"Cue the Deer!"

I have a photographic memory.

Jon doesn't believe me, but he will admit that I have a very good memory. Such a good memory that I remember obscure lines from movies I haven't seen in maybe 10+ years.

Over the 4th of July holiday, Jon was able to take a couple of extra days off that allowed us to finally get to Seattle to meet our new nephew who was born in mid-May. Memphis in July is a less-than-desirable location, due to the same heat and humidity suffered all over the Midwest, South, and (made-up) Midsouth. Summer to me means hot weather, but I was definitely ready to spend some time in 70-degree temperatures.

The Pacific Northwest did not disappoint. From the moment we arrived on Wednesday until the moment we left on Sunday morning, the weather was amazing. The sun was shining, there was no humidity, and the mountain was out the entire time, all of which prompted my incessant movie quoting.

I have probably seen the movie Funny Farm starring Chevy Chase 50 times since its release in 1988 (forgive the hyperbole). If you haven't seen it (shame on you), here is a brief synopsis: Chase and his wife are city slickers who decide to move to the country so Chase's character can write the next great American novel. Like any Chase movie, nothing goes right and hilarity ensues. Things get so bad that the couple decides to divorce and sell the house. In order to entice some other suckers to buy their home, they convince the townspeople to dress up like subjects in a Norman Rockwell painting and pretend like their town is just as idyllic. When the prospective homebuyers arrive at the property on a wintry morning, a neighbor hiding in the woods shouts through a walkie-talkie, "Cue the deer!" Immediately a fawn is released from a cage, prompting the homebuyers to squeal with delight at what they think is their new dream home.

I wonder who was hiding in the proverbial bushes in Seattle because throughout our entire weekend, all I could think was, "Cue the deer!"

Summertime in the Northwest is clearly the time to convince people to move to that part of the world. I have heard that there hasn't been very much summer this year, but while we were there, it was absolutely beautiful, making the memories of rain and clouds bearable. In addition to the fabulous weather we enjoyed, we crammed in as much visiting--and eating--as we could.

We were able to visit briefly with a few friends in the South Sound area and saw lots of family members. We met our new nephew and celebrated a first birthday (just a few days early) for our other nephew, both of whom are incredibly smart and adorable.

We also ate. A lot. Specifically cherries. Everywhere we went there was delicious fruit, including our all-time favorite Rainier cherries. We ate them as if we were storing up for the rest of the year...which we kind of were.

A metaphor for life?

Just when our weekend couldn't have been any more enjoyable, we capped off the trip by going to a Seattle Sounders soccer game. I know very little about soccer, but I must say that it was so cool to be in the midst of a packed stadium of crazy soccer hooligans. There were cheers, there were songs, there was even a parade with a marching band before the game. I don't think I've stood for the entire game of anything since high school football (and that includes Nebraska games because in the seats we usually have, folks sit down during the time-outs).

Our seats, directly behind the "super-fans"

Maybe it was our delirium from several days of non-stop travel on top of sleeping at airports and on planes, but we concluded our whirlwind Seattle trip with visions of Norman Rockwell paintings swimming in our heads.