Seeing the Lombardi Trophy
• Surviving the sub-freezing temperatures
• Watching the sea of people flood 4th Ave S... like ants on a hill
• Watching a Pabst Beer party truck sideswipe a town car (whoops!)
• Sharing in the celebration with 750k of my fellow Hawks fans
• The insanely busy metro system after the festivities

The fans spilling onto the street ... about 2 1/2 hours before the parade began

The 12th Man

People were everywhere!

The SeaGals and Marshawn Lynch (on the hood)

Coach Pete Carroll

The offensive line

The wide receivers

The running backs

The 12th Man Boeing plane

Russell Wilson

The Lombardi Trophy

This post and this year's football season wouldn't be complete without one more "GO HAWKS!"

Super Bowl XLVIII ... WE WON!!!

Needless to say, the BIG NEWS around Seattle is our beloved Seahawks WON THE SUPER BOWL on Sunday!!

Being a sports fan in Seattle isn't easy. Let me rephrase that. Being a fan of Seattle sports teams isn't easy. We have been trained to be let down time and time again. We're like Pavlov's dog, except with teams losing instead of drooling when we hear a bell.

BUT, Sunday, that ALLLLLL changed! Our beloved boys in blue renewed our faith in Seattle teams and raised our sports spirits higher than we thought possible. Not only did they win, but they tromped the Denver Broncos 43-8. Let me repeat that ... 43 to 8!! Yup - just let it all soak in. Go ahead, I'll give you a moment.

When the Hawks bested the 49ers (tee hee hee) to secure their spot in the big game, we quickly gathered a small group to watch the game with us. My brother and his family, my mom, and Eric's best friend and his family all decided to join us to watch the game.

It was great fun to have a group together to cheer on our Hawks and to make sure no one went hungry (or felt that we weren't showcasing the team enough), we had more food than we could shake a stick at, as well as blue and green jello shots (which Staci later described as able to take the paint off the roof of her mouth!) and Skittles galore. I made pulled pork in the crock pot so people could make sliders as they were hungry (and/or on commercial breaks). Would definitely do that again!! Easy, good, quick... winner!

The kids had fun going between watching the game, playing together, and watching movies in Annika's room. Annika and Conor were glad that our team had more points and were thrilled to point out Russell Wilson whenever we saw his #3 jersey on TV. :)

I think it says a lot that I didn't even use my fancy-schmancy camera at all that day. Until kick off, I was basically focused on getting our house and the food ready ... all to avoid acknowledging my bundle of nerves about the game. After it was clear that we were going to win, I was just too stunned to pull out my camera. SO, pictures from my phone will have to do... Enjoy!

Annika and Mam on Super Bowl Sunday

Conor and Mama ... GO HAWKS!

Staci and me modeling our #3 shirts

Let's just say that Staci wasn't their family's designated driver on Sunday 

Troy ... aka the designated driver

Oh, you KNOW I was going to make thematic cookies.
Don't even try to act surprised. :)

The Columbia Tower the day after the Hawks big win

12th Man flags flying above Century Link Stadium the day after the Hawks won Super Bowl XLVIII

The SeaGals have nothing on our little cuties!

Yesterday, Annika came home from school and was VERY excited to show us something.... enjoy!

Naturally, Conor could not be left out. He studied Annika's cheer and....

If the SeaGals ever go on strike, I have a feeling our kids will be first in line to offer their talents as substitute cheerleaders. What would we call them? SeaKids? ;)

January 2014 Daring Bakers Challenge: Baumkuchen

This month's Daring Bakers challenge was to make a baumkuchen (aka "tree cake"). The basic premise is the cake is comprised of teeny-tiny layers that are quickly made on top of each other. Traditionally, a baumkuchen is made (for lack of better terms) on a pole over a spit. The pole is dipped in a trough of batter and then slowly spun over the spit. The pole is re-dipped in the batter and then returned to the spit. (Repeat until lots of layers make up the finished cake)

Unfortunately, most people don't have spits in their kitchen (Conor spits in the kitchen from time to time, but that isn't quite the same, and often results in him sitting in time out for a little bit.... but I digress...)

I found a non-spit baumkuchen recipe that called for a springform pan and a broiler instead of a pole and a spit, so I gave it a try. I should have seen the writing on the wall when I realized how convoluted the recipe was and how poorly it was written. BIG RED FLAGS there.

The key to this month's challenge was the baking method, which I quickly discovered was not one to do while the kids were in the bath and nearing bedtime. The layered baking method required me to stand by the oven constantly, because I had to watch the cake to make sure each layer didn't burn under the broiler. Mind you, each layer only cooked about 1 1/2 minutes. It definitely wasn't a "mix the batter, put it in the oven, come back in 30 minutes after getting the kids' bathed and put into PJs" kind of experience.

After finishing the cake, I let it cook, drenched it in melted apricot preserves (side note: YUM), and then poured melted chocolate over the whole kit and caboodle.

The next day, we went to my brother's house to watch the Seahawks game (GO HAWKS) and I thought the cake would be a nice addition to the day. I was wrong. It was horrible. I mean "Eric took a bite and spit it into the sink" horrible. I choked down my bite, as did my brother, but I think that was it. The cake and all of the time put into it was a huge waste. Glad I tried a new baking method, not so glad on the recipe I used.

Public service announcement: NEVER USE THIS RECIPE!! http://www.food.com/recipe/baumkuchen-the-king-of-cakes-214171

At least I got my many, many layers!! They were just not exactly tasty layers... oh well. Live and learn!

The January 2014 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Francijn of "Koken in de Brouwerij". She challenged us all to bake layered cakes in the tradition of Baumkuchen (tree cake) and Schichttorte (layered cake).

While Daddy's Away...

On Sunday, Eric went to the Seahawks game with his friend, Matthew. Oh my, but what a game! Soon after kickoff, a massive thunder/lightning storm came through and created quite the stir at them game. Gone are the days of the Kingdome... the massive concrete stadium that protected everyone from the elements. The game on Sunday wound up having an hour weather delay due to lightning strikes in the area. And I mean, there were countless flashes of lightning that night. At one point, it looked like we had a strobe light outside of our kitchen window! (Conor wasn't overly impressed with the storm, but he survived with some extra snuggles with yours truly.) In addition to the Seahawks kicking the 49's tails, the Seahawks fans set a world record for loudest stadium fans... or something along those lines. (So glad I sent Eric with ear plugs!!)

While Eric was off being loud and risking electrocution, the kids and I stayed home and hunkered down while riding out the storm. We made homemade pizzas (you're welcome, Annika) and even had popcorn for dessert (you're welcome, Conor). Apparently, I was rather outwardly concerned about Eric turning into a soaking wet football fan (he only brought a light rain jacket for protection from the weather) because Annika took it upon herself to get a towel from the linen closet for Eric so he could dry off when he got home. (Isn't she the sweetest???)

Amazingly, when Eric got home, he was perfectly dry... talk about miracles!

While the popcorn was popping, Conor decided to show me his superhero dance. Enjoy!!