PCI Pride

I don't care if it seems cheesy, I'm posting it anyway.  We work for a really, really great company.  I think working there 15 years is proof enough, but I'm sharing a little bit of my pride on the blog.  Our company recently created a video that is...well simply put...freaking awesome!  Check it out, might make you want to work here too :)
PCG Video
PCG website

Seattle Getaway

In early December we were able to get away for a kid-free weekend to Seattle.  We jam packed our weekend with things we love; especially some of the things we love about Seattle.

Friday we did a 3 hour food tour with Savor Seattle Tours.  This is the second tour we've done with them; we love it every time.  We get to eat & drink  lots of yummies and we learn something new about one of our favorite cities each time we do it.

 Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company.

They shared their secret recipe for frosting with me - amazing!  The cupcake on the right is a bacon and maple syrup cupcake, the one on the left is chocolate & tomato soup.  Neither sounds that great but both were to die for!

 No trip is complete to Seattle unless we visit Serious Pie.  And we were lucky to have it on our tour this time too.  Potato and rosemary pizza - so, so, so good.  They even have one with an egg on it, we love this place!  Thanks to cousin Grant for introducing it to us years ago.

 Great Seattle trivia behind the gum wall.  The Market Gum Wall even made Wikipedia, go figure we never even knew it was there.  If you've been to Seattle and never seen it, you should look it up.

 Another place we've walked by 1,000 times but never been in, The Pike Brewing Company.  We had some interesting training on beer tasting and beer pairings...who knew it wasn't only for wine.

Saturday was the Seattle Street Scramble.  Seriously so much fun...well at least it was for Barb.  Betsy and Jason were skeptical.  All in all we ended up having fun running around downtown Seattle.  The organization has several throughout the year all over western Washington.  Get a group together and get out there!  You'll love it.  Or maybe we'll see you in Seattle next December.

 Fran's Chocolates was a tip from our tour guide although it wasn't on the tour.  We managed to fit in some coffee and chocolate late Saturday night.  Fran's is unique to the Seattle area and has some of the finest chocolates around.  Great for a special treat, Valentines Day is right around the corner!

In true Hendricks fashion we signed up for a race while visiting The Emerald City too!  The Jingle Bell Run is held every year in downtown Seattle and helps benefit arthritis.  We've been there many times during it, and never thought to sign up.  It was a little cold and wet, but still fun.  A great way to start a Sunday that's for sure.

 Our beloved Seahawks had a COMPLETE BLOW OUT against the Arizona Cardinals.  It was a great season Hawks, can't wait to see what you've got in store next year!

This boat was blasting Christmas music late into the night...very festive...tis the season!

 Good night Seattle, until next time.

To Infinity and BEYOND...

In typical Hendricks fashion, we ALL willingly participated in Halloween this year.  Gavin was really into it so we let him chose his costume and then we worked in a family theme around that.  His first choice was a muppet (had no idea what I was going to do for that).  A few other ideas later, he finally settled on Buzz Lightyear.  Liam = The alien, Barb = Jesse, and Jason (who actually resembles the toy very much!) = Woody.  We got more candy than this non-candy-eating family could every need.  Gavin thinks it is quite the treat to get some sweets after dinner.

We are just now getting neighbors (in November) so we're so excited for next year's Halloween when we have a full cul de sac and can celebrate with our close neighborhood.  Also in Hendricks holiday tradition - we gave away KING SIZE candy bars.  Needless to say those were a huge hit!  We have a reputation to uphold now.

Seattle 3 Day

This was our 5th year participating in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day 60 mile walk.  We've always walked in Arizona, but chose to walk Seattle this year. We had supporters and babysitters so it made it an easy decision.

This is an amazing event that can't be described unless you have an opportunity to participate and/or volunteer.  We appreciate all the support our friends, family, and co-workers have given us over the years.  We couldn't do it without you!

Together the Hendricks family has raised over $34,600 in the past 5 years.  We have already begun our fundraising for 2013 where we will again walk in the Seattle 3 Day.

If you'd like to donate to our 2013 walk please do so at our website:  Seattle 3-Day 2013.

Thanks to everyone!!

Ragnar Del Sol

Have you ever heard of a Ragnar race?  The Arizona version is a 200 mile race from Wickenburg, AZ to Tempe, AZ.  We had a team of 12 runners, each running 3 legs over the course of 36 hours.  In short it was a LOT of fun, but there was also a lot of sweat, no sleep, snacks not meals, long rides in a van involved to complete the race.  We'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!

 Jeff

 Barb

 Jason

 Christina & Kecia

 Denise

 The finish line!

 Van #2 at the starting line

 Wouldn't leave home without Flat Stanley!!

Jason & David

Hammy rollin' it out before he starts.

Halloween 2011

The REAL costume has arrived.  Superman (with his supporting actors, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and possibly a future Wonder Woman or Batman?)

 Couldn't leave the house without his drumsticks.  When you can't find both drumsticks you improvise:  sold him on a spoon!

 Superman's current favorite snack = Goldfish

 You would think we practiced these poses?  No, he just does this crazy stuff all on his own.

 He rolled around in the driveway hopping, bouncing, running and became a filthy mess - LOVE IT!

 Not sure what the symbolism of his trick or treat bucket on his head means, but I'm sure he'll explain it to us one day.  The bucket is empty minus the 2 pieces in his hand BECAUSE each time a kid came to our house he gave them his candy, so sweet!

Some family members participated reluctantly; when the evening was over we all agreed it was fun and the costumes were a success.

Pregnancy Progress

Every woman loves getting photographed...especially when it's progress of how much fatter she's getting. Seriously though, this is the only time getting bigger is better.  And it's fun to document the progress.  At 27 weeks the baby was estimated to be 2.7 lbs (an average 27 week old is 2 lbs).  Doesn't seem like much of a difference, but at this rate we're putting our money on another big baby!  Grow belly grow - healthy is all we care about!

25 weeks 

15 weeks

Seattle Rock n' Roll

One of our favorite getaways - SEATTLE! We both ran in the Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon in June. It was a nice long weekend with lots of 'touristy' stuff as Grandma Patti came with us this time and she had never been to Seattle.

So freezing cold waiting for the race. It was perfect race weather, but the standing around waiting for the race to start was awful. Jason had his best time ever! Barb came in under 2 hours, not bad for 4 months pregnant. We both were very pleased with our races.

Snapshot from the light rail. Mt. Rainer is always so beautiful on a clear day.

Gavin loved, loved, loved the Space Needle. Every time we were outside he asked about it. He wasn't as into it when we went up in it; he's rather be viewing it from a far so we can actually see The Needle.

Cousin Grant hosted a BBQ and had the whole family over. Great Grandma Jane was so happy to be able to spend time with Gavin.

Thanks for putting together the BBQ cousin!!

Just in case the paparizzi came looking for G-man, he was incognito strolling through downtown.

Blogging...what's that?

We love blogging and keeping our family and friends in touch. If you read our blog regularly you'll notice we haven't put many posts up this summer. It's not for a lack of material. We've been so busy and on the road so much there just hasn't been time to catch up.

I promise to get all of our summer activities up on the blog with pictures and stories of the wonderful memories we've made this summer. At this point I'm going to start current and work my way backwards as I have time to 'catch up.'

Thanks for reading our blog and keeping up with the Hendricks!

Barb

COFFEE!!!!

Yes that's the 20 month old drinking java! Smart mom thought, oh one sip and he'll think...ick! "More, more, more" was the phrase I believe he said after his first sip. He truly is a garbage disposal, eats anything.

PS - at least it was decaf