It was wonderful to finally see my hubby after 3 weeks!  Friday morning I left for Seattle where Dave picked me up from the airport.  That afternoon he took me on a tour of the town he is staying in, Mukilteo (muh-kill-tee-oh).  It is a small town on the water and is a ferry town.  People can get on the ferry in by foot, bike, car, truck, camper, semi, etc... and the ferry will take them to Clinton, WA.  Dave gets to wait on ferry traffic to get to and from his hotel, which is right on the water.  There are always scuba divers outside the hotel - morning, noon and night.  Night - I was surprised at how late the sun sets in Seattle.  Right now, the sun doesn't set until 9pm.  As during the middle of summer, the sun doesn't set until 11pm and will rise at 4am. 

Friday night we went into the Boeing plant where Dave works (in Everett).  The building was HUGE!  In fact, it is the largest building in volume (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Everett_Factory) - I checked my facts :)  The planes are amazing.  Dave works on the 787, Boeings newest commercial airplane the "Dreamliner".  They also build the 747, 767, and 777 in the same facility.  It was 6pm on a Friday night and there were people working furiously everywhere.  I got to meet Dave's teammates & boss.  All were so nice and had such nice things to say about Dave.  In fact, they gave him an award that afternoon for doing such an outstanding job (he's only been there working for 2 weeks!).  I was very proud of him!  Anyway, the plant is huge.  It boggles my mind to think about how much tedious work it takes to complete one of those planes. 

Saturday we did the tourist thing.  We went downtown Seattle to Pike's Place Market (the "fish market").  I was so impressed by all of the fresh fish, flowers, produce, and many goods that people were selling.  We also visited and enjoyed a treat from the original Starbucks.  We then took the metro to the Space Needle.  We waited for almost 2 hours to ride an elevator up to the top.  We were able to walk around and see every angle of the city.  As you can see by the first picture, it was a very beautiful, clear & sunny day.  It was amazing how you could see all of the city, the ocean, and the mountains all at the same time.

Saturday & Sunday we went to Dave's usual breakfast place.  He eats his breakfast at noon there every day.  Not only do they have good food, but they had outstanding freshly squeezed orange juice. 

Sunday we went for a drive in the mountains.  It was cloudy and drizzly that day, but the drive was beautiful.  We went south east to Snoqualmie Falls.  The water fall is 100 feet higher than the Niagara Falls, and also serves as a hydro power plant.  You can see the fall from a small observation walkway and deck.  Dave has truly enjoyed exploring the different mountainous views and wonders.

Monday came all too soon.  It was so hard for me to walk away from Dave at the airport.  However, he'll be back in Missouri/Illinois in 4 weeks for the wedding celebrations (my sister and her sweetie are getting married!). 

And for those of you who are curious, MoJo had a wonderful weekend at the Kennelwood puppy resort and spa.  I think he had a wonderful time playing with all of his furry friends and being pampered by their wonderful staff.  He was so exhausted when he got home that he slept all evening and has slept all day today.  I guess Mojie isn't used to partying so much :)

Overlooking the City of Seattle and the mountains in the far distance.  The day was so clear that we could see Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Baker (what a rare treat)!


Eating breakfast at Patty's Eggnest "Seattle's #1 Breakfast".  Dave eats here every day for breakfast (at noon).  It's a great little restaurant with lots of yummy breakfast and lunch foods.  That morning I had french toast with berries & devonshire cream and bacon - YUM!.


On Sunday we went for a drive in the mountains.  We stopped in Snoqualmie to look at the Snoqualmie Falls (behind Dave).  It was a beautiful landscape with gorgeous flowers.


 

Dave is finally finished with all of his training (six full days worth) and is now hard at work.  He saw 2 Boeing 787s sitting next to each other the other day.  According the his reports: The facility is HUGE, the people are friendly and good to work with, and the scenery is beautiful.  He did so much training last week that his supervisor told him to take the weekend off.   In typical Dave fashion, he went exploring the mountains that surround him to the west.  Below are a few self portraits taken during a hike in the mountains. 

There's been a new addition to the Menold side of the family.  Noah got an early birthday present from Nan & Pa - a puppy.  Hank is a six week old yellow lab who already weighs as much as MoJo.  Below is a picture of Hank - he's known to fall asleep just about anywhere, anytime.  MoJo can't wait to meet and play with his new cousin!!

Hope you all have a great week! ~Kelsey

 

It's David's last week at home before he leaves for Seattle.  So we've been keeping things pretty low key this week.  I was able to snap a few pix when Dave & MoJo spent time doing yardwork yesterday (it was another beautiful spring day!).  I'm going to be really sad when Dave leaves, but Mojie is really going to miss his buddy Dave. 

Please keep Dave in your prayers as he starts his new adventure in Seattle!  We'll be sure to keep you updated on his adventure!