JENSCO

May 6, 2009

2009-06-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

On the day of our third anniversary, we took a walk down memory lane. Jen found herself whisked away to the Starbucks in Mountlake Terrace where we started our first date. Then we went to the church in Greenlake where Scott spotted Jen from afar at his cousin's wedding. Then to the church we were married at, University Christian Church. A picture of Jen coming down the aisle, looking slightly less formal than three years ago. Last picture is outside the Edgewater Inn, our wedding night location. This time, we had a great lunch at the 67 Restaurant there... It's been three wonderful years and we're just getting started!

More Ketchup

2009-06-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

Some more catch-upping. first a picture of Jen and I's godson, Joey Crouthamel with his parents, Brenda and Matt at his recent birthday party. Then a couple pictures of our pets: cat Greg, and dog, Roxy. Cat Kenney must have been hiding at the time of the photo shoot. Then some pictures of a fun outing down to bro in law Robby's parents' house for a summery hangout evening and pickleball extravaganza. Then a picture of bro David with his wannabe Snuggy, as well as a couple pics from sister Heather's March birthday get-together. Followed by pics from St. Patrick's Day 2009 where we feasted on corned beef and cabbage, colcannon, soda bread, and Black and Tans. And the last picture is of the stateside gang at the Seattle PF Chang's the night we went to the Lion King production at the Paramount. Fun night!

Anniversary Trip to Portland, May 2009

2009-06-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

The weekend before our third anniversary we took an overnight trip down to Portland, Oregon. We had a great time! Our hotel was downtown, close to everything. We enjoyed an amazing meal at a Spanish tapas restaurant, Toro Bravo. Also enjoyed a lunch trip to the Bridgeport Brewpub. Breakfast was courtesy a French bakery in northwest Portland, St. Honore. And lest you think all our highlights were culinary, I'll add that we happened by a huge scooter shop, and had fun being tempted by all the latest scooter models. Also, since we both love H20, we had to squeeze in a late night swim in the hotel pool.

Eagle Crest: Spring 2009

2009-06-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

Scott's stateside family took a trip to Eagle Crest this Spring. It's located near Bend, Oregon and has been a favorite getaway spot for years. This year was as great as always. Weather alternated between crisp sunshine and light snowfall that didn't accumulate. Highlights were lots of relaxing, watching movies and playing the Wii, playing our new favorite game, Bananagrams (like Speed Scrabble), going for walks along the river, tennis, and hitting the Taj Palace's primo lunch buffet two days in a row. The family took turns making dinner. We also enjoyed a stop at a great coffeeshop, Backporch Coffee. Good times!

Some catching up...

2009-02-16T07:48:00.000-08:00

We're behind on the blog updates! So here are some holiday and miscellaneous pictures. First we have assorted Christmas pictures. Christmas Eve and morning were spent with the Molls in Lynnwood. We spent the night and had to fight the snow to get out of town. Dang convergence zone! Then Christmas Day was spent with the Seelys in T-town. There's a picture of us skype-ing Stephen and Valerie and Josiah in China that day. We did one last Christmas get-together later that week, again at the Molls to see Aunt Su and Uncle Eric who'd been snowed in in the San Juans. It was a great Christmas season! Also included are a couple scooter pictures, including ones of brother David and bro-in-law Robby demonstrating improper scooter riding technique. Next are a couple pictures of friends Rob and Elise with baby Micah-- a really cute little guy with a thousand facial expressions. Finally, some pictures of Jen and I's Valentine's Day. We had a romantic dinner at home: Etuffee, jalapeno corn muffins, asparagi, strawberries and truffles. We're so thankful God brought us together!

Insert Creative Title Here

2008-12-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

A handful of pictures from our latest comings and goings. First, is a picture of the Kenny and Carie Heaton family who we visited in early November. They're the ones whose wedding provided the opportunity for Scott to spot Jen in 2005. Next is another friend, Stephanie Sanguinet, who we had fun showing the sights in T-town. Next are pictures of two of our three furry kids, Roxy the Boxer and Kenney, who's hugging the couch in front of the fireplace. Followed by a picture of us in front of Tacoma's Christmas Tree at the annual lighting. Then there's a few assorted pictures of wild celebrators for Jen's 28th birthday. And to conclude, we submit two pictures of Buddy scooters. Jen's on a Buddy 150 Pamplona, and Scott's on the scooter we've purchased, the Buddy 150 St. Tropez! We pick it up on Dec. 13th...

