I got the best surprise ever over the weekend! Like honestly, one of the best surprises of my life. I'm shocked that Jared was able to pull this one off without me catching on. 

A few weeks ago I asked Jared to request a Friday off work before the fall leaves are gone. I was hoping we could do a weekend family getaway somewhere in the mountains or on a lake before winter hits. Jared requested October 22 off, but after I spent several days trying to find an affordable AirBNB that looked nice enough not to be infested with poisonous spiders (like last time), I started to get overwhelmed. Because we live so close to Seattle, hotels/bnbs can be pretty expensive and you kind of have to plan your vacations months or years in advance since you're competing against soooo many other people trying to book weekend trips. Jared's idea to just do a staycation/day trip somewhere pretty became more and more appealing. Eventually trying to plan an overnight trip was no longer fun, so I asked him if we could just stay home and spend Friday doing a fall drive and Saturday knocking out a few house projects. He of course agreed. 

The next day Jared called from work and was like, "Hey, could I plan a date for us in Seattle on Friday night and we'll drop Jack off at my parents' on the way?" I said yes and was excited for a night at what I thought would be either a cool restaurant or maybe an Indie concert of some kind. I've never been to a concert that wasn't like an orchestral concert or choral concert. I would've been pumped for anything. 

Jared wanted to keep our date a surprise until we got there, but when we were almost to his parents' house he got a call from his ticket source who needed credit card info. He picked up the phone and the person asked what concert he'd be going to. Forgetting that I was sitting right next to him, Jared responded, "Coldplay." My hands flew to my mouth and my eyes got huge--I was caught completely offguard!! Coldplay has always been my favorite band and I've dreamed of going to one of their concerts forever. They got me through some tough flights to and from Grenada. Jared loves them too, but between how broke we were throughout medical training and how awful Jared's schedule was, it was never a possibility to go to a concert. I actually check Coldplay's website a few times a year to keep tabs on their tour schedule, so that's why I'm shocked Jared pulled this off as a surprise. Firstly because I feel like I should've known they were coming to Seattle, and secondly because this was only possible because I told Jared to request off the 22nd, and it just happened to be the one day in years Coldplay would be playing in Seattle. Fate!

You guys, the concert was SO GOOD. Jared thought it started at 6:00. He can be a poor judge of time (so can I), so he failed to account for traffic and parking and getting into the brand new venue. This was Coldplay's very first concert in America since before Covid, and this was the first concert ever in the brand new Climate Pledge Arena just built in Seattle. The traffic and entry lines were bonkers. We started to get more and more stressed as the clock ticked further past 6:00. There was a line wrapping around the building to show our vaccination cards to get in. It was nearly 7:00 by the time we made it inside. I was convinced we had missed half the concert. So we were relieved beyond measure when we got to our seats and realized that 6:00 was just doors open, and the concert wouldn't start until 7:00. 
Since this was my first real concert-concert ever, I was caught off-guard during the first song or two at how loud it was. I could feel the bass inside my chest. Between that and being crowded into the middle of a tight row at the top of a steep slope of seats, and wearing a mask, I started getting tunnel vision and panicked through the first song that I'd have an anxiety attack and need to leave. But after the first two songs they played something slower and more familiar (I think it was Fix You) and we started singing along, and for the rest of the concert I was totally fine and on cloud 9. 
I never realized how important lighting is in a concert like this! They gave everyone these light-up bracelets that were programmed to change different colors and turn on and off at certain times. That and the overhead lighting were just so cool. It felt so humanizing to be surrounded by so many people having the best time ever, singing and dancing, after years of covid quarantining. And I'm one of those weirdos who kind of liked lockdown. 
We were about as far from the stage as you can get so I don't have any closeups of Chris Martin or the band, but wow. Such a fun group. They seemed so happy to be playing concerts again. I loved the mix of songs they chose. Lots of old ones and lots of newer ones, and even a really new one I'd only heard once before ("My Universe") that was waaaay better live than it was when I heard it on youtube. It was maybe my favorite song of the night. 
^^I definitely would've worn a t-shirt or something lighter if I'd known we'd be jumping up and down at a Coldplay concert haha. 
^^Right before their last song, Chris saw a little boy in the audience holding a sign that said "It's my 6th birthday!" He invited the little boy and his mom up on stage for the last song and it was just the cutest thing ever. The little boy, Patrick, was wearing the same pants as Chris, who then gave him the microphone to introduce the band and see what it's like to be a rock star. After the show was over they all left together to go backstage with Patrick and his mom. It was the sweetest ending. 

