A Fast and Furious Summer

Why does time go by so fast? If I had a wish, that's what I would do...stop time. Whenever I wanted. Selfish I know.

Here's the very shortened version of summer fun for the Pattersons . . .

Out of school June 5. Onto Singapore for a week. Did some sightseeing. Lounged at the pool, took many a walk and ate ice cream with momma, gondolaed over to Sentosa Island for the BEST fish and chips EVER and a luge ride, caught up with friends from Cairo, did some sightseeing at dad's office and Chinatown and celebrated Cory's 35th birthday at Howl at the Moon where mom did a blow job shot (the most hilarious thing to ever see) and where drinks with Case and Pip flowed through the dueling piano face-off.

Back to Manila June 12. Onto Texas June 13 for 10 days to see Jona's brother and his girlfriend, Amanda. Experienced the best jet lag to date (none!), dove right into Te-jas culture with some authentic Mexican food and margaritas and prepared for our road trip to Big Bend National Park in the box (the dark green Jeep with the most amazing turning radius EVER). Drove to Shiner Brewery for a tour and free beer, almost couldn't keep driving, stopped in San Antonio to visit the Larsons and hit up the largest water park in the U.S. - Schlitterbahn. Had a blast. Spent the night and quickly walked through the Alamo the next day and took pictures with the cutest pair of kids ever, Aidan and Brinn. Kept driving, ate delish nachos and drank beautiful mojitos at the infamous Gage Hotel, slept in a motel in the middle of nowhere and got up the next day to meet Captain Jack, our guide for the next three days. Started canoeing the Rio Grande between Tejas and Mexico, hit a few rapids (Jona freaking, Cory loving), got through them without tipping (can't say the same for Ry and Amanda), took in the gorgeous scenery, applied coat after coat of sunscreen (it was melting off, it was so damn hot!) and camped under the stars (with no mosquitos!). Canoed for two more days, took in more breathtaking scenery through a gorge and flat country, learned a few canoeing moves, survived a quick change of weather - a torrential downpour/almost hailstorm where it was necessary to duck and cover under a bank so as not to be struck by lightning, watched the river double its level (and thanking our lucky stars we were not still in the slot canyon) and made a break for camp in the rain, muck, pounding thunder and tears. Made it safely to camp where we learned the water had risen five feet in two hours. Slept in the van that night. Got up for horseback riding. Rode all day. Never need to do that again. Drove 10 hours back to Houston and enjoyed a bbq and some down time with the fam and fam's friends.

Flew to Seattle June 22 for 2 days. Unpacked, repacked. Bought dad's Nissan for summer driving ease. Hung out with mombomb. Visited Cory's family for a week - shopped, camped, drank, bocce balled, ate and shopped some more.

Got back to Seattle July 1. Scrapbooked mom's 50th bday album while Cory looked at property. Did family stuff for a few days. Broke my cousin's arm playing on the trampoline.

Ferried to Vancouver Island, BC July 6-8. Fell in love with baby Billie (Charlotte Welsh), our new niece. Enjoyed a little bit of cool air and some rain, drank some brews, walked and talked, picked out rocks and ate galore in Sidney with our dear friends Grant and Paula.

Got back to Seattle July 8. Had a family reunion at Cama Beach for five days. Saw lots of cousins, aunts and uncles we haven't seen in awhile. Enjoyed it all - the catching up, bocce ball tournaments, eating, boating, making forts with Riley and Rowan, playing Poker and losing miserably and surprising mom with her 50th birthday scrapbook.

Done with reunion July 13. Went looking for property July 14. Spent the night in a really nice casino. Looked for more property. Moved our stuff in storage to a more conveniently-located storage unit, along with mom's stuff. Went through said stuff. Got rid of lots of stuff. Packed lots of stuff for Manila.

July 16: celebrated our sixth anniversary by kayaking at sunset near Alki beach. Gorgeous, gorgeous evening. Realized we're getting better on the water together all the time. Saw Mt. Rainier clearly - first time it's been like that all year. Got a parking ticket.

Said goodbye to Cory June 18. Cory drove to Big Sky Country with brother and Aaron. Stayed in Aaron's dad's ridiculous place with an even more ridiculous view. Hiked around Glacier National Park in Montana. Frequented a few bars. Jona doesn't know the rest. Jona hung out with friends Sara and Flo, did more shopping with grammie and organized odds and ends. Jona and mom enjoyed a Seattle food tour, ate din with gpa, had lots of talks, watched Shooby Doobie (aka So You Think You Can Dance), took a mosaic class, got nails done, hung out with Dev Dizzle at Anthony's happy hour, watched a couple of movies and picked out a bridesmaid's dress for Amy's wedding in March.

Cory got back July 25. Left for Manila July 27. With overweight baggage. Jona stayed home to hang out with mom and go through more stuff. Jona and mom suffered through record-breaking heat in Seattle, 103 degrees folks. That's right. It was the top news story for days on end.

Jona left for Manila July 31. With overweight baggage. Hard to say goodbye to momma. Got back August 1. Both husband and wife hit the ground running and haven't stopped since...

And there you have it.