Brecken

This post concludes my shots from my recent Seattle trip for my rendezvous with my childhood girlfriends. One of the most gratifying moments for me was seeing my dear friend Dawn, as Mom. You see, the rest of us had children very early (most of us have teenagers now), and she's the only one that waited. A long time. I'm going to tell a quick Dawn story even though this post is titled Brecken. You have to know a bit more about Dawn to see where I'm coming from on this post.

Dawn, Liza and I go WAY back. Back to elementary school. Like, back to big crayons. Dawn was what some teachers would have described as say ... um... ahem, a 'spirited child'. She was one of the brightest crayons in the box, but man, this girl was ALWAYS getting in trouble at school. She was a 'textbook' redhead (short tempered, fiery, fiesty) and let's just say, she spent a LOT of time at the principal's office, and I'll leave it at that. ;)

Dawn has been a teacher for over ten years and recently was promoted to be an assistant principal because she has an amazing way with students. But, when I saw her with her son, with so much patience and love, my heart melted, because I saw a love so pure, so true, and so unconditional. Like I said earlier, I just loved seeing Dawn, as Mom.

This is her boy, Brecken and I was very pleased to finally be able to meet her little man.













He tells me this is what he likes to do before bedtime. Part of his routine.



I couldn't resist these shots because look at Henry, the adorable dog!

Seattle: Downtown Kirkland

Our first evening in Seattle, we were treated to a terrific sunset dinner on the waterfront in Downtown Kirkland, which is minutes from Dawn and Jeff's home.

Whistler, B.C., Canada

Shortly after arriving in Seattle, we were already making our way up north to the Canadian border. It was important to me that we make it to Canada as the only border I've crossed is Mexico's. Dawn and her hubby have a studio in the gorgeous little village of Whistler. Mike went skiing in Whistler many years ago, so I assumed it was a winter-only destination, however, it's filled with summer activies also. There were countless choices in dining, shopping, and there's even a nightlife scene. It truly is a spectacular place.

Let me first tell you about our nightlife scene....

I don't know why, (well...yes I do), of all us gals, I was the one who was the most exhausted while there. I kept telling Dawn and Liza it was due to the fact that I had just flown half way across the country to get there, and was getting close to being awake for 24 hours. They kept poking fun, saying how OLD I was acting, blah, blah, blah. But, I certainly felt it, especially since I wasn't bouncing off the walls like Dawn was (some things never change. Ha!)

So after our 4 hour drive to Whistler, and our activities for the day, and then dinner, all I wanted to do was go back to the studio and sleep. The girls wanted to go dance. I thought they were out of their minds. So we compromised and we went to a bar, had a drink, and then agreed to head back to the studio, and that we would dance the next night in Seattle.

This is where is gets fun....
And so typical of what would happen to us while a top a mountain in Canada.

We all wore our heels for the evening portion, and mine were not broken in yet. Only worn about 2 times.
We sat and waited for the shuttle to take us back to our hotel.

But, no shuttle.
So we wait more.
Still, no shuttle.

So what does Liza suggest? That we start WALKING (!!!) and that we'll see the shuttle on the way and it will pick us up. I think she's out of her flippin' mind, but I don't say anything. I just go along...

Let me just preface this by saying, I would have no problem walking anywhere, however--

1). I was in heels. High ones.
2). I was in new jeans that were way too tight and squeezing any remaining air out of my already exhausted body.
3). The walk was UPHILL.

So we start walking, and things are ok for about 10 minutes, and finally off come my heels because the hard gravel feels better than the pain that my heels are giving my swollen, blistered toes. We keep walking. Then, we pass most of the resorts and the hill gets steeper. We're going higher in elevation, so I'm focusing on just breathing. Also trying to keep up with Dawn, cause the skinny bitch is WAY ahead of us (and she still somehow has her damn heels on). We keep walking.

Now that we've passed all those resorts, there is NO light. All we see is the huge, dark hill ahead of us. And we have a long way to go. Oh, and obviously, the shuttle never appeared. By that point, I seriously feel like I'm going to die, or at least pass out. Then Dawn, says, "Oh, no! I hope we don't see any bears!"

What???

I'm in NO condition to 'be alert' and 'bear aware' because I'm just focusing on not passing out and rolling down the wretched hill. Then I throw in my way-too-late 2 cents, about how we should have just taken a taxi from the village and whoever's idea it was to walk, was out of their mind!

So, what do we do? We're desperate, and I'm ready to hitchike. Soon thereafter, we see headlights and we're waving our arms flagging it down, and it's a TAXI! Thank GAWD! If my feet didn't feel like they were going to explode, I would've done the Happy Dance right there.

FYI: If any of you are in Whistler, during the summer, the shuttle does not run every 7 minutes after dusk.



On our way to the village. Happy and ready for an evening of fun.
This is Liza. Isn't she beautiful?






Shots from earlier that day.
















The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held here in 1.5 years! Preparations are alreay being made.

Dawn

I just have to get this post out of the way, and then I can post many of the dozens of shots I got while on my trip. So, as several of you already know, knowing that I had to not only do the painful task of buying a swimsuit for this trip, but actually WEAR one, and in front of my leaner counterparts, was something I was definitely NOT looking forward to. But I sucked it up, and decided I would bring a swimsuit and just deal with my pudge. However, when I pulled out my one-piece, granny-style suit (it even has the attached ruffle skirt), I knew I couldn't pack that frump. So, I dragged my fat ass to the stores, and did the dreaded swimsuit shopping last week.

After 2 stores, and trying on about 20 suits, and feeling very discouraged, I finally found the 'one'!
The one that I actually felt comfortable being in public in.

And then... I get to Seattle and see Dawn...our hostess ...



Now can you see why I had swimsuit distress? If it was a bunch of 'puffy' friends, I would have been fine, but never in my wildest dreams, did I think she would look this hot. And yes, for those of you who are wondering, she has had a child. And not a single damn stretch mark. How is this right?!?

She's no longer Dawn. We now call her Skinny Bitch.
Perhaps though, if the rest of us ran 5 miles a day, we'd look this amazing in our mid 30's.