Attack of the Pumpkins

2008-11-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

This year we continued our October tradition of getting together with siblings and friends for a trek to the Spooner Farm near Orting. There we picked out the perfect pumpkins for carving, sampled seasonal goodies in the gift shop, and tested our pumpkin launching prowess at the slingshots. Then we enjoyed a Fall meal at the apartment of friends Heidi and Tiffany. The crowning moment of the day though, was the intensely competitive carving contest, followed by the parade of pumpkins. A good time was had by all. Participants in this day of festivities were Scott and Jen, brother David, sister Heather and bro-in-law Robby, and friends, Tiffany and Derek, Heidi, Gina, Marja and Todd, Callie, and Pat.

Leavenworth

2008-10-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

Our annual weekend in Leavenworth for the Ogden family reunion was fun like always. We stayed at a new hotel, The Enzian, which was closer to the center of town, plus had the added amenities of 2 pools and hottubs, morning alpenhorn performances, and free admission to the 18-hole, grass mini putt course. We'll definitely be back! We played 2 rounds of the mini putt and Robby Lanouette was the champ. (But did he get a hole-in-one like a certain somebody else? I think not!) We also held the 4th Annual Seely-Ogden family run and had a good number of participants for the 5K course. It goes without saying that we hit the traditional stops in town, like the Renaissance Cafe, the Soap Shop, Visconti's, Prey's Fruit Stand, and Starbucks for the first pumpkin spice latte of the year. But we made a new discovery too-- The Cheesemonger's Shop, which was a great place to sample gourmet cheeses. About thirty-five Ogden related folks showed up for the reunion and it was great catching up with them too! Until next year...

More Miscellaneous Summer Pics

2008-09-19T04:10:00.000-07:00

Among the fun things we got to do this summer was our German dinner. Scott and his brother, David, prepared the meal as part of an annual family tradition where a different country's cuisine is picked each year. Attending the meal were Scott's family, and a family friend, Heidi. Scott's mom made lederhosen for him and David. Nephew Josiah wore a pair of his dad's. Then there was the great meal that Heidi, and another family friend, Marja, made at Heidi's apartment. It involved everyone being able to cook their own food on little burners. It was fun experimenting with all the different ingredients. Scott had a 36th birthday in September. Last, was something Scott and Jen had been planning for a while: renting scooters and riding around town to some of our favorite spots. We're hooked and plan to buy a scooter next year.

Fortune should be just around the corner...

2008-09-05T07:58:00.001-07:00

Our sixteen minutes of fame has been extended just a bit longer... A month or two ago, Scott was at our favorite Tacoma coffee spot, Satellite Coffee, and was asked by a person there if he'd mind answering a few questions for an article. The article has now appeared in a local Tacoma Arts magazine. Here's the web address. Just copy it into the internet address bar. http://www.cityartstacoma.com/tacoma/issues/CAT098/CAT098_article.html

Together with the Fam'

2008-08-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

This summer, we enjoyed spending lots of time with family. Since Scott's brother, Stephen and his wife Valerie and son Josiah were in town for a month we took advantage of the opportunity to take family photos. Robby Lanouette, sister Heather's (soon to be at that time) husband took a starring role in the photos as well. Then besides the family camping trip, we enjoyed seeing Jen's family for birthday get-togethers, and house projects. (We enjoyed seeing them for the house projects more than they did probably, since it was our house that was being worked on.) We also had a great time with Jen's cousins, Chris and Kara Proctor, going to an exciting Seahawks exhibition game at Qwest Field. I guess we don't do it often enough though, because we showed up in the other team's colors by mistake.

Summer Trips

2008-08-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

Having already taken that big trip in May, we didn't travel too far the rest of the summer. But we did have some fun shorter trips, to various parts of the state. First, we visited Toppenish, Washington, the town where Scott's dad, Stan, grew up. We enjoyed catching up with Stan's sister, Sharon, and her husband, Jim Wilson. They showed off the impressive murals that Toppenish has come to be known for. We also had a fun weekend trip to a spot on the Columbia called Crow Butte, with Jen's extended family on her mom's side. Unfortunately, we had too much fun there, catching up with family, jet-skiing, playing volleyball, that we didn't take any pictures to share. Then it was a day trip with Scott's brother David to hike in the Enchantments, outside of Leavenworth, Washington at a place called Lake Colchuck. Incredible scenery and one of Scott's favorite places. Last, was a trip we took in August with Jen's brother Andy to Pinnacle Peak, in Mt. Rainier National Park. Great scenery here too, with amazing, up-close views of Mt. Rainier. We also slid down a snow field. (intentionally).

July Pictures

2008-08-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, even though it's almost September, we're catching up on some summer events. This year, the Tall Ships festival came to Tacoma. Jen, Scott and Scott's brother David, went and had a nice time seeing all the amazing ships. We also had a lot of fun this summer spending time with Scott's brother, Stephen, and his wife Valerie, and their new son, Josiah. Here are a couple pictures of backyard family fun. Our 9-month old Boxer, Roxy makes her appearance. Finally, we have a few pictures of the rehearsal dinner for Scott's sister Heather and her soon-to-be husband, Robby. We had a great time at Joeseppi's restaurant, hosted by Robby's parents.

Rome and the Vatican

2008-07-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

The 3-week trip was wrapping up. All that was left was a train ride down to Rome where we'd have about ten hours to sightsee, then sleep and hop on a plane back to the U. S. of A. We packed a lot into our ten hours in the Eternal City. We first went by Metro to the Vatican (Country 9) and saw the Vatican Museum with the Sistine Chapel along with St. Peter's Basilica. Then we went to the Colosseum area, followed by the Pantheon. It was amazing to see these historic sites! As evening approached we took a walking tour of Rome, guided by Rick Steves in our, by now beaten up, travel book. We saw the beautiful Trevi Fountain just in time for the lights to come on. Dinner was one of our best of the whole trip, at a restaurant called the Sacred and the Profane. Their antipasti plate was alone worth coming back to Rome for! Then it was one last round of gelato, a peek at the Spanish Steps, and a collapse into bed. After 19 or so hours of travel the next day, we were back home in Washington, loaded with memories of a spectacular trip!

The Cinque Terre

2008-07-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

After arriving back in Venice at the end of the cruise, we took a train to the west coast of Italy to the Cinque Terre. This spot is a little bit off the beaten path and has incredible scenery. It includes five towns perched on the edge of the Mediterranean and we stayed two nights in one of the towns, Vernazza, home to about 500 locals. During our stay we enjoyed great Italian meals. We loaded up on pesto, which originated from this region. On one of our days we also hiked to the other four towns and Scott swam in the sea. It's a beautiful area and we'd love to visit again!

The Cruise

2008-07-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

Venice was the departure point for our 7-night Eastern Mediterranean Cruise with Royal Caribbean. We loved being able to unpack and sleep in the same space each night, leaving the driving to someone else. The cruise was a good way to recharge our travel batteries. We also really loved the ports. We went to Dubrovnik, Croatia, then Kusadasi/Ephesus, Turkey, then Santorini and Corfu, Greece. On the ship we played a lot of putt-putt golf, rock-climbed, swam, ate great food, and enjoyed socializing with our table partners in the dining hall each night.

Venice

2008-07-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

We took a night-train from Munich to country number 5, Italy, and more specifically, Venice. We had a great time exploring Venice by foot and by water bus. We even got to splurge on a gondola ride thanks to Jen's grandparents, Spence and Mary Moll. It's an amazing and photogenic city with maze-like streets. Fortunately, since it's an island, it's hard to get too lost there. If your feet are getting wet, turn around. One other major development: Venice marked the beginning of our grand gelato binge. From this point on, a day without at least one round of gelato was blasphemy.

Deutschland and Reutte, Austria

2008-07-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

After France, was a train trip east to Bavaria, Germany. Our main travels in Germany followed the general route of the Romantic Road, a medieval road leading from Wurzburg in the north, into the Alps, and ending up at Fussen, a city with two famous castles. In Wurzburg, we visited Scott's family friend, Vivian Becker. She really made us feel welcome and made sure we had a great experience in her city. Then we rented a car and drove along the autobahn (!) to Rothenberg, (another medieval site) a beautifully preserved, walled city where most buildings were several hundred years old. Last was Fussen and the fairy-tale castles there. To pick up country number four, we did also drive across the border to the Austrian vacation town of Reutte. And before leaving Germany, we dropped the car off in Munich and enjoyed a colorful respite in a shady, packed, and massive beer garden.

Country Deux- France

2008-07-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

Next we traveled by train to France. Our two main stops here were Paris and a spot in the countryside southwest of Paris, near the Atlantic coast, where we visited Jen's family friends, Rachel and Pierre Stupple. We had a great time with them! They showed us exotic donkeys, the joys of multi-course dining and why living in the French countryside is a temptation that's hard to resist. In Paris, highlights were the famous sights and a Seine River cruise, exploring the city on the Metro subway system, picnicing, and the best falafel sandwiches this side of Israel.

Europe Trip 2008

2008-06-29T18:08:00.001-07:00

So like I said, we went to Europe for three weeks in the month of May, 2008. We traveled by plane, train, automobile, cruise ship, gondola, and foot. We visited nine countries, counting the Vatican. Here are highlights of country number one: Belgium! The first picture is in Bruges, a city not far from Brussels, called "The Venice of the North" because of its canals. The second is Jen and I on an evening walk in downtown Brussels, and the third is in the same area. The last shows Shannon, our wonderful and generous host in Belgium.