A Coldplay concert was pretttty high up there on my bucket list. It was so magic to be surprised with this experience. A million points to Jared, and to Coldplay. 20/10, would recommend, and I will be needing to attend every Coldplay tour in America from now until they stop touring. What an amazing weekend. 


So I don't forget, I just googled the set-list for our concert and this is what they played. Cray that there were this many songs. It flew by. I feel like they curated their set-list for a post-covid audience, which was really special actually:

Higher Power
Clocks
Fix You
Viva La Vida
Adventure of a Lifetime
The Scientist
Paradise
Human Heart
People of the Pride
Everything's Not Lost
Magic
Yellow
Nothingman
My Universe
A Sky Full of Stars
Coloratura

My First "Real" Concert (Coldplay!!!)

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We found a perfect lil' mountain town over the weekend! We're at the peak of fall in Washington, so we spent our Saturday driving the Mountain Loop Highway in its entirety--a beautiful drive from Granite Falls over the mountains to the quaint town of Darrington. 

^^Here we are at Coal Lake, a hidden lake up a sketchy side road at the top of the mountain. I'm kicking myself for not pulling my camera out during the gorgeous 90-minute drive leading up to this point, but between Savvy being so hyped up that she couldn't stay off my lap and then me being a nervous nelly on the sketchy pot-hole-filled side road near a cliff, the camera was not on the mind. Despite missing some shots of moss-covered fall trees and our canyon view from above the clouds, there was more loveliness to be found from this point onward. We've wanted to find Coal Lake for a few months and I'm glad we squeezed it in before winter. It's small but completely private and tucked away, and the hike in is only like a quarter mile. The road do be sketchy tho. 
^^The road to Coal Lake is right across the street from this lovely viewpoint of Big 4 mountain. Those waterfalls streaming down the face of the mountain got me good. I wish you could see the clouds swirling everywhere. The last half of the road to Darrington wasn't as smooth as the first half, but we couldn't complain about the scenery. Gorgeous big rivers surrounded by huge rocks and enormous trees. I feel really lucky to live here. I've been telling Jared lately that even though I'm looking forward to ending up in Utah, if we had settled down in Utah immediately after residency there may have been a part of me at some point that wondered what it would be like to live somewhere like Granite Falls--a small farming town nestled up against the mountains, surrounded by all types of huge trees and rivers and mountains. It's definitely picturesque, and very me. I feel lucky we get to live here for a season and explore Washington sate.
^^After we finished the Mountain Loop Highway, we stopped in Darrington for lunch. This is the cutest little mountain town I was talking about earlier. It's surrounded by big hills and mountains on all sides. Put some chalets on the streets and I honestly could've been convinced I was in Switzerland. We got burgers and fries and a shake at a little hut called the Burger Barn. Exceeded all my tiny town dining expectations. The burgers were great, the fries and fry sauce were great, the brownie shake that was actually chocolate ice cream with oreos was GREAT. Jack's mini corn dogs were great. The little park we ate in had mind-blowing views. 5/5 stars, would recommend. Especially if you're small-town mountain lovers, like us. 
^^Mom and Dad from Jack's point of view. 
^^SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT?!!
^^Feeling jipped that we don't have a park this good in Granite Falls, even though our town population is bigger than Darrington's. This park was huge, with beautiful grassy fields and a skate park.
^^Jack found these bumpy hills that we assume is a lil' biking track.  Jack would still be racing around them if he could be.
And that is the story of how we found the cutest little mountain town ever, right on the other side of the mountains from our own little rural mountain town. I can't believe this is our life right now. We drove back home a shorter way around the mountains, through some equally as cute farming towns tucked between mountains. Me and Jared agreed that if we'd had more time and flexibility to house hunt, we probably would've ended up somewhere along the half-hour drive between Darrington and Arlington, which is where Jared works. We were able to drive by Jared's clinic on our way home and see his cute face on the clinic's billboard as their newest provider. Jared continues to love his new job, and me and Jack continue to love preschool life. I'm terrified for this next season of life (hopefully another pregnancy/baby in 2022). Can't complain about the backdrop though. 


Mountain Loop Highway and Darrington

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On Saturday we visited the most impressive pumpkin patch . . . in the universe? Bob's pumpkin patch is right between us and Jared's parents, so we got together for a fun fall day at the pumpkin patch. 

