A few days ago while surfing the Web and looking for a gift for my hubby, I stumbled across Red’s recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Haven’t seen this in years! I hope you enjoy and appreciate this as much as I do. It’s so beautiful … and appropriate as we head into our 4th of July, Independence Day weekend. (Go to the bottom of the page for the video version.)\

Red Skelton Pledge of Allegiance

For the last month or so I’ve been assisting a wonderful couple find a new home. As we’ve gotten to know each other, I was delighted to find that not only are they the parents of darling little Noah, they were huge Ken Griffey, Jr. fans. In fact, the first time I chatted with them prior to their move to Washington, Dad was absolutely certain that four-month old Noah already knew how to play catch!

As the proud grandma of our own little Tyler, just one month ahead of Noah, I decided it was time to get baseball hats for the both of them, which lead to a pair of tickets for my relocated clients. The hats were HUGE on both of the boys, but little Noah loved the game!

1.      Shop Shop Shop (well, you know, it IS the key to happiness … err maybe that’s the money I’d save by …) … shopping at the SuperMall of the Great Northwest! Truly good buys here in a totally undercover outlet mall. Come visit!

SuperMall
1101 SuperMall Way, Suite 1268
Auburn, WA 98001
www.supermall.com

2.      Play the ponies at Emerald Downs! — I always walk away with a coupla bucks left in my pocket … but after a full day of entertainment with the whole family, awesome nachos at the taco bar, and a couple of margaritas, life is GOOD!

Emerald Downs
2300 Emerald Downs Drive
Auburn, WA 98001-1633
(253) 288-7000

3.     Have dinner at the Auburn Avenue Dinner Theater — and laugh hysterically if you visit on Comedy Night!!

Auburn Avenue Dinner Theater
10 Auburn Avenue
Auburn, WA 98001

4.    Chase a golf ball around at one of three fantastic courses:

Auburn Golf Course
29630 Green River Road SE
Auburn, WA 98092
253-931-3005
www.auburngolf.org

A full-service 18-hole facility, the fair, but challenging par 71 course is just over 6,450 yards and hosts over 50,000 rounds of golf each year. 

Jade Greens Golf Course & Driving Range
18330 SE Lake Holm Road
Auburn, WA 98092
253-931-8562
www.jadegreens.com

A 9-hole public course that is described as very player friendly, junior and senior rates are available Monday through Friday. There are additional sets of tees that can be used when playing an eighteen hole round.

Washington National Golf Club
14330 SE Husky Way
Auburn, WA 98092
253-931-8562
www.washingtonnationalgolfclub.com

Located on the scenic Auburn plateau, the par-72 course was co-designed by John Fought and Orrin Vincent. Already recognized as one of the Northwest’s golfing treasures, Washington National combines world-class golf with a campus-like atmosphere as the entire project features a University of Washington theme.

5.       Break out the inline skates .. or skateboards … at 

Brannon Skate Park
611 28th St. N.E.
Auburn, WA 98001

Opened in 1999, this 8,000-square foot, free-form skate park is designed for both skateboard and inline skate enthusiasts. It offers a long snake, three bowls, 3-foot pyramid and grinding rails. 

6.     Bring the earplugs and visit the drags, roadraces, or karting at Pacific Raceways! For us ‘old’ folks, this was always known as SIR — Seattle International Raceways! … I remember burning up the engine on my brand new Mazda R100 …. sigh.

Pacific Raceways
31001 144th Avenue Southeast
Kent, WA 98042-4601
(253) 639-5927
www.pacificraceways.com

Okay, well technically this has a “Kent” address, but for anyone that knows Auburn, this is located just at the end of the Highway 18, 304/312 exit in AUBURN!

7.      Go to a show at the White River Amphitheatre — the biggest names play here, and the setting is spectacular with an ‘in-your-face’ view of Mount Rainier

White River Amphitheatre
40601 Auburn-Enumclaw Road SE (Hwy. 164)
Auburn, WA 98092
206494-2134
www.whiteriverconcerts.com

8.      Take in a family-friendly show at the Heavier Than Air Theatre at Green River Community College. My kids loved this and it became one of our regular “what’s going on at the Theatre?” when looking for a fun weekend afternoon!

Heavier than Air Family Theatre Company
Performing Arts Building
Green River Community College
12401 SE 320th Street
Auburn, WA 98092

9.      Did you know that Auburn boasts one of the finest symphony orchestras in all the Pacific Northwest! ?? Comprised of over 60 professional musicians from the Seattle Pacific Northwest Ballet and other Northwest orchestras, this is not just a small-town orchestra. The Auburn Symphony is a professional, incredible! group of musicians that put together highly technical performances.

Auburn Symphony
Auburn Performing Arts Center
700 East Main Street
Auburn, WA 98002
http://auburnsymphony.org/

10.      Have an outdoor picnic at Flaming Geyser State Park. Yes, there really is a Flaming Geyser at Flaming Geyser State Park

Flaming Geyser State Park
23700 SE Flaming Geyser Rd
Auburn, WA 98092

Located on the Green River, the park is another of my favorite summer-fun places. As I look through their site, though, here’s what I didn’t know: There’s a full-blown remote control model airplane field there! Whoo hoo! Gotta check this out!  