Our 16 Minutes of Fame!

2008-06-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

On April 29th, we left for our long-awaited, long-planned European Odyssey. We'll be sharing a few photos and thoughts from the trip. But let's start with the fame it resulted in-- On June 22nd, news of our journey made The Tacoma News Tribune! Well, it wasn't that hard. They encourage people to take copies of the paper with them on vacation and then take a photo to prove that The News Tribune is a worldwide publication. If you're lucky enough they print your photo in a Sunday edition. And we were lucky enough! That was fifteen of our minutes of fame. Several people mentioned they saw us in the paper. Then we had one last minute of fame because the Tribune incorrectly condensed my description of the photo, placing us in the wrong spot in Deutschland. They printed a correction a couple days later, not because we called them, but because some other soul out there was familiar enough with Wurzburg to complain.

Our little graduate...

2008-04-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

We just finished 8 weeks of puppy-training classes at the Petsmart store. Roxy learned commands like sit, stay, lay down, and roll over. Of course, knowing the commands and doing them are very different things sometimes! Actually she's doing pretty well for an exuberant 5 1/2 month old. Here's a picture of her in her graduation cap.

A few more March pics...

2008-03-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

March was a great month! Along with Heather's engagement, we also enjoyed visits by Jen's mom, Susan Moll, brother Andy, sister-in-law, Nicole, and niece Zoe. Roxy kept us busy too. And last but not least, Jen got a new haircut. Scott approves!

Heather and Robby's engagement!

2008-03-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Scott's sister, Heather, got engaged to Robby Lanouette on March 27th. They plan a July wedding, and we're really excited to have Robby in the family! He's a great addition, and most importantly of course, a great match for Heather. The engagement day saw Robby surprising her with a limousine pickup, followed by the proposal at Titlow Beach, a ride to a city overlook for a prayertime, and then celebrating with the rest of us.

Trip to Oklahoma!

2008-03-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

We traveled to Inola, Oklahoma, (a half hour east of Tulsa) over the Easter weekend to see the first of the next generation Seelys, Josiah David, born to Stephen and Valerie. We packed a lot into our short weekend there. The whole family made it, and we enjoyed being nine-strong for the first time. (Soon to be ten! See the post on sister Heather's engagement.) Highlights were seeing our cute nephew, catching up with Stephen and Valerie, spending time with Valerie's wonderful family, (parents, Harvey and Verna, and sister Andrea) meeting the gracious Bobbi who hosted us at her nearby home, and touring the Jantz farm. Jen and I really enjoyed our short taste of country life!

More Roxy Pictures...

2008-02-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

We started puppy training classes on Monday night at Petsmart...she's learning to sit when asked. We're having lots fun with her. We've begun taking her on walks and we took her on her first run at Point Defiance on Saturday. She's grown to 16 pounds already!

Announcing Baby Claire...

2008-02-27T18:57:00.000-08:00

Our cousins, Matt & Brenda, had their baby girl, Claire Elizabeth Joy, on February 22nd! We're sure Claire's big brother, Joey, is a big help with his new sister. We're so excited about the latest addition to their family!

Our nephew, JOSIAH DAVID SEELY

2008-02-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

Scott and Jen welcome their nephew, Josiah David! Josiah was born to Scott's brother and sister-in-law, Stephen and Valerie, on Sunday, February 17th! He was 8 pounds, 6 oz. and approx. 20 inches long! What a charming, good looking young lad! We're so excited abou the recent addition to the Seely family and can't wait to meet him in March. We'll be traveling out to Oklahoma on Easter weekend to meet this adorable nephew!

The latest and greatest...

2008-02-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

A few more pictures of some of the things we've been up to lately. First, we have pictures of Jen's mom Susan's birthday party. It was held at Jen's grandparents, Spence and Mary Moll's house in Renton. It was the first time Jen's family got to see Roxy, our rascally boxer. Another highlight of the evening was our niece Zoe's antics, including wowing us with a virtuoso organ concert. Then we have a picture of Roxy back visiting her siblings at the breeders' house in Rochester. Her bigger sister, and BIGGER brother promptly pinned her to the ground and investigated/put her in her place. But our girl's got spunk and by the end, she turned the tables on her bigger sister and had her pinned, even sending her retreating under a table. Ah, sibling love! But Roxy had a blast finally getting to play with other dogs again. Our cats still aren't letting her get too close. Then, we have pictures of a bowling outing with Scott's siblings, David and Heather, and Heather's boyfriend, Robby. And finally, a picture of Jen and Roxy trying out Roxy's brand-new crate. It's just big enough.

A few more miscellaneous pics

2008-01-25T22:02:00.000-08:00

Just a few more pictures from the Jensco Corporation. The first is a gorgeous amaryllis flower we got for Christmas from Scott's parents. We're going to start a new tradition of annually growing one of these amazing indoor flowers. The next is of Jen's brother Andy helping Scott build the kennel for Roxy that she'll be ocassionally using once the garage gets a bit warmer. The next is of our other kids, Greg and Kenney. The last is a trio of pictures from a winter walk we took with Scott's sister Heather and her boyfriend, Robby, at one of our favorite Tacoma places, Chambers Bay Golf Course.

You requested it, you got it-- More Roxy pics!

2008-01-25T21:44:00.000-08:00

Here are more pictures of our 9-pounds-of-trouble puppy, Roxy. She's been really fun but a lot of work too. We don't want to hear any more complaining by new parents of infants about, "Oh, it's so hard!" We've been getting up multiple times a night, packing a bag whenever we take her places, monitoring her bathroom habits, and trying to train her to be in her crate-- you know, all the usual parents of infant things. But even with the challenges, we've fallen in love with her, and in all seriousness, she's a good girl. Easier to work with than most puppies her age. She loves to be around us and is definitely part of the family. The cats aren't so sure about her yet though...

New Puppy Pictures...

2008-01-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest pictures of our soon to be dog, Roxy!

2008-01-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

We want a cute, rolly-polly puppy...and her name is Roxy!

The Jensco Corp. has been researching Boxer dogs since spring of 2007 and we received word on December 31st that a six and a half week old Boxer puppy could be ours in a few weeks! We drove down to Rochester, WA on January 1st to check out the liter, meet the breeders (Britlyn Boxers / http://www.britlynboxers.com/) and meet our puppy, "Flashy Girl 1." We had so much fun seeing the six puppies and got to interact with several other grown Boxers.

The plan is pick up Roxy on Saturday, January 12th. Stay tuned for stories and pictures of training and adopting this adorable dog!

Enjoy some of the cute photos of the coming addition to the Jensco family!

2007 in Review

2008-01-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

2007 was an eventful year and we have a lot to be thankful for!

To begin with, we were able to take a few trips, first going in the Spring on a short Seely family vacation to Lake Shuswap in British Columbia, where we enjoyed relaxing in a big house and taking in the scenery. Then, we went back to Canada in May for our first wedding anniversary. The weekend was split between Victoria and Vancouver and, despite Scott coming down with a bad cold on the second day, it was fun. We wandered the inner harbor of Victoria, toured Butchart Gardens, and had a great Thai dinner in Vancouver. In July, we went on a Moll family vacation to Crow Butte, a campground on the Columbia River, south of Prosser. This was a fun time too, sleeping in a tent, catching up with family, and spending most of our days playing games and swimming in the river. Our last trip was the annual Leavenworth weekend with Scott’s family in October. It lived up to our anticipation again, with the beautiful mountain views, family times, and great German food! Jen even got Scott to join her for the Chicken Dance to polka music in the town hall.

Other miscellaneous events this year include Scott coming down with mono in September. He doesn’t recommend it, but fortunately it didn’t last as long as it could have, plus Jen dodged it. We also worked on a handful of house and yard projects, our favorite being the creation of an Asian-style sideyard off of our kitchen, complete with a trellis with bamboo screens, a bistro table and chairs, and big clay pots brimming with golden bamboo. It was fun to BBQ and eat dinner out there on summer evenings. Check out the before and after pictures.
We also ran a couple races. The first was a 12K in June, the Sound to Narrows, where Jen surprised Scott by running a pace that was a minute faster per mile than she’d been able to do in her training. The second race was a 5K, the Third Annual Seely-Ogden Invitational Run in Leavenworth.

Our Wedding Day Story...

2007-01-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

You can watch a movie that highlights our wedding day at:

www.cinematic-memories.com/seely_hl.htm

January 2007...

2007-01-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Looking back...and looking forward!

2006 was an incredible year for the Jensco corporation which highlights the joining of two lives and the beginning of their wedded adventure!

We settled into our Tacoma home after our honeymoon in Maui, enjoyed time with family and friends, traveled our backyard of the Pacific Northwest, as well as Monterey & Carmel, California and enjoyed every moment of 2006.

Here's to a new year ahead...one we hope to include you in. Look for the latest updates of our adventures. They may be ordinary, but here's to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary events of life!

We wish you a wonderful year in 2007! God bless, and thanks for sharing the adventure!