Olive Garden - OPENING DAY

We've never done this before!  

Let's go to a restaurant on opening day!

We've been watching the Olive Garden being built from the ground up (pretty quickly, actually) and, since we drive by there regularly, we'd seen the opening day sign and talked about how it would be fun to have a meal there that day.

I worked today, so lunch was out of the question.  I planned to be home early, but...well, you know how that goes sometimes (and riding home on a bike takes a wee bit longer than a speedy car).  So, we finally got everyone loaded in the minivan at 6:00 p.m. and drove down the street to our brand-spanking-new Olive Garden.  Erik dropped me off to put our names in while he searched the crowded parking lot for an available space.

One hour wait?  No problem!  Erik and the kids can run an errand at the across-the-parking-lot Costco while I pick up a few things at the grocery store and take them home.  Hungry toddler?  Just ask for a breadstick while you wait.  But then there were the three different servers (which one do we ask for?), the wait after looooooong wait for everything from glasses of water to placing our order to the arrival of food to the check (I mean three checks - the first two that were left on our table were for different tables).  And then there were the hot salad plates.  Awesome.  BUT, the manager swiftly brought out ice cold replacements (and then forgot to refill the salad bowl while the plates got not-so-icy.)  Double awesome.

The food (other than the warm lettuce) was good - typical Olive Garden fare.  We tried a special and it was decent.  A little salty for me, but I'm no food critic.

The manager visited our table and said that, with a completely new staff, they were still working out the kinks.  New staff?  I asked why they didn't have any experienced transfers and he explained that they didn't want any "bad habits" following an employee from one location to another.  Seems like a huge chain like Olive Garden could figure out an evaluation system to help prevent that kind of thing from happening, but I'm no businesswoman.

Claire and I folded the chocolate mint wrappers into little origami cranes while we waited (and waited) for the correct check to make it to our table.  You'd think after bringing the wrong check TWICE, the server would wait for our payment, but she disappeared again.  We finally found the right amount of cash to cover our bill and tip, and just left it on the table.

Whew.

From start to finish it was a THREE HOUR TOUR of Italy, and one we probably won't repeat for another three months.

We laughed a LOT tonight, had more than our share of breadsticks, and now we get to say that "we were THERE on opening day!"

And boy, were we there.

And there...

And there...

...

UPDATE: I do want to mention that every single member of the host/wait staff was super nice and accommodating.  Very friendly, very gracious - just inexperienced.  This post was intended to highlight the follies of an opening day with a corporate policy of starting a restaurant with an entirely new crew of employees, NOT to put down any of the hard-working men and women who served us.  With their great attitudes, that restaurant should be a well-oiled machine in a few months (or maybe even a few days, but we just don't have time to risk it!)

Beach Day

What better place to enjoy a picnic than down at the beach?

Hotdogs roasted over a campfire made of driftwood, yummy salads, S'MORES, and...

...watermelon!

Don't forget the watermelon. Or this one will have words with you.

After eating, there is no limit on the number of activities for the kids (and kids-at-heart!)

Playing in the sand at the water's edge,

collecting rocks and shells,

and doing THIS over and over again...

I KNOW! It's just too much fun!

Even though Puget Sound is super cold, it's still fun to wade out a little bit.

Or just have fun from the shore!

Making seaweed hats...

...or holding on to real ones. Either works!

Not really a "beach activity" but we saw plenty of these this year too. ;)

But the highlight of our beach day was a very special concert. Two of the kids disappeared for a while and came back with this - their concert order!

Here they are ready to begin...

Discussing the song order...

And singing their hearts out!

A perfect ending to a perfect picnic.

Vashon 2011

Vashon Island, Washington

This is the house where Erik's grandmother and her 6 brothers and sisters were born. The house that was built by Erik's great-grandfather who traded the beauty of Norway for the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. The house that has heard the conversations of adults and the giggles of children for 100 years.

Each summer, our kids slide down the same sand dunes that Erik and his cousins climbed. They discover starfish and anemones in the same tidepools that Erik's mom and her cousins explored. They play at the water's edge of beautiful Puget sound, just as four generations of children have played.

Thank you, Vashon, for all of the memories so far. We look forward to many, many more.

HAPPY FALL!

Guest of honor

Not that he really cared, or even noticed, but Levi was kind of the guest of honor this year. It comes with the territory when you are the new baby at a big family event.

This what what he did most of the afternoon.

But when he made his grand appearance, look out! There was never a shortage of arms waiting to hold him.

Dad got first dibs.

Claire was next, which included a few kisses, of course!

My aunt enjoyed a few minutes worth...

...as did my cousin.


I love these pictures of G.G.smiling and talking to her newest great-grandchild. I love even more that she prays for our kids (and us) regularly.




This cousin got the lion-share of Levi time. This was before he ate (as you can tell by the give-me-food look on his face).

And this was after (as you can tell by the just-in-case-he-spits-up bib).

Welcome to the family, Levi!

Nephews

I have some pretty good-lookin' nephews, so I thought I'd give them a post all to themselves. Watch out...cute pictures ahead!

This cute little redhead looks like he could belong to me.

I've been tempted to take him back to CA with me - maybe lure him into the minivan with the promise of a trip to Disneyland - but I think my brother and sister-in-law might miss him a little. We're going to have to work on that, though. Twice a year is just not enough nephew time for me.



And this one I need around to fill me in on all of the stuff I don't know yet.

Seriously...if cute wasn't enough, this kid knows waaaaay more trivia than a kid his age should know. Or a grown-up should know.

In this picture he ALMOST pulled off a Dr. Evil impression. We'll have to work on that - maybe when he joins his brother in CA with us. It might be a little harder to pull off, but I think we could convince people that he is mine too.

And here are a few more of my mini-me, because I know that 2nd children get a little cheated when it comes to photo representation (just ask his dad).

And I happened to catch some great playground moments.

And he has red hair.

YAHOO!!

Bruchmiller Family Reunion

My mom's family gets together every year for a family reunion. It is fun to see aunts, uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins, and, of course, our precious grandma, who now goes by G.G. - a name given to her by her first great-grandchild (at least that's where I think it came from.)

Here is a pic of G.G. and me! She writes the BEST letters (but that's a post for another time). It is always a blessing to spend time with her.

And here she is with some of her great-grandchildren. At the reunion this year, it was just my brother's kids and mine.

So what do we do at these reunions? Well, we EAT (boy, do we eat), but I didn't get a picture of that. I guess I was too busy eating.

We also play...



(if you didn't notice, that is my mom's hand at the edge of the picture - coming to stop the water war before someone got a direct shot to the eye or a camera got wet)

we share pictures...

and we talk...

and talk...

and talk...

and talk.




This is what Levi thought about all of that talking.

Don't worry, buddy.

Next year you can get water sprayed in your eye during the drinking fountain water war.