^^Sodas because I nearly choked to death on a popcorn kernal in the middle of an enormous corn maze. Yay. Not related, but I find myself coughing a lot lately and just feeling like my lungs are trying to send me a message. I developed some mild asthma as an early teen and it really hasn't affected my life that much unless I'm full-on sprinting, but I think that's what this is. I'll have to get myself an inhaler or something. Also, are you kidding me with this backdrop?! Dang, Washington.
^^My favorite attraction was this 5-gallon bucket train I rode with Jack that my legs were too long for. Soooo bumpy. Soooo fun. 
^^Jack and his Uncle Will each picked out a quirky cool pumpkin from the patch. 
^^Jack holding the map to navigate us through the corn maze. It was huge but we got through it pretty fast, only taking illegal shortcuts through the corn a few times. 

It was the perfect fall day together! Jack was in heavennnn. There were so many other things I didn't get pictures of, like the big sandbox full of tractors, the various kids' mazes Jack dominated, the hay ride behind a huge tractor, and some great quality time with grandma and grandpa. We topped the afternoon off with a late lunch at one of our favorite eats around here--Ixtapa's Mexican food. Looking forward to cramming in some last leaf peeping and fall activities over the next couple of weeks. 

Pumpkin Patch

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Yesterday was crazy town, so I'm posting today. Me and Jack had a morning full of play time and bath time. We ran into town to get our grocery pickup, and then upon getting home it was time to get ready for preschool. Preschool is KING. It has been such a game changer for me and Jack. Jack is an extremely social little dude. He's had to drop his nap to go to preschool, but he's happier than ever, because friends, and playtime, and learning, etc. So he's happier because for the first time in his life he's getting the daily social interaction he craves, and this little homebody right here is happier too because I get a little more time to myself to work on projects and hear my own thoughts. Yay. Preschool for president. 

Anyway, after dropping Jack off at preschool I started getting ready for my Monday afternoon date with Jared since it's his half day. Unfortunately, it never happened because Jared had to run into town a few times to get the 200 sq. ft of sod we were short when we installed our back lawn over the weekend. Happy our back lawn is complete. Bummed about no date. Maybe next week. (Also, sod laying is no joke. Ouchie.) Before we knew it, it was time to get a very smiley Jack from preschool, and then time to get him ready for soccer. After soccer I spent too long making a fancy ramen for dinner. It was really good, but not worth the time that went into making it. Not going on my "regulars" list. Jack was pretty grumpy at this point, because no nap. When he was finally in bed I was too exhausted to get started on my to-do list. Me and Jared collapsed and watched tv. Good life choice. Here are some highlights from our week!

^^Me and Jack decorated for Halloween. Had to snap a shot of his pull-up bum. Pull-up bums don't keep forever. Now that he's in preschool and soccer and a big-boy bed, I'm starting to feel nostalgic about the baby Jack days. Happy they're over. Happy they happened. They were the most exhausting and the cutest. Excited about the big-boy Jack days. 
^^On Friday night we went to our local high school football game. Expectations were low because I've heard that Granite Falls is absolutely not known for sports excellence, but we won by a lot! Jack looooved the whole thing--the football, the marching band, the cheerleaders, the snacks. We bundled up and bought a soft pretzel and hot chocolate (both were top notch). Jack was heartbroken when we left 10 minutes before the game ended to beat the "traffic" and get home. Heartbroken enough that next time we'll probably just stay til the end. He's going to keep us fun, that Jack. 
^^Friday is Jack's day off preschool. It was a beautiful fall day, so we headed to a quiet lake to have a picnic and play in the sand. 
^^I found my new thrift stores! The Goodwill and Value Village a 20 minute drive away in Marysville, so I won't get there too often. The prices are much higher than my beloved Rescued Treasures in Wyoming, but still way cheaper than buying new. I found this cute midcentury Baldwin piano, and after a quick bang on the keys and video call of the back hammers with my brother Jordan who tunes pianos, I went home and told Jared that if it was still there over the weekend when we'd have access to Jared's parents' old suburban, I would be using my $80 Christmas money from two years ago to get myself a piano. Homegirl needs to spend more haha. And it was still there! It's crazy heavy. We had to reach out to our next door neighbor and his friend to help us lower it from the car and roll it into our third garage. When we have more people/equipment, we'll get it into the house. 
^^The fishing toy bribe that got Jack sleeping through the night again finally. Thanks Mom! It was a great week all in all. 

Preschool is King

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