I count myself spectacularly blessed to have a healthy happy family. Yes, we’ve experienced our share of anxieties … each time Children’s Hospital in Seattle was there for us. The doctors and nurses at Children’s are possibly the most dedicated medical staff to be found anywhere. Our needs were small compared to those of thousands of other families and their children. Yet we have always been treated with compassion, respect, and professionalism. The care of children just doesn’t get any better than at Children’s!

It is a great honor, therefore, to be affiliated with RE/MAX and its continuing support and contributions to the Children’s Miracle Network. A portion of the proceeds of every single transaction in my office goes directly to Children’s Miracle Network. That means every single home that we list for our Seller clients … and every single home purchase in which we assist our Buyer clients … contributes to this deserving cause.

Four years ago, the agents in my office determined that we could and should make a personal difference in the lives of the families of our extended community. With that goal in mind, the idea of an annual Little Miracles Auction arose. With the expert knowledge and guidance of our Broker and hours, days, and weeks of work by our Auction Committee, the Auction became a reality and has been a resounding success, directly benefiting the Pediatric Cancer Research Center at Children’s Hospital!

This year marks the Fourth Annual Little Miracles Auction, which will be held on April 30th at the Spirit of Washington Event Center in Renton. John Curley will return as auctioneer … and entertainment!

Now that the fourth auction is just around the corner, I want to personally issue an invitation to each of you to join us for this wonderful event! Click here to open an invitation. It really IS a lot of fun and benefits such a great cause — our children! You’ll have fun! I promise! Come’on join in!!

And, of course, at the heart of every auction are donations from friends, both personal and businesses. Your contribution will be greatly appreciated! Click here before April 7th to open a donation form.

SO much fun! At yesterday’s Ribbon Cutting event for Becky’s Glamour, my Ambassador duties for the Auburn Chamber of Commerce got caught up in looking at the sparkly, glitzy, diamondy clothing custom decorated by the staff at Becky’s Glamour!

Located inside the SuperMall of the Great Northwest, in Suite 1114 (near Old Navy), Rebecca “Becky” and Jenny and the rest of the helpful staff help design and add sparkly little decorations to virtually any clothing item — hats, jeans, t’shirts, belts. Whatever. How much fun is THAT?!!

Now, I know I’ve missed the names of everyone there, but next time you visit the Mall, be sure to pop in and say ‘Hi’ to Becky and crowd … and order a shirt or two. Now that I think on it, maybe it’d be fun to add some glitz to the ankle of my favorite boots. Wonder if they can do that …..

Oh yeah. That’s me — the little chubby gal — 5th face from the right. Along with other Ambassadors from the Chamber, Mayor Pete Lewis (in the tan coat cutting the ribbon), the staff of Becky’s Glamour, and representatives from the SuperMall.

Your Dedicated Realtor, Blogger, Seller, Buyer, and Short Sale agent working hard for Clients in the Auburn, Kent, Renton, Maple Valley, Federal Way, Covington, Puyallup, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Lake Tapps, and north/northeast Tacoma areas.

Now, before showing you these goofy buildings, you must know that I’m a pushover for houses and architecture. I mean, you know me! Always up to go see the newest subdivision, the biggest home show, the best in designer home tours!

Random Web site took me to see Village of Joy this morning! This fun and crazy Web site specializes is a very different look at buildings! What a step away from the usual mix of staid, ho-hum architecture!

So … without further adieu, visit Village of Joy’s 50 Strange Buildings of the World! Oh Yes! And while you’re there, visit their other links — I thought their 50 Weird and Crazy Cars post was a hoot too!

While working with some delightful clients a while back, I had a chance to interact with their two young daughters, Katy & Sarah. We let their Mom & Dad plow through some paperwork while we colored pictures and talked about playing on the computer.

Inspired, I decided to see what I could find that might be fun for them next time we had a chance to play! These sites look like SO much fun! 

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            • coloring.com   Oh this site is FUN with simple designs for the younger crowd! Click on a page to go to electronic coloring!
            • thekidzpage.com  This is  a flashy site with busy ads for all sorts of things for kids. The printable coloring pages are worth it though!
            • learn about the weather color pages by NOAA   Downloadable stories you can color about different types of weather … think Tornados, Thunderstorms, Snow!
            • color book links  WOW, this site contains links to tons of other sites that have .pdf  downloadable coloring pages! PERFECT!
            • Dover Publications  I get updates from Dover Publications periodically that show off their newest books. Most of them have sketch pages that can be downloaded and then colored. These are generally the high-end adult-type coloring pages for those of us that enjoy coloring with markers with lots of detail. Brings out the “kid” in all of us!
            • National Institute of Environmental Health  Okay, another site where the youngest of us can learn a bit about environment responsibility … these are fun pages that can also be colored online.
            • Crayola.com  Of course there has to be a page with a nod to our favorite crayons, right?

Okay, just one more … apparently there are hundreds of these sites. Who knew?

• Coloring Pages for Kids  So here’s a resource references what looks like hundreds of other sites containing coloring pages. Have fun!

May you be surrounded by friends and family …

and may you be full of good things … like TURKEY!

and may you find a comfy chair afterwards to nap it